On Sunday 30th July RunThrough will return to the historic venue of Hillsborough Castle for the Hillsborough Castle & Gardens Running Festival.
Following the success of the 2019 and 2022 events (cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to coronavirus>COVID the event returns with 5km, 10km, Half Marathon and Family Races as part of the festival of running open to runners of all levels and abilities.
The races will start within the beautiful grounds of Hillsborough Castle, before heading out onto the surrounding forest areas of Hillsborough and taking in historic attractions in the local area such as Hillsborough Fort and Hillsborough Lake.
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Hillsborough Castle has been a grand family home and is now the official home of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and a royal residence. Tours of the Castle run throughout the year, and it also recently opened its first ever exhibition – Life Through A Royal Lens – which features a unique collection of royal photography spanning 200 years.
Matt Wood, Co-Founder of RunThrough, said: “We are delighted to return once more to the beautiful and historic Hillsborough Castle & Gardens.
"To be trusted by Historic Royal Palaces to bring RunThrough’s events within the palace grounds and give runners such a unique opportunity to enjoy running in such incredible surroundings fills me with great pride. We are also grateful to Lisburn Council for facilitating route access outside of the Hillsborough Castle & Gardens grounds.
"The Hillsborough Castle & Gardens Running Festival is undoubtedly one of the jewels in the RunThrough crown of events which has grown to 215, welcoming over 200,000 runners per year across the United Kingdom.“
Debbie McCamphill, Business Development Manager at Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, said: “We’re really looking forward to hosting the Running Festival for a third time at Hillsborough Castle, and to welcoming runners of all abilities into our gardens. With over 100 acres of grounds to enjoy here, from peaceful woodlands to picturesque glens, we know they’ll provide a fittingly grand finish to the day’s races.”
Once runners have completed their races they will then be able to explore the beautiful grounds of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens with any family and friends who have come to support them at a much more leisurely pace, with garden admission all included within the event registration cost.
There will also be food and drink stalls on offer, so that visitors can really make a day of it.
Registration for the Hillsborough Castle & Gardens Running Festival is open to runners of all abilities and can be entered here.
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