Over 1,300 adventurer racers will descend on the Lough Derg area on Saturday 10th of September to run, cycle and kayak their way around the Lakelands and the mountains for the welcome return of Quest Lough Derg 2022 – the first time the event has been able to return to the area since 2019.
All the information on start times, finish times, road closures, pontoon access, car parking, spectator viewing and waterways navigation are listed below.
Start times
Participants start in waves of 150 people from Lakeside Drive outside Flannagan’s Bar, with the first wave starting at 7.45am.
Finish Times
The first participants to finish at Flannagan’s Bar will be from 10.30am and the last participants are expected to arrive at 3.30pm.
Road Closures
There will be some road closures to allow the safe running of this event, see link below with all the road closure details:
https://questadventureseries.com/blog/lough-derg-road-closures/
We would like to thank Tipperary County Council, Clare County Council and local residents for their co-operation and help in the planning and implementation of these closures.
Pontoon
We are building Ireland’s longest pontoon bridge to facilitate the logistical challenge of moving participants safely across the water from Ballina to Killaloe. In a joint partnership between Elite Event Management, Waterways Ireland, Tipperary and Clare County Councils, it is Ireland’s biggest temporary pontoon over the Shannon at 130 metres, and was the first time a new bridge had been built in Killaloe in 300 years.
The pontoon takes around six days to build, with the assistance of three articulated trucks carrying specialist modular blocks, handrails and netting.
Pontoon Open to the Public
The pontoon will be open to the public at the following times:
Friday 9th September: 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Saturday 10th September: 3.30pm – 4.30pm
Please note, restrictions will be in place as to how many people can be on the pontoon at a given time and will be implemented by security personnel.
Navigational Closures Notice
Waterways Ireland wishes to advise masters / owners / users of the Shannon that the Shannon Navigation will be closed from 3pm on Friday 9th to 7pm on Saturday 10th September 2022 to facilitate this event and the construction of the pontoon bridge.
The slipway at Ballina will be closed while the pontoon is being constructed. Construction will take place from Wednesday 7th September to Friday 9th September and the pontoon will be dismantled on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September 2022.
The flow gates on the Killaloe Canal will be manned from 6am to 7.45am on Saturday 10th September 2022 to facilitate anglers and smaller vessels that wish to proceed upstream or downstream on Saturday morning while the pontoon is in place.
Spectators
We encourage everyone to come out and support the adventure racing athletes at the start and finish line at the Flannagan’s Bar area.
We are asking spectators not to go along the route to support the athletes as the narrow roads are not suitable to bikes and cars. There are also a number of road closures in place which will make it difficult to navigate the route by car.
Registration
Registration/Pack Pick-up is at the following times and location:
Friday 9th September: 3pm to 9pm
Saturday 10th September: 6.30am to 9am
Event HQ Marquee, Flanagan’s on the Lake, V94 F974
Car Parking
The roads will be busy and traffic will be heavy at times in the area over the weekend. Please give your self ample time for arrival.
You will be directed to the event specific car parks by event staff. Car parks are approximately 1km from the start.
Thank You
We would like to thank the people of Ballina and Killaloe and the surrounding areas for supporting this event. We will have over 250 volunteers along the route from 6 different sporting clubs in the area guiding the participants along the adventure.
We would also like to thank Tipperary County Council, Clare County Council, Waterways Ireland, Lough Derg Marketing Group and Failte Ireland for developing this event in the region.
Orla Carroll, Director of Product Development at Fáilte Ireland said, “Fáilte Ireland is pleased to support the Quest Lough Derg adventure race. Investing in participative festivals like this not only attracts competitors from around Ireland and overseas, it also encourages families and supporters to stay and explore the local area, which in turn is beneficial for local businesses and drives the local economy. These events also showcase the fantastic outdoor activity offering we have in Lough Derg, and are hugely important as we drive recovery across the tourism sector.”
