THE countdown is on for the now sold-out Tralee 100k Ultra Marathon that will be taking place this Saturday August 1 with 50 people scheduled to take part in the daunting challenge.

Now in its second year, it is truly an event that is growing, increasing its capacity from last year’s 40 to welcoming runners from all different parts of the country and the UK.

A large number of the Born To Run Marathon Club have been putting in their long hours of training over the last few weeks and months, with this being a massive reflection of the growing sport here in the county.

“There’s a lot of preparation going into this, we’ve just had a meeting with the volunteer co-ordinator Jim McNeice and everything is set up,” said Run The Kingdom’s CEO Marcus Howlett speaking to TraleeToday.ie on Wednesday.

“All the aid stations people have been put in their places, toilet stops have been organised and race numbers and emails have been sent out, so everything looks good,” he continued.

“The ultra running is something that’s close to my own heart personally. We’ve sold out the event this year which is great. We’ve a maximum of 50 entries, which is an increase on ten from last year,” he said.

“Ultra running is a growing sport, it’s going to be a massive participation event of the future. It will take over from the marathon as the mass participation event in ten years time, it could become more popular than the full marathons,” he said.

A main aim of RTK is to showcase Kerry as a tourist destination and this is exactly what Marcus and his team had in mind when organising this years 100k Ultra.

“It’s not just a local event, the route has been chosen to showcase what North Kerry has on offer. It brings you along Causeway, Ballyheigue, Kerry Head, Banna, Fenit, The Spa, Blennerville and then back into Tralee, so we just wanted to show North Kerry as a tourist destination as well,” he continued.

Members of the public are being strongly encouraged to come on the day and along the route to show their support for the hardy competitors. So if you see any runners coming through your area, be sure to give them a cheer and a wave to give them that little boost.

The race starts at 6am and the first runners are expected in at the Brandon Hotel at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, so those with a little time are also encouraged to come down and cheer them in on the final stretch.