Parish Walk veterans praise 'addictive' event

A man who has completed the Isle of Man's Parish Walk 22 times has said it was "definitely a bug now", ahead of this year's event.

Andrew Titley first took on the challenge in 2001 and was motivated to keep doing them after experiencing people's reactions.

The annual 85 mile (136km) walking challenge, sees more than a thousand competitors tackle the island's 17 parishes within 24 hours.

Mr Titley said after his first finish "people who I've never met were patting me on the back saying congratulations and shaking your hand".

Despite the physical and mental toll the race can take, Mr Titley said the "euphoria of actually managing to complete it" overrides "all the pain".

He said: "The community just gets together for the whole event, everybody's involved... it's just a fantastic atmosphere.

"It's definitely a bug now."

The Ronaldsway Met Office has forecast temperatures of up to 21C (70F) on Saturday, which may add to the physical challenge of the event on walkers.

Another veteran is race director Ray Cox, who completed it in 1994 and has been organising the event for the past 30 years.

He said: "The cheering, the crowds, the ambience, there's a certain spirit that pervades on Parish Walk day that I do believe is unique.

"It becomes addictive and that's why we have so many people that come back year after year."

The walk as we know it today was reincarnated in 1960.

Previously, in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century there were walks through the parishes but "they were informal affairs and frequently challenges between neighbours with wagering involved, organised in public houses late at night", Mr Cox explained.

He said since then it had become a "national institution" and an "incredible physical feat".

It was the "one day of the year that pedestrians can take back the roads" and those that took part were "phenomenal athletes" who also faced a "huge mental challenge", he added.

Lorna Gleave has won the women's race for the last two years and said she never expected to be topping the leaderboard.

She said: "The first time I did it and I went to Peel I thought 'gosh I don't know how people finish it'."

"Fast-forward years later to have my name on the trophy twice, it's really surreal."

"It's something I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to achieve."

More than 1,100 walkers are due to set off from the National Sports Centre race track in Douglas at 08:00 BST on Saturday.

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