All registered participants will receive further instructions by email.
Updated: Thursday 23rd of March 2023
Check in
We offer two options for participants to obtain their Walk Card, required for stamping en route. The Walk Card is stamped at all checkpoints by UGMC to track the progress of the participant on the Maamturks Challenge.
There will be 2 lanes on the morning of the event – Express Registration and Morning Registration.
We strongly encourage participants who live in the locality or arriving on Friday evening to avail of Express Registration, to register on the night before the Challenge.
The registration process will continue as it has the last few years:
- Participants will need to enter and confirm their details online during the week before the event. This will be possible by using Tito, and you will be able to edit your ticket to add the missing details. Note that if you do not add your details online, you will be delayed at registration while we manually collect them. (See how to add your details below.)
- Walk cards will be issued at Pre-Registration along with a numbered token. You will need to leave your token at the start of the walk and the start will also act as the first punch on your walk card. This should greatly help with queueing times on the Saturday morning.
Express Registration
Friday 31st March 2023, Joe Keane’s @ 18:30-20:00
- Pre-registration form details will be checked as entered
- Walk number assigned
- Walk card filled out & provided
- Express token assigned for Express Lane on Saturday morning
Saturday 1st April 2023, base of Corcóg @ 05:00-07:00
- Deposit Token
- Get punch for the start
- Gear will be checked*
Morning Registration
Saturday 1st April 2023, base of Corcóg @ 05:00-07:00
- Pre-registration form details will be checked as entered
- Walk number assigned
- Walk card filled out
- Gear will be checked*
* Strong boots, waterproof jacket/pants, warm clothing, sufficient food/drink for the day, maps, compass and/or GPS
Adding your Details Online
Instead of manually verifying walker details at the pre-reg, we will be collecting all walker details in the week of the event. This will open from Saturday 25th March 2023 and walkers will have until 23:59 on Thursday 30th March 2023 to enter their details. Any details entered after this point will not be included on the registration information as we may need to go offline as we leave for Connemara. We are advising all participants to enter their details as soon as possible. Details required are:
- Name
- Club affiliation (if any)
- Age
- Phone Number
- Sex
- Next of Kin Name (someone that will NOT be on the mountain with you)
- Next of Kin contact number
- Primary colour of your outer clothing
- Name(s) of people in your group (if any)
- Car registration number and local accommodation (if applicable)
To change your details, you will be able to use the links provided at the bottom of the emails you receive from Tito on behalf of the club. You should see a box similar to:
Clicking on “View Ticket” Above will bring you to the ticket page:
Here if you click the button “Change” in the top right, this will bring you to the editing screen:
Here you can enter your details. Be sure to hit ‘Save’ before leaving. That will complete the entering of your details.
If for some reason you cannot find any email from us at the Maamturks Challenge, please:
- Check your promotions / clutter / non-focused inbox in case the emails are there.
- You can do a lookup with Tito for any tickets under your email address: https://lookup.tito.io/
- Send us an email to maamturks@nuigmc.com and we can check it for you.
If you do not enter your details online, you will be delayed at pre-reg or on the morning of the event.
If you have any issue using this system, please just email maamturks@nuigmc.com as soon as possible. Please do not wait until it is too late.
Transport
A bus will run from Leenane Hotel to the base of Corcóg on the Saturday morning, boarding at 04:00, departing at 04:20. The bus will then run from Peacocokes of Maam Cross to the base of Corcóg on the Saturday morning, boarding at 05:05, departing at 05:10. Please have all your gear in order to prevent delays.
Tickets for both buses can be found on Tito here: https://ti.to/nuigmc/Maamturks-Challenge-2023/
This bus will start boarding from 4am and the departure will be scheduled for 4.20am from Leenane. Note that the bus will not depart from outside the Hotel, but will depart from the car park on the right just as your arrive in Leenane from Maam. This is to allow the bus to turn around. This is directly across the road from the Sheep and Wool Centre and is approximately 10 minutes walk from Leenane Hotel.
Click here for a location link on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/S8nTJPk1oh12
There will be a shuttle bus back to the start from Leenane in the evening from 14:00 – departing from the Hotel car park throughout the afternoon. The last run for the bus will be around 19:00. There is no charge for this bus.
Drivers
Roadside parking will be also be available at the starting point. Please park vehicles on the Lackavrea side of the road, soft gravel, opposite side to Corcóg. Our volunteers will direct you with parking in the morning. There will be a shuttle bus back to the start from Leenane in the evening from 14:00 – departing from the Hotel car park throughout the afternoon. The last run for the bus will be around 19:00. There is no charge for this bus.
Payment
The cost of participating in the Maamturks Challenge is €40. This includes some warm refreshments at Finish 3 in Leenane Hotel at the end of the walk.
Walk Rules
Please carefully note the walk rules below, they are required for both the safety of participants and volunteers. Breaking rules may result in disqualification from the walk.
Requirements
The 2023 Maamturks Challenge will take place on Saturday 1st April.
Check-in will be open from 05:00-07:00, or on the evening before the walk between 18:30-20:00 in Keane’s Bar at Maam.
Walkers will be required to check in at all of the checkpoints along the route and have their Walk Cards punched. The cut-off points at Loch Mhám Ochóige and the Col of Despondency will be implemented at 14:00 and 17:00 respectively. Unfortunately participants who fail to make these cut-offs will be requested to make their way to the nearest designated exit point.
In the interest of safety, we require that all walkers should be properly equipped for a tough day’s hike with strong boots, waterproof jacket and pants, warm clothing, and sufficient food and drink for the day. All participants, irrespective of whether they are a part of a group are required to have their own map(s) and compass and be proficient in navigation. GPS is not to be considered a substitute. More details on this can be found on in our FAQ section.
If you cannot sufficiently navigate or have the correct gear for all possible mountain conditions, you should NOT be taking part in this walk, regardless of whether you are in a group with someone who can navigate. Bad visibility is possible year-round on Irish mountains and you should be happy that you could have to spend a long day on the hills in bad weather conditions with limited visibility. You should be comfortable to navigate in whiteout/whitewash conditions such as this:
