EcoTrail Wicklow Festival 2023 was held from the 28th to the 30th of September 2023 welcoming more than 1400 participants from 47 different nationalities. Thanks to the support from Failte Ireland and Wicklow County Council, EcoTrail Wicklow grew into a fantastic three-day event. See below some of the key achievements:
International Promotion
EcoTrail Wicklow has proven a fantastic tool to reach overseas markets and help raise Wicklow’s profile at THE Irish Outdoor Destination. See below the action taken to promote EcoTrail Wicklow abroad. Promotional trips included launch at EcoTrail Paris, promotion at EcoTrail Copenhagen and partnership with Snowdonia Trail Marathon.
EcoTrail Wicklow also invested in advertising and advertorials on dedicated international press and media. Those included Nature Trail Magasine in France, Women’s Running Mag in the UK and Revista Trail in Spain. See a few links below
EcoTrail Wicklow Participants
There were a total of 1444 tickets sold for EcoTrail Wicklow. More than 47 nationalities were represented at this year’s event. See below list of nationalities represented at EcoTrail Wicklow 2023. Please note that about 100 participants didn’t give either address or nationality:
Ireland: 900, Afghanistan 2, Argentina 3, Australian 5, Austria 2, Belgium 8, Bolivia 2, Brazil 8, Canada 10, Chile 2, China 1, Coasta Rica 1, Croatia 3, Czechia 4, Denmark 4, Finland 3, France 80, Germany 22, Great Britain 78, Hungary 3, India 6, Italy 14, Japan 1, Korea 1, Latvia 3, Malaysia 1, Mexico 2, Netherlands 18, New Zealand 1, Norway 16, Oman 1, Poland 15, Portugal 8, Romania 6, Russia 1, Slovakia 2, Slovenia 1, South Africa 3, Spain 8, Sweden 4, Switzerland 2, Tunisia 1, Ukraine 4, USA 26, Venezuela, Vietnam 2, Zimbabwe 1
Influencers and Journalists
Attracting international elites and influencer was key to raise the profile of EcoTrail Wicklow. See below some of the personalities that made their way to Bray:
- Yoann Stuck (France): Yoann is a leading trail runner in France and winner of EcoTrail Paris. Yoann won the 80km male race. https://www.instagram.com/yoannstuck/?hl=en
- Elisa is Running (France): Elisa is a Youtuber dedicated to Trail Running with more than 9000 followers. See her video on EcoTrail Wicklow at https://youtu.be/JnVCQrT1ytc?si=iGsjoeT8WNdBuqHt
- Fatima Painda (UK): Fatima has been writing about Trail running in the UK. We have used Fatima as a champion for diversity and inclusivity. She partnered with Women Running Magasine for a feature.https://www.instagram.com/paindafitness/
- Tina Chantrey (UK): Tina is also a contributor for Women Running Magasine. https://www.instagram.com/runtlc.uk/
Link to video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx0xIfAtXNp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== - Hillary Allen (US): Hillary is one of the top runners in the US. Hilary came for a whole week with her bike and maximised her time on the hills both running and cycling. Hillary was a guest on Ray D’arcy’s show on RTE Radio 1. Hillary has close to 60k followers on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/hillygoat_climbs/
EcoTrail Wicklow 2023 Festival Programme
Thursday
EcoTrail Wicklow started on Thursday at the Harbour Bar for a Trail Running Gathering where all EcoTrail participants and friends were invited along with Irish and international elite trail runners. The fun and informative evening attracted more than 80 participants and was a fantastic start of the festival weekend.
Friday
Friday started with an early swim in the Irish Sea. This was followed by a day trip to Glendalough wih walk around the Spinc. From 3pm participants were able to collect their bibs at the EcoTrail Wicklow tent at Bray Seafront. As part of the afternoon activities, Wicklow Naturally, Wicklow’s local food brand, set up a ‘pinchos bar’ offering a selection of local flavours. It is now tradition to host a live press conference where local officials and international elite runners shared a few words. This conference was broadcasted live on social media. Late afternoon, Wicklow Local Sports Partnership organised a series of outdoor activities for children and young families.
Saturday
The day started with the early bus pick-up from Dublin City Centre for participants to arrive in time for the 7.30 80k race start. The 47km participants left at 9am, the 30km at 10am and the last start was at 11am for the 19k race. From 11.30am the live broadcast started with live music and race announcer throughout the afternoon and evening with live commentary at race footage on a giant screen and also online.
