Parish Walk

The Manx Telecom Parish Walk (previously known as the Clerical Medical Parish Walk until 2009, then Scottish Widows Parish walk up to 2011) is a walking race that takes place on the Isle of Man each year usually on the weekend nearest to the Northern Summer solstice. It is the biggest walking event in the Isle of Man.

The Parish Walk is so called because the walk passes through every parish on the Isle of Man, a total distance of 85 miles (137 km). Originally, walkers had to touch the door of each of the seventeen parish churches, but nowadays electronic timing chips are worn. A time limit of 24 hours is given, and there are cut-off times for reaching each stage.

Only a small proportion of walkers are expected to complete the full distance each year. Walkers may drop out at any of the stages, which correspond to each parish, with an official time and distance.

The challenge was seeded by a Manx Sun newspaper article in 1852 entitled "A summer's day Journey" recording a journey taken by the then Coroner, John Cannel, who covered 90 miles in 15 hours on horseback. The following year he followed a similar route, only this time on foot, visiting each of the Island's 17 parishes.

It was not until 1913 that the event took its current form when the Parish Walking Match was organised by the Isle of Man Times and the Manx Sporting Club. Although the outbreak of war prevented a repeat of the event the following year, it was revived in 1923.

It is believed that the Parish Walk may be the largest annual fundraising event in the Isle of Man. However, as each participant is left to raise money themselves and for a charity of their own choice, no figures have ever been compiled.

The Parish Walk starts at 8am at the NSC in Douglas. Starting from the start line of the athletics track, competitors must complete 1 lap of the 400m track before leaving through the Marathon gates. They then proceed down the TT Access Road before doubling back to the first of the Parish Churches (Braddan). The churches are then visited in the following order;

The finishing line is on Douglas promenade by the War Memorial at the bottom of Broadway.

Clerical Medical sponsored the event from 1990 to 2009, until the takeover of HBOS (which owned Clerical Medical) by Lloyds TSB (which owned Scottish Widows) to form the Lloyds Banking Group. As a result of the takeover the event was rebranded as the Scottish Widows Parish Walk. This sponsorship ran up to and including the 2011 event. On October 12, 2011 the organisers announced that Manx Telecom would be taking over sponsorship. Manx Telecom had provided the on-line timing systems for previous years but the 2012 event was their first as title sponsors.

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Wikipedia