Every sporting event pens its own different label of attraction, and when the Armagh International 5km Road Race calls itself “the world’s fastest” it is not without some proof or merit. The 33rd staging of the race, set for the Cathedral City on Thursday evening (8.30pm), should only help reinforce that label.
Efrem Gidey certainly hopes so, as the 24-year-old is aiming to break a third Irish road race record within six months, adding to his half marathon record of 60:51 set in Copenhagen last September, and his 10km record of 27:43 set in Valencia last month – that race incidentally labelled as “the world’s fastest 10km”.
Armagh focuses on the 5km for men, and the 3km for women (plus a series of open juvenile races from 6.30pm), and unlike mass participation road races is built solely around elite or sub-elite runners. Last year, despite the bitterly cold and snowy conditions, the top 132 finishers all broke 15 minutes – a time considered the benchmark for the sub-elite at the distance – while the top 17 all broke 14 minutes, which many consider world-class.
It’s that depth of fast times which has earned Armagh that label of “the world’s fastest”. Back in 2020, the top 139 finishers all ran under 15 minutes, and no other 5km road race in the world has since surpassed that.
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“We hold that record,” Armagh race director James Vallely told the BBC. “We have made this claim many times, and it has not been refuted by any other events around the world.”
Organised by Armagh Athletic Club, the 5km is properly international too, and last year 191 of the 237 total finishers were from outside the island of island. The race was won in 13:49 by Topi Raitanen from Finland, a Tokyo Olympian and 2022 European champion in the steeplechase.
For men to qualify, they must have run a time of 16 minutes or under for 5km in the previous 12 months. Despite the nominal prizes (£200 for the winner) and prospect of unfavourable conditions on a Thursday night in mid-February, its popularity has also grown steadily over the years, in part thanks to its unique race atmosphere.
Taking in five laps of the mostly flat Mall circuit of the city, with live commentary throughout all the races, most of the runners themselves are keenly and competitively driven on by the simple prospect of breaking that 15-minute barrier, if not their personal best.
The Armagh course record of 13:37, set by Britain’s Henry McCluckie in 2023, and for Gidey, who last month also won the Raheny Five Mile road race in an impressive time 22:37, the target time will be the Irish 5km road record of 13:26. That was set by Alistair Cragg in Carlsbad, California in 2012 – another race often labelled as “the world’s fastest”, only without anything near the depth of Armagh.
It won’t be easy, although Gidey, who arrived in Ireland as a refugee from Eritrea in 2016 and received citizenship here in 2019, is unquestionably in form, now benefiting from training full-time, still based largely in Dublin while under the guidance of London-based coach Andy Hobdell. His 10km time last month improved by three seconds the Irish record held by John Treacy since 1985, and if the 5km record is to drop, where better than Armagh?
