THE turn of the year has prompted many to dust off the running shoes to shed the festive excess and the signs are many have set this year's SPAR Craic 10k as their target with a record number of 2862 availing of the Super Early Bird rate for what is set to be the greenest event yet.

St Patrick’s Day 2025 will see over 5000 runners ‘back for the Craic’ as the SPAR Craic 10k road race returns in its full green glory to the streets of Belfast.

The St Patrick’s Day race, which will again begin at City Hall and end at Ormeau Park, is part of the wider Belfast City Council's efforts to create an all-inclusive celebration of the National Saints’ Day.

Founded in 2015 and shining a light on our common heritage, the SPAR Craic 10k is now a staple of the St Patrick’s Day festivities, as traditional as Irish stew and shamrock.

An inclusive, fun event which attracts all levels of runners from across the island and beyond, SPAR Craic 10k is Belfast’s premier urban run. As we take to the road again, we issue the warm, Irish welcome of ‘céad míle fáilte — come along for the Craic’.

When we say we want to make the SPAR Craic 10K Ireland’s greenest urban run, we’re not (just) talking about green tutus and green wigs — or even our famous green t-shirts.
Rather our focus is firmly on making the SPAR Craic the country’s most sustainable – greenest, to me and you – 10K.

Bronagh Luke, Corporate Marketing Controller at Henderson Group, which owns the SPAR brand in Northern Ireland said: “The SPAR Craic 10K is now a seminal part of the St Patrick’s Day celebration events in Belfast, and we’re so proud to continue our partnership and bring loads of craic for the runners taking part.

“Our teams will be at the start and finish line cheering on the runners, making sure they experience a fantastic atmosphere, and as the official water sponsor for the event, stay hydrated. Good luck to everyone involved.”

You will see the changes introduced over the coming years to reduce our carbon footprint, we hope to eventually phase out plastics and use only recyclable materials and organic foods.

The first change you will notice in 2025 is the introduction of wooden medals. We love the metal medals from China too but transporting materials halfway around the world which eventually will find their way to landfill is no longer acceptable.

We are also ending the distribution of thousands of branded pens, keyrings etc which, while useful for promoting sponsor brands, ultimately end up in waste bins.

We hope our regular patrons will bear with us as we introduce these green enhancements over the coming period and continue to make the SPAR Craic 10K Ireland’s greatest and greenest urban run.

Entry fee includes a personalised bib, chip, medal, finish line refreshments and postage & packaging. (All bibs will be posted and there will be no in-person pack collection)
Our charity partner, Marie Curie will receive a £1 donation from every registration fee.

The Super Early Bird offer is now closed, but there is still time to avail of the Early Bird rate of £21, which is available until February 7.

After this date, the fee increases to £25 until online registration closes on Friday, February 28 at midnight. However, early registration is advised as the race is expected to sell out. No deferrals or refunds are accepted after Sunday, February 16.

Any runners aged 16 or under who wish to run must be accompanied by an adult and written consent should be sent to organisers by parents or guardians.