Waterville Trail Running Festival 2026 Race Preview
exciting weekend of trail running
By Alicja Pilarska · · Race Preview
Waterville welcomes Irish and International Trail Runners
The Waterville Trail Running Festival is back this weekend (May 2–3, 2026) on the spectacular Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry. Runners get to enjoy the rugged beauty of the Kerry trails around the Lough Currane and Derrynane loop — technical singletrack, exposed mountain ridges with those stunning Atlantic views, coastal cliffs, and roughly 1,240 metres of climbing per 43 km loop. It’s a proper Irish trail adventure: rocky, rooty, and full of character.
All races have sold out again, which shows just how popular this festival has become. Irish runners have a fantastic history here with plenty of course records and outright wins, and this year we’ve got a great mix with international athletes from the USA, South Africa, Slovakia, France, Japan, Australia and more. After last year’s unusually hot and dry weather, it looks like we’ll get more typical Kerry conditions this weekend — wind, maybe some rain, and slippery trails. That should suit our local runners perfectly. And let’s not forget organiser Simon — after dressing up as a superhero to run with the kids last year, we’re all dying to see what fun surprise he has lined up this time!
This is the big one — about 3,720 metres of climbing over three loops. It’s all about who can keep it together when the miles and the night really start to add up.