KNOCK ME DOWN
ADVENTURE RACE
Run, cycle and kayak your way around the Knockmealdown Mountains.
Knockmealdown Active’s adventure race returns for 2026. Starting and finishing at Newcastle GAA Grounds, you’ll cycle, run (or walk) and kayak a course of well-marked roads and forestry tracks across the Tipperary–Waterford border. Two distances, one big day out, pick the one that suits you.
TWO EVENTS, ONE START LINE
The route is divided into six fully guided stages, walked in pairs across three weekends from April to May. Each runs between 18 and 21 km, moving from the Tipperary plain, over the Knockmealdown Mountains, and down to the Waterford coast.
Challenge
35 kmA great first adventure race — suited to anyone with a reasonable level of fitness.
30 km cycle · 5 km run · 0.5 km kayak
Route: Newcastle → Kilballyboy Wood → Bay Lough → back to Newcastle.
MÓR
62 kmThe full challenge — a good level of fitness needed for the extra climbs and miles.
49 km cycle · 12.5 km run · 0.5 km kayak
Route: as the Challenge to Bay Lough, then over the Vee to Mount Melleray Abbey for a 7.5 km loop run, and back to Newcastle.
What’s included,
and what to bring
Included in your entry
- All kayak gear — kayak, paddle and safety equipment — with trained guides and water rescue on standby.
- Race T-shirt, backpack and a completion medal for everyone who finishes.
- Refreshments at the finish, plus changing and shower facilities at Newcastle GAA.
- Water stops at every transition zone.
What to Bring
- Your own road-worthy bike (any type) and a proper cycling helmet — mandatory for the cycle legs.
- Appropriate footwear for the run and cycle sections.
- A way to carry spare shoes if you plan to switch between legs.
MÓR waves start from 8.30am and Challenge waves from late morning, on a first-booked, first-served basis. There are 16 prize categories across age groups, plus overall male and female winners. Places are allocated in advance, so book online early — the event fills up weeks ahead. Full course maps, GPX files and event-day detail are on the Knock ME Down website.
Knock ME Down is the adventure-race strand of Knockmealdown Active, a volunteer-led group running outdoor community events across the Knockmealdown Mountains and the villages around them — Newcastle, Ballyporeen, Clogheen, Goatenbridge, Ardfinnan and beyond.
Walk it. Visit it. Be part of it.
Walk it.
Visit it.
Be part of it.
Walk it. Visit it.
Be part of it.
Knockmealdown Active helps connect people with the region and the communities around it.
If you want help planing your visit, to sign up for an event, or if you would like help us by to supporting Knockmealdown Active as a volunteer, please get in touch.
Knockmealdown Active helps connect people with the region and the communities around it.
If you want help planing your visit, to sign up for an event, or if you would like help us by to supporting Knockmealdown Active as a volunteer, please get in touch.