Walled City Marathon

Penfailed · 02-12-2012 1:57pm #1

I'm gonna do it :eek:

http://thewalledcitymarathon.com/race-route/

Fahan Street is going to be a tricky climb after running for 25 miles!

cardwizzard · 02-12-2012 2:25pm

Id say a few will roll down Shipquay St;)

Good luck with it.

guttenberg · 03-12-2012 5:42pm

I feel faint just looking at that! I'm glad they are focusing it around the river, that walkway between Peace - Foyle bridge should be a great walk when it's done.

circadian · 22-12-2012 8:06am

Good luck, that's some run. Is the half marathon still on as well?

Penfailed · 22-12-2012 12:15pm

circadian wrote: »

Is the half marathon still on as well?

Not as part of the marathon. It's run separately in September time (I think).

circadian · 22-12-2012 12:50pm

Ah right I thought both would have been done at the same time. The half marathon is a doddle compared to this. Fair play and the best of luck!

Penfailed · 22-12-2012 8:31pm

circadian wrote: »

Fair play and the best of luck!

Cheers!

0lordy · 08-01-2013 2:13pm

Registration for this had closed, but is open again for a couple of days, just in case anyone else wants to enter.

http://thewalledcitymarathon.com/

Mint Sauce · 09-01-2013 10:30pm

Mmmmm. This or Belfast in May. Looking at some of that route, would say its that flat in places. Also could be a bit rural in places, what would the support be like outside the city/residential areas?

Penfailed · 09-01-2013 11:36pm

irish-stew wrote: »

Mmmmm. This or Belfast in May. Looking at some of that route, would say its that flat in places. Also could be a bit rural in places, what would the support be like outside the city/residential areas?

It's only a provisional route at the moment. They are hoping to confirm it towards the end of this month. By support, do you mean people cheering you on? If that's the case, I can't see there being much between mile 6.5 and mile 14 to be honest. The rest should be good though...

guttenberg · 09-01-2013 11:48pm

Granted it's not been built yet, but I can't imagine there being much room between mile 18-20 for a wide enough running area and much of a crowd either. That map looks to me like it'll be the lower deck that's gonna be used? hopefully it all works out ok!

Penfailed · 09-01-2013 11:56pm

guttenberg wrote: »

Granted it's not been built yet, but I can't imagine there being much room between mile 18-20 for a wide enough running area and much of a crowd either. That map looks to me like it'll be the lower deck that's gonna be used? hopefully it all works out ok!

Yeah, I'd say 18 - 20 will be fairly quiet too. Lower deck for the first crossing (red) upper deck for the second crossing (blue).

0lordy · 10-01-2013 1:17am

irish-stew wrote: »

Mmmmm. This or Belfast in May. Looking at some of that route, would say its that flat in places. Also could be a bit rural in places, what would the support be like outside the city/residential areas?

One thing to note is the Belfast will have around 20,000 runners, this one only around 1,000, so it's quite bijou

That probably means that the support won't be as big, but with the City of Culture going on, I think the Derry one it more attractive. Insofar as a marathon can be...

Good point on the rural parts, the 7-14 mile segment would have very little support I imagine. As it happens, this is the hilliest part, the max height is 200 feet. (Belfast max is about 340ft, I think).

Mint Sauce · 10-01-2013 2:30pm

0lordy wrote: »

One thing to note is the Belfast will have around 20,000 runners, this one only around 1,000, so it's quite bijou

That probably means that the support won't be as big, but with the City of Culture going on, I think the Derry one it more attractive. Insofar as a marathon can be...

Good point on the rural parts, the 7-14 mile segment would have very little support I imagine. As it happens, this is the hilliest part, the max height is 200 feet. (Belfast max is about 340ft, I think).

Although based on my memory of Belfast last year, only a quarter of the total runners did the full distance, the rest were relay teams, and mini/half marathon runners.

Derry is currently looking a little more attractive based on the fact it will give me an extra month to prepare should I decide on a marathon in the first half of this year.

NIMAN · 10-01-2013 3:35pm

Anyone doing this marathon, on mile 25 there is a street called Fahan Street, which climbs up from the Bogside into the city centre.

Here it is
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/03/06/61/3066137_bfae6c9c.jpg

It is VERY steep!! Doesn't look it in the picture but it is.
I'd say there will be a few walking up it come the 25th mile.

0lordy · 10-01-2013 5:31pm

irish-stew wrote: »

Derry is currently looking a little more attractive based on the fact it will give me an extra month to prepare should I decide on a marathon in the first half of this year.

Just remember that entries for Derry will close at 4:00 PM tomorrow, or earlier if they reach the limit.

Penfailed · 10-01-2013 9:10pm

NIMAN wrote: »

Anyone doing this marathon, on mile 25 there is a street called Fahan Street, which climbs up from the Bogside into the city centre.

Here it is
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/03/06/61/3066137_bfae6c9c.jpg

It is VERY steep!! Doesn't look it in the picture but it is.
I'd say there will be a few walking up it come the 25th mile.

Did you read the first post in the thread?

Penfailed · 10-01-2013 9:13pm

irish-stew wrote: »

Although based on my memory of Belfast last year, only a quarter of the total runners did the full distance, the rest were relay teams, and mini/half marathon runners.

Maybe not even that...at the launch of the Derry marathon, they mentioned a figure of about 3,500 for the full marathon in Belfast.

bobtisdall · 12-03-2013 2:40pm

Does anyone realise that Derry host Down in the Ulster GAA Championship at Celtic Park on race day? This means that 20,000 spectators will be criss-crossing the marathon route. What time does the marathon start?

Penfailed · 12-03-2013 3:57pm

bobtisdall wrote: »

What time does the marathon start?

9am. What time is the match?

guttenberg · 12-03-2013 5:12pm

Don't think the kick off time has been announced yet, Celtic Parks not actually part of the route, so even if there was an overlap, Down fans could avoid having to cross paths with the marathon, traffic will be mental that day though!

0lordy · 12-03-2013 5:13pm

Penfailed wrote: »

9am. What time is the match?

No time published yet for the match, I assumed the match would be moved to the Saturday, maybe it still will be. Seems unworkable that both will happen on the same day, assuming that there's a minor match which would start at 2:00 PM at the latest

bobtisdall · 12-03-2013 10:20pm

It's not just the senior match (3:30pm), it's also the minor match (1:30pm). Not only the Down supporters but 95% of the Derry supporters come in from the same directions. The entrance roads are all part of the marathon course, from Dungiven, Coleraine and Strabane directions. There is no way the GAA will change match - covered live on BBC. In fact almost all the marathon route, apart from path along old railway line and the proposed path through St. Columb's Park, is on a main entrance route. The race even goes past Celtic Park at 24 miles!

bobtisdall · 12-03-2013 10:28pm

Airtricity are coming in with sponsorship of the race in the next few weeks.

guttenberg · 12-03-2013 10:34pm

bobtisdall wrote: »

It's not just the senior match (3:30pm), it's also the minor match (1:30pm). Not only the Down supporters but 95% of the Derry supporters come in from the same directions. The entrance roads are all part of the marathon course, from Dungiven, Coleraine and Strabane directions. There is no way the GAA will change match - covered live on BBC. In fact almost all the marathon route, apart from path along old railway line and the proposed path through St. Columb's Park, is on a main entrance route. The race even goes past Celtic Park at 24 miles!

I think your getting the Brandywell confused with Celtic Park. The marathon comes from the Foyle Road to the mini roundabout beside Brandywell stadium, then goes right towards Lecky Road, Celtic Park is further out the Lone Moor Road. Dungiven/Coleraine traffic would be advised to use Foyle Bridge, and travel up Strand Road and approach Celtic Park from Northland Road direction. Traffic will be hectic, and visitors will likely have to park and walk further to the stadium, but the marathon route is easily avoidable for visitors.

bobtisdall · 12-03-2013 10:50pm

That roundabout at Brandywell Ave to which you refer cannot be more than 40 metres from one of the turnstyles at Celtic Park.

guttenberg · 12-03-2013 11:06pm

bobtisdall wrote: »

That roundabout at Brandywell Ave to which you refer cannot be more than 40 metres from one of the turnstyles at Celtic Park.

It's a good 100 yards from the roundabout to the closest turnstile, and a good bit further from the turnstiles that most people will be using to get into the ground. Match times haven't been announced yet, or any travel arrangements, but considering the marathon has at most a couple of thousand runners, it won't be pandemonium, and likely will be finished before most GAA fans reach the city! You shouldn't have anything to worry about!

Penfailed · 12-03-2013 11:48pm

I was at a marathon talk this evening. There's a very good probability that the marathon will be brought forward to start at 8:30am now and the GAA are also starting the match later than normal to avoid any major problems. As the marathon passes, sections of the route will be re-opened to traffic which should also help with traffic flows.

west side kid · 01-04-2013 12:07am

Hi

Has anyone any information on the logistics of this? For example - When can you pick up your number and pack? Will they be providing sports drink and/or water on the course? If so - from what mile? (I see that High 5 are sponsoring).

I've been a runner for a while but decided to make this my first marathon due to its uniqueness and location. Is there much of a buzz about it locally. (I live in Dublin).

Also interested to get more insights from the information talk?

Cheers,

0lordy · 01-04-2013 1:14am

west side kid wrote: »

Hi

Has anyone any information on the logistics of this? For example - When can you pick up your number and pack? Will they be providing sports drink and/or water on the course? If so - from what mile? (I see that High 5 are sponsoring).

I've been a runner for a while but decided to make this my first marathon due to its uniqueness and location. Is there much of a buzz about it locally. (I live in Dublin).

Also interested to get more insights from the information talk?

Cheers,

Hi there,

I presume the pre-reg will be 1 or 2 evenings beforehand. I believe it's just High5 gels that will be provided. Best thing would be to fire a question on the facebook page, you should get an answer pretty quickly.

I wasn't at the talk, just got the information secondhand - didn't hear much that is specific to Derry, just general marathon training advice. The information is held on the website http://thewalledcitymarathon.com/training-zone/.

It's great that you picked Derry - it's my first marathon too, but that's because I work in Derry and live in Letterkenny, so it's a local one for me.

There's a great buzz about Derry, there's a lot of folks training for this. The route does go out the sticks a couple of times, so there won't be much by way of crowds there, but a lot of it will be in the city, I'd expect a lot of support there. With the 2013 City of Culture going on, it's a great year to be running this.

Hope this helps, let me know if you've any questions.

west side kid · 01-04-2013 9:15am

0lordy wrote: »

Hi there,

There's a great buzz about Derry, there's a lot of folks training for this. The route does go out the sticks a couple of times, so there won't be much by way of crowds there, but a lot of it will be in the city, I'd expect a lot of support there. With the 2013 City of Culture going on, it's a great year to be running this.

Hope this helps, let me know if you've any questions.

Thanks for letting me know. I'm also from the area too - so I know how friendly people in that part of the world are

Great to hear there's some a buzz about it!!

Walled City Marathon

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