Roll on Cork next Monday.

Seanie2008

Just wondering if anybody's doing Cork next week?? How they're fixed. Personally, my training's been all over the place and I'm a bit apprehensive of running with fresh relay runners constantly flying passed me.

Interesting to see the review recently posted because I try as I did, there wasn't a shred of info from last years runners on it.

This will be my third marathon. I'd Monaco at the end of March which was a complete nightmare. Had a dose the week beforehand. Posted a 1:42 on the first half but finished with a 4:05 after my legs went - heartbreaking. I've had two great runs 17 and 19 which'd put me in on 3:25-3:30 but two awful 16 and 20. Just looking to enjoy this one firstly, but I can't get the time pressure out of mind - the eternal conflict. Best do some meditating or something

SUNGOD

hi seanie yeah looking forward to cork it will be my 2nd marathon . i did connemara in april, the training has gone well its maybe a bit soon for me after my first but what harm im going to enjoy it and let the time look after it self . best of luck seanie lets hope its a good day all round

corkfella

well done lads! it wil be my 1st marathon nxt monday, I'm looking forward to it now but a bit nervous which is inevitable. I think i have decent long runs donw with 18, 17, 16 and 14 under my belt but I had a slight strain last week so I didnt train that much but went for a 5 mile run last night and I feel strong, I want to finish most importantly but I would love to come in around the 4 hour mark....

911sc

Plan on running Cork next Monday if the train drivers allow me to go to Cork!!
It will be my third marathon after Dublin and Connemara (www.doitforthem.ie), and am really looking forward to it.

Seanie,
With a 4+h time, you are hardly competing for pole:) but you'll be competing against me as i think i'll be doing it in around 4:05 / 4:15 ...BUT because we are not competing for pole, forget about the clock and enjoy your run.
(Note: no offence, pure sarcasism as i run roughly at the same pace as you, so i am as good or as bad!!!)

I do not plan on checking my time along the way, and will just look at my watch after the finish line.

For the first time, i'll be running with 2 other guys which will be great: one (Andy) is running Cork as his prep for Ironman in Nice on 22nd June, one (Paddy) is running his first marathon.
Our "unofficial" target is to run it start to fisnih at about 10min per mile, very conversative pace, but more than anythign else, ENJOY IT.

Andy will not stop talking from start to finish which is very good to get you focus on anything else than the "cramped" legs, but will also ask questions which is not great as i'll have to answer:D

Does anybody know the number of entries? i have register late and got number 1280, so does look like there'll be many runners.

Enjoy your run in the republic of Cork!!

Seanie2008

You'll prob be easy to spot so 911sc- yee'll be the three boys having the craic all the way around. This will be my first run solo. My other runs and training had been with a mate of mine but he can't do this one. Having company around really makes it easier and way more fun. I've learned a lot about myself though.... I know on 16-17-18 miles my head will say 'just stop, you know you want to, stop' but I expect it now so it's easier to beat.

Corkfella - sounds like you've done enough training to enjoy it. Fail to prepare etc as Keaneo would say.

Sungod, I'm the same about running so soon after my last one. Felt a bit tired earlier in the month and was thinking of chilling for a while after Cork but I'm at the stage now where I start to feel like sh*t if I don't run at least once every 3/4 days!! Viscous circle.

corkfella

911sec I got number 1180 I think and I just put my in at the start of april.

cheers Seanie, I hope so, I'd love to go under 4 but will not kick on till i'm gone past 20 or so...

I'm hoping those bloody traindrivers allow evreybody to make it alright and hopefully d weather will not be as warm as last year!

Seanie2008

The down side of that hill on 20 will certainly help a kick if you're in a position for one. I might leave a bike up there, might get me a PB.

I got flights yesterday, back to Dublin on the Monday. 2 seats, one bag - E28. Can't argue with that. Aer Rianta will prob walk out on Monday now to back up the Irish Rail workers. ha.

brutes

I did Cork last yr first time breaking three, 2.55, knee bust this year so only bank and doin relay , last year was super - well organised, great weather and support was the best in any marathon Ive done.. no hills worth talking about, only difficulties were the long drag in round 22/23 miles - lonely and could blow your head, and a loose horse around halfway in a pretty dodgy estate!! Long straight run in and perfect for strong finishers ya can really up the gears at this stage..

I would reckon this is pb territory cos of time of year, support, and would recommend goin balls out for anyone aiming for pb , and am rippin at not doin the full..!!

gaf1983

Running the relay with two other lads so I'll only be doing 10 miles which is just as well. Will hopefully keep up a fairly decent pace. I don't own a watch so won't be checking my time along the way.

911sc

Seanie2008 wrote: »

You'll prob be easy to spot so 911sc- yee'll be the three boys having the craic all the way around.

The 2 others will be very easy to spot as well. See here for photos

CCR

Did the Cork Marathon last year. It was my first and for now only marathon. Really wanted to do it again this year but got married a month and a half ago and my wife told me that there would be no running allowed on honeymoon.

Found 16-19 mile section the worst as it also has the most hills but from there on its not bad apart from having run 20 miles. I didnt think that at the time tho.

Doing the relay and looking foward to doing the Dublin Marathon and doing the full one in Cork next year.

RacoonQueen

I was meant to do it but sadly had to pull out due to injury. Went down to Cork anyway and stood at the finish for a while to cheer on the first few to cross the line (Is there anything more painful than seeing other people achieve what you've worked so hard for? )

Hope all that did it enjoyed themselve and acheived their goals, weather was decent for it too.

corkfella

well i finished anyway did just over 5 hours, bit dissapointed with the time as was going grt until 17/18 when my hamstrings tightened up and had to stop and stretch evrey mile or so, then at 21 had to walk 3 miles as there was nothing in d tank, ran the last 2 miles and nearly made it under 5 but came in at 5.03....ah well there's always nxt year for d sub 4! proud but tired.....

gaf1983

"Ireland Al Sadd Supporters" - that would be me and two of my mates - clocked in with a respectable 3.31 finish, 110th place out of 828, 9 places behind a crack Supervalu Glanmire outfit that boasted none other than Sonia O'Sullivan in their ranks. Was very impressed with the organisation of the race - the crowds on Patrick St (and elsewhere along the course) give a real boost too. Will hopefully do a solo sub 4 hour within the next year, that's the aim anyway.

hunnymonster

well done to everyone who took part, particularly those running the marathon. I have to say I was very impressed with the leading men. Some of them looked like they were out on a training run! I was at the water station at 22 miles. Plenty of people were suffering when they passed us but noone that didn't want to continue. We set up at 7:30 am, first person through about 11am, Last person through at 3:45 pm and home to put our feet up at 7! I think I'll stick to running it in future. Much easier :-)

Slogger Jogger

Hats off to the organisers for a great marathon. Cheers to the people of Cork who came out in their droves to cheer on the runners, sloggers and shufflers. I don't think I've seen as many volunteers helping out either at such an event. Well done to you.

Wow. What a warm day. A great marathon though. I'll treasure this one for a while as I beat my PB that I'd set in Connemara only 2 months back. Dipped under 3.06 The long straight road in the last few miles is a bit of a head wrecker. Personally I just looked a few feet ahead and dug on in there. I was fit to drop at the end but it was worth it

BTW, my garmin registered some 380m of climbs over the course. Lots of incremental ups and downs so over the route but no major hills.

SUNGOD

great day all round could'nt fault the organisation , everything was very accessible from the bag drop/collection to how easy it was to get to your time section for the start , i had thought this was going to be a nightmare(my first city marathon)
im in the same boat as slogger jogger as i beat my PB that i set in connemara in april but i came in just over 3:06, i'll catch you yet slogger jogger:D
anyway really enjoyed it .so all going well back for more next year

aburke

Hi hunnymonster,
As one one of the leading men, I was on the 3rd place marathon team, and came through 7th on the road [OK so not really leading men!],

thanks for all the hard work.

Running a marathon is easier that handing out water all day, I know that from experience too.

Later
Alan

hunnymonster wrote: »

well done to everyone who took part, particularly those running the marathon. I have to say I was very impressed with the leading men. Some of them looked like they were out on a training run! I was at the water station at 22 miles. Plenty of people were suffering when they passed us but noone that didn't want to continue. We set up at 7:30 am, first person through about 11am, Last person through at 3:45 pm and home to put our feet up at 7! I think I'll stick to running it in future. Much easier :-)

911sc

What a day indeed. Perfect organisation, truck loads of water/gatorade along the way, beautiful weather..Big thank you to all involved in making the day a success.


I did not see any bag drop/collection anywhere closed to the finish as in Dublin or Connemara. May be i missed it, but i thought runners had to go back to city hall which is a fair walk (taken in the context of having ran 26miles!) from the finish?
No big deal on a day like yesterday, but would not fancy this on a wet cold day... May be only me, but i tend to get very cold and shivering as soon as i stop running, so it is important for me to get dry clothes/hat/gloves immediately and still it takes me hours to warm up.
Was not an issue yesterday as 1- weather was hot 2- our hotel was very very close to the finish line:)

I also did my PB... but wait for it, i am still in the 4h20s:).
Anyway, still 3min better than in Connemara, and 5min better than Dublin. Getting there slowly but surely.

Averaged 9:26 per mile for the first 16miles, then 10:38 till mile22 and a super 14min to go from mile 22 to 23!!!
Thought, running continiously for 22miles was the longuest true run i have ever done without a wee walk . So hit the wall between mile 22 &23 (or may be got distracted by hunnymonster as WS22m).
Then went back into a 10:17min pace from mile23 to cross the finish in 4h22min...
Humm, if i only shave 2 or 3 minutes per marathon, forget about doing Dublin 08 in less than 4h... i'll have to run another 10 marathon first:)

I followed a runner of a "certain" age for a while in the early miles who was running his 200th marathon. Fair play.

Happy with that anyway, time is sort of irrelevant when you are as slow as myself (though could not resist taking a split time every miles for post race analysis!) ...but the big big improvement is my recovery.. I did not feel like a wreck yesterday, still walked with my luggage to the train station, and legs are surprisingly well today... tough i am not going do the Duathlon in Phoenix park tomorrow!. But still may go for a gentle recovery jog tonight while bringing the kids for a cycle to the park.

Well done to all.

Slogger Jogger

Sungod - did you run the recent bantry Glengarriff run by any chance? You'll definitely catch me soon as I can't see myself getting any faster. A lot of things went right for me yesterday.

Alan - well done on your relay placing. I was speaking to Mick beforehand and he was telling me that he was doing the first 3 legs of the relay - typical Mick being a bit greedy like that :-) That makes the relay placing all the more impressive.

In terms of the baggage drop, I'll be honest and say that when I got to the finish line I had nothing left, and the distance to city hall felt like an eternity, so my missus had to collect my gear while I walked the short distance to our accomodation. They were rather under-served in the physio department, I think they had 3 or 4 at work before a rapidly extending queue of tired runners. At the bayrun recently they had an army of physios. I was too knackered to wait my place in line yesterday. Going to try catch some physio this evening instead.

SUNGOD

hi slogger jogger , no i didnt do the bantry glengarriff run. you probably never saw me for the whole cork marathon as a minute is still a lot between placings.
in relation to the bags i really didnt mind walking to city hall for my bag in fact i need to keep moving after ive finished, even a slow walk for 5/10 minutes just so i wont seize up, but i take 911sc's point about the weather .walking to collect your bag with the sun on your back is different to scuttling over in the pouring rain

belcarra

Seb,

I was a few mins behind you in Connemara and again yesterday! I finished 3 secs the right side of 4.5hrs. Your post could just as easily been written by me as the splits were almost exactly as mine - Steady at 9.5 m/m for the first half before slipping gradually to 11m/m at around mile 23. From then on it was anything goes as a combination of walking and running saw me through to the finish. Happy enough with my time though as I did the Newry Marathon last week as well as Connemara and Belfast in the past couple of months.

In terms of old geezers beating you, I was passed in the final few miles in Newry by the 72 year old lady from Wexford that was present yesterday. I'd passed her at Mahon yesterday and tried staying with her for a short while before losing patience and moving on. I knew this wasn't going to prove too smart and this was evident over the last mile and a half when she went scampering past me! Fair play to her but I can't help feeling a little embarrassed!

Let's hope she's doing Longford and then maybe I'll be able to beat her...even if it means me taking her out of it!!

JC.

hunnymonster

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

....They were rather under-served in the physio department,

Yes, so much so that I heard this guy (http://uk.geocities.com/run4peter/home.htm) finished his marathon (his 311th I believe) and then chipped into the massage for a couple of hours.

Slogger Jogger

Sungod - that was an unreal time you did in Conn. I bumped into Mick Rice before the start yesterday and he was saying that I should 'easily' (yeah right) knock 8 mins off my 3.17 best. I laughed not taking him seriously, but I ended up knocking 11.5 mins off it. Sounds like you'll be in the sub 3 hours club before me (thats if I ever get there).

Just paid 45 euro for physio Apart from sore muscles theres no damage done. The hills will beckon me out in a few days. It'll be a bit longer for the mental side to repair itself:)

Fernando1

Thoroughly enjoyed this marathon yesterday. Really well organised, plenty of water stations and volunteers all round the course. Well done Cork. There were bands playing at different places around the course and supporters came out in good numbers. Makes a welcome change from the sparse and indifferent crowds at Dublin and Belfast. I'll aim to do this again next year and would recommend it to anyone.

911sc

Fernando1 wrote: »

Makes a welcome change from the sparse and indifferent crowds at Dublin

Ehh, you must be joking...
There was massive amount of supporters around the Dublin course (2007), helped by the fact that it was the first time in many years that it was dry and sunny on marathon day.

Slogger Jogger

The music was good. I could probably have done with that African upbeat music at a later stage in the race. The things that go through your head in races though. I was thinking that putting a jazz type band in the last mile, and to my unmusical hears they seemed to be playing a bit randomly (improvising maybe), but that style probably mirrored my running gait at that point in the race, i.e. chaotic.

I would think that the crowds in Dublin and Cork are comparable. I would think that Cork got more locals out to watch it and people in the crowd seemed to always know someone running, there was a lot of first name terms greeting and banter which Dublin didn't quite have. To me its as if Cork have welcomed this marathon with open arms, perhaps due to its newness. Maybe Dublin is getting a bit too cocky with its marathon. It could probably do with a route makeover as the novelty of having a marathon go down your road could be getting tired for some people and its mainly tourists that are evident in some parts of Dublin. I've run Dublin the last 4 years and I'm undecided about running this year, a bit of a route change would be nice, but I could see why the organisers would stick with what they have.

Bacchus

Hey,
Just to echo everything said already here. It was a great day for it. Fantastic organization, great weather and even better crowds. I did the 2nd leg of the relay (team of 5) and really enjoyed it. Particularly loved running through the tunnel :-) Our team finished in 3:24 which we're all delighted with. It was my first "competitive" run and I did my 5.5mile stretch in 43min. I now have the bug and am dying to it again. My next target is a 10mile run somewhere and then maybe the Cork to Cobh run in September. Don't know if I could ever reach 26 mile mark though, it's an incredible achievement and congrats to all who did it on Monday.

papamike

Again echoing all that was said already. First time partaking in an event like it and great organisation regarding buses for relay teams and plenty of water points on a very warm day.

I did the last leg of the relay and part of me felt a little awkward taking the applause and encouragement of the crowds towards the end after only running a few miles compared to those on their last legs coming in to finish but was good to be participating anyway. Huge respect and admiration for those people doing the full marathon but the Carrigrohane straight must be pure torture coming at 22-24 miles!!

Team finished in 3:40 and already talking about knocking 15-20 minutes off that for next year...the endurance bug has set in I think. Adidas series up next...

Seanie2008

I agree, I thought it was very well run. I was very impressed by the support too..... very passionate and there were plenty of heads about even in the isolated areas. I was looking at the results and seen somebody finished on 8hrs 30ish!!! Is that a bigger achievement than running sub 3???

I managed to beat my PB by about 30 seconds. Felt like I'd a decent amount of energy after it so I reckon I might have under performed. I was a bit worried about being caught on 20+ as had happened with my training runs so that might explain that. Still, my goal was sub 4 and I landed that.

I was expecting a tougher ride from the hills, they weren't too bad at all though. That said, would it be better to run the course the reverse way?? Hills at the start, nice gradient all the way in. I bet it would result in better finish times.

islandexile

Seanie2008 wrote: »

I was expecting a tougher ride from the hills, they weren't too bad at all though. That said, would it be better to run the course the reverse way?? Hills at the start, nice gradient all the way in. I bet it would result in better finish times.

Unfortunately, I think that running the route in reverse is not an option. The organisers must try ensure that the Jack Lynch tunnel is closed for as little time as possible. Having that section of the course early in the race is the only way of achieving that.

hunnymonster

Seanie2008 wrote: »

I.... I was looking at the results and seen somebody finished on 8hrs 30ish!!! Is that a bigger achievement than running sub 3???....

no the sub 3 is the bigger achievement but the 8:30 is a big achievement in itself. There were 2 people right at the back (about 40 minutes behind anyone else) but they kept going right to the end hich is great.

Wally Runs

Had a great run myself, a PB of 4.31 and a few seconds. Missed my target of 4.30 but no matter. Garmin says I was stopped for 9 minutes (mostly in the portaloos, thank god for them!!).
I also had a little double back with refreshments at mile 17/18 near the lough to help another runner who collasped. I had to leave her with the civil defense.
With that, thanks to all the helpers on the day. I think I owe Hunnymonster a special thanks for the hose down at 22? Very welcome given the heat.
Highlight of the day (besides the finish) was going into the tunnel to the sound of drums on the far side.
Low point: Fighting the 'just have a little walk' demons at mile 15/16.

hunnymonster

And they say women are no good in the fire service. I can hose a man down with the best of them :-)

belcarra

...so who's gonna do the marathon review?
I've done a few at this stage so I don't wanna bore anyone too much!

Time for a fresh scribe!

John.

Slogger Jogger

Hi,
I see Amadeus has done an earlier review of Cork (9th May I think). That review covers a lot of what I'd of said for this year. I wouldn't have emphasised the hills as they didn't bother me and are not as daunting in there placement say as Conn and I thrashed my PB in Cork. I'd rate it well up there, a 4/5 perhaps. Which begs the question - probably to be discussed on the marathon review section - as to what constitutes a 5 out of 5 rating?
Regards,
Mick

--amadeus--

I wouldn't let an earlier review stop you doing a review of this years race, different people have different perspectives of events or can clarify things (Stupid_Private pointed out a mistake I had made about Roterdam for example).

As for the x/5 ratings I thought they were difficulty ratings rather than a "how good is the race" rating. So I rated Cork as 3/5 because it has difficuolt bits but the average runner shouldn't really have any problems, Rotterdam was 2/5 because it's flat but has a fairly tight cutoff. Dublin I would put as 1/5, flat and a relaxed cutoff.

Glad to hear so many +ive stories after the race - well done to you all!

Slogger Jogger

How about this?

Cork’s marathon is comparatively new, starting in its present form in 2007 though it did have a marathon years (20?) back.
The route was devised to avoid the worst of Cork’s hills and it does this pretty well. It can’t avoid hills totally but the biggest of them is not high. The worst of them if you can call it that happens in the 2nd half of the race. Total climb recorded over the entire race was around 380 metres (offset by the same descent I might add).
It starts and ends in Patrick St so it couldn’t be more central. A good description of the race route can be found here:
http://www.corkcitymarathon.ie/marathon/course/
Like any marathon route it has its good and bad bits.

The best bits: Marathon has a nice scale. Less than 2000 do the full marathon. About 6000 do the relay.
A very central start and the race numbers make it quite informal unlike bigger city marathons. You simply get into place with 10 mins to go and then run
Very friendly sociable support from bystanders and awaiting relay runners alike
Ever wanted to run the Jack Lynch Tunnel? – this is your chance
The final mile, across and along the Lee and finishing on Patrick’s Street.
Very good organisation, particularly the traffic management.
Cork in June is great.

The worst bits:The long Carrigrohane Road, known locally as the straight road, in the final miles. Can be a bit of a head wrecker.
Where are the physios – only a handful available after the race in 2008?
Water served in cups at alternate drinking stations. Who can drink and run with a cup? A leaf could be taken from the Conn marathon here in relation to small sized bottles all around.
4 days after marathon still no race photos surfacing – this is the price paid for using a photography service I expect?

difficulty 2/5 - not flat but hills moderate. Personally I smashed my PB so it couldn’t have been that difficult :-) No cut off time to speak off either.
beginner suitability – absolutely. Do the relay and progress to the half or full from there.
drinks – personally I thought the drink stations were around when you needed them
top tip – Recommended

Abhainn

SUNGOD wrote: »

great day all round could'nt fault the organisation , everything was very accessible from the bag drop/collection to how easy it was to get to your time section for the start , i had thought this was going to be a nightmare(my first city marathon)
im in the same boat as slogger jogger as i beat my PB that i set in connemara in april but i came in just over 3:06, i'll catch you yet slogger jogger:D
anyway really enjoyed it .so all going well back for more next year

Well done SJ and SUNGOD. Excellent PB's. Getting closer to that majical sub 3hr mark.