Can anyone enter a running race ?

Zorba

The title says it all, can anyone enter a running race like say a 10k race or do they have to have a licence or be with a club or anything ?

I'm only running a few months and wouldn't mind entering a 10k race at some stage just for the fun of it.

Thanks in advance

Racing Flat

Yes.

For most races you can just turn up on the day and register. For some you have to register beforehand. Cost varies, 10-20 Euro for average local races, more for big popular/televised races and marathons.

jlang

(I don't know what level you're at but this is targetted more to anyone who hasn't been running a few months like you and has the same question).

One thing to say is to take little notice of people on these boards or elsewhere setting target times that seem very fast or training plans that leave little time for anything else - the more vocal people here are the ones who are in general more involved and experienced/faster. There are plenty of others doing their first race at every event through the year. If you feel you'll be able to run the entire distance at an easy pace the likelihood is that you'll be somewhere in the middle of the finisher list.

At any of the public races there are people at all levels from top athletes to complete couch potatoes. Often at the 5km/10km fun runs there are many people who plan to walk the entire distance in their duffle coats or pushing prams. So long as we don't line up at the front and hold up the faster guys at the start, they're very welcoming and encouraging to new runners.

My advice to any person starting running: find a 10km, put your name down and go and do it. I find it easier to persuade myself to go out for a run when I have some target race coming up even if it's a few months off.

aburke

Zorba wrote: »

I'm only running a few months and wouldn't mind entering a 10k race at some stage just for the fun of it.

Ah You're hooked now!
See sig for a good 10km race in less than a week!

Zorba

Great thanks for all the replies.

jlang

I was actually wondering what sort of people would be at these events and wondering would i be the slowest or maybe finish around the middle of the field. I actually do quiet a bit of cycling used to race years ago and know from racing that there's no chance of a couch potato finishing in the bunch in a bike race. Reason i've started running is cos i've a newborn baby girl that's taking up a lot of my time so i've started running to keep my fitness up and it's less time consuming that going out on the bike, seriously so miss me bike though !

aburke

Yes was looking at that race but it's a bit far away from me, so i was then looking at a race in navan on stephen's day but i've other arrangements made so i'll have to look at the calender for next yr. Only done my first 5 mile run during the week, my longest distance so far which took me 40 mins and which got me thinking maybe i should try entering a running race to see how fit i am !

Just another thing, when does the running season run from, like which months are the races held in, i've been looking on the runireland website and there doesn't seem to be that many races on next year or is it a case of they wouldn't be announced yet ?

RoyMcC

Congratulations on the arrival of your little girl Mr Zorba - I'm sure she'll bring you much happiness in the years to come.

To give you a rough idea, a top runner would run a 5-miler in 25mins or so and plodders like me in 45mins about 4/5 of the way down the field. You'll undoubtedly find that your race pace is a bit quicker than your training pace.

As jlang says, just enter a race and see. How about the Raheny 5 on 25th Jan? Maybe a first 'goal' which will give focus to your training. Keep an eye out for races not yet announced for 2009. There's no 'season' as such but it's quieter this time of year.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Zorba

RoyMcC wrote: »

Congratulations on the arrival of your little girl Mr Zorba - I'm sure she'll bring you much happiness in the years to come.

To give you a rough idea, a top runner would run a 5-miler in 25mins or so and plodders like me in 45mins about 4/5 of the way down the field. You'll undoubtedly find that your race pace is a bit quicker than your training pace.

As jlang says, just enter a race and see. How about the Raheny 5 on 25th Jan? Maybe a first 'goal' which will give focus to your training. Keep an eye out for races not yet announced for 2009. There's no 'season' as such but it's quieter this time of year.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Thanks very much Roy, she's already bringing us lots of joy and happiness

Yes that Raheny race does look good, might well give that a go for starters, do u know where in raheny in starts and what route it takes ?

Also how come that race isn't listed on the runireland website

Krusty_Clown

Here's the route and course profile on google maps on my webserver: here. Sign up for the race: here.
RunIreland is a good site, however, it's not complete. That's why I keep an eye on this forum and the marathon/Triathlon forum.

Zorba

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Here's the route and course profile on google maps on my webserver: here. Sign up for the race: here.
RunIreland is a good site, however, it's not complete. That's why I keep an eye on this forum and the marathon/Triathlon forum.

Great thanks very much for that Krusty, will definately look into doing that now.