Marathon training weekend?

--amadeus--

Hi,

Myself and a couple of others on here are kicking around teh idea of setting up a training weekend for teh Dublin marathon.

Basic idea would be a 2 / 3 day thing in a hotel somewhere. Assuming 2 days the first day would have a gentle run (eg 5 miles) with an optional track workout afterwards. Day 2 would have a supported LSR, I'm thinking a 5 mile loop so runners could do 5 / 10 / 15 or 20 miles depending on thier program. At least one water & energy drink station and a couple of people on bikes circulating and making sure everyone is ok.

There would also be workshops / presentations. Initial thoughts are

• Endurance sports and nutrition
• Running injuries – the top 5 and how to avoid them
• Psychology and the race – the mental side of marathons
• Cross training for runners
• Training plan elements – an introduction to the building blocks of a plan
• Kit explained

We'd get the hotel to prepare "runners food" and try and get one of teh specialist running shops to come up and do gait analysis.

So that's teh concept. What do yoiu guys think? Specifically:

• Does teh program sound interesting, is this something that runners would be interested in?
• Location wise do you think it has to be Dublin or could it be elsewhere?
• Anything not there that you think should be?
• Anything there you think is dumb and should be got rid of?
• How much do you think people would pay for something like this?
• When should it happen, what's the best month?

Any and all input and suggestions would be appreciated at this stage, like I said at this point it's just a few emails and chat but I would like to make it happen. And if it's a stupid idea better to find out now than when I'm on the hook for 10 bedrooms in a hotel somewhere!

And don't worry, I wouldn't be doing the talks - the other 2 who I am talking to about making it happen are teh athletics brains behind it and they may stick thier heads in and make themselves know at some point as well!

buck65

great idea
I think the best time would be maybe 6 weeks before the race i.e early/mid September. This would give people a chance to recover if it is going to be a high milage weekend also the lessons learned would still be fresh for the race.
location wise I would say outside Dublin especially if the runs are going to be on the road, it would be great to have a trail nearby that would reduce the impact of the runs.
Pricewise hotels should be a bit cheaper after the summer months and I would pay anything from €250 to €300 for this weekend. (Based on b&b).

TheRoadRunner

I think it is a good idea especially for somebody who may be new to marathon running or is self coached and wants to make some advice that may help them make serious improvements.

--amadeus--

Cheers

I was thinking Limerick for location. There are a couple of hotels near UL that have gyms and a pool for teh cross training elements. UL has a decent track and from there we would have easy access to a trail by the Shannon that has an easy and GPS mapped loop that is 99.9% offroad.

MarieC

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Cheers

I was thinking Limerick for location. There are a couple of hotels near UL that have gyms and a pool for teh cross training elements. UL has a decent track and from there we would have easy access to a trail by the Shannon that has an easy and GPS mapped loop that is 99.9% offroad.

I think UL as a location would be fantastic! If Im still here it will be ideal!
The course sounds brilliant, maybe include an aspect specifically for people doing their first marathon - thats if many of them attend. Personally, nutrition and hydration are two things Id be very interested in.

Late August, early Sept would prob suit best for it I think. Prob need to keep an eye on when the Dublin Half marathon is happening.

Great idea Amadeus!

Stupid_Private

The club I used train with in London used to organise a Last Half training run of the London marathon about a month or so before the marathon. I thought it was a great idea and if I was motivated would do something about it... you seem motivated so I'll give the full details here of what they do.

Charge £3-5 to cover the cost of renting a van to get baggage from meeting point at half way to the end.
Club members who live on route volunteer to give out water.
All roads are open as normal so safety you have to use footpaths - easily done in Dublin. I used to live at the 15 mile mark of the Dublin marathon so my training run used to follow the route.
Dublin runners wouldn't have to sign up for the training weekend, just pay to be part of the training run.
The reason they only let first timers take part in the run is to do with numbers and safety. They'd probably get about 100 or so doing it.

This is a training run for members only which follows the route of the second half of the London marathon. It is aimed at those doing the London marathon for the first time however please sign-up as a pace-group leader if you know the route. If you don't know the route and are not running in the London marathon, please do not register to run - please sign-up to help.
Sunday 30th March 2008, 08.45am

There will be a nominal charge of £3-£5, to be paid on the day (exact price to be confirmed soon). This will cover the cost of transporting baggage to the Mall from Tower Hill and, hopefully, for some snacks or a late breakfast at the end!

Meet at Tower Hill Underground Station for a 9.00am start. You must be in time for the safety briefing or you will not be allowed to participate. Bags will be taken from the start to the finish.

Please note that only registered participants will be allowed to take part. This is for your safety.
Route maps

The route, as its name suggests, follows the last half of the London Marathon. On race day there will be so many marshals and spectators that you cannot possibly get lost – the route on every other day is far from intuitive and you should familiarise yourself with the route beforehand.

Pace groups

There will be a number of pace groups, led by a runner who knows the route and who is able to maintain a steady pace. This is not a race, and we aim to keep in these groups for safety, companionship, navigation and ease of support. The number and pace of the pacing groups will be decided when we see how many people volunteer to help.
Helpers needed

As well as needing volunteers to lead the pace groups, we also need helpers to drive cars, marshal, dish out water, and ferry bags to the finish. If you have a partner or friend who could help please ask them to volunteer, by signing up.
Water stations

If we get enough helpers, there will be water stations. These will probably be just south of Westferry Circus, covering the 2.5 and 5.5 mile points, and another in The Highway, after about 9 miles. Water will also be available at the finish.
Finish

The marathon route finishes in the Mall and we will have your bags available nearby in the baggage vehicle. We are working on a location to have a post-run brunch, as in previous years. Watch this space!

christeb

Sounds extremely interesting I must say. I would probably prefer East Coast, also the majority of ppl on here seem to be Dublin based, but in reality I'm not fussy.

Timing I'm unsure of, possibly start of Sept as this is right in between the 10 mile and half marathon Race Series races in the Park which I imagine a lot of DCM'ers will be signed up to.

Great idea --amadeus--

shels4ever

Great Idea , I'd attended somethign like this years and year ago . I found it great. I think you ahve covered nearl all the elements ,

Maybe something on pre race to be included to cover the week prior to the marathon until the gun goes.


Maybe also a guest speaker or something like a quick talk on Chi running.

--amadeus--

Thanks again for teh suggestions - much appreciated.

Guest speaker had crossed my mind but I want to keep costs down as much as possible. I like the idea of getting it in between the 10 and teh half in the race series.

I guessed that Dublin would have a lot of support as a location but my worry there is safety. If we do it regionally (even somewhere like Wicklow) then we can do distance on trails rather than pavement and roads, which makes it safer. We can have all the waivers and disclaimers in teh world but there is less chance of a serious injury if we take loony drivers and road crossings out of the equation!

Any other comments / feedback? Especially interested in pricing thoughts; if it costs more to run than people can pay then it's dead in teh water!

Woddle

Great idea and I would have no problems traveling to Limerick, having done so just before xmas, great roads and the UL is fantastic, also a fair few nice but cheap hotels quite near to UL
Good thinking.

rainbow kirby

That's a fantastic idea, would (obviously) have a preference for Dublin but if it's later in the year then I'd be willing to travel.

Woddle

rainbow kirby wrote: »

That's a fantastic idea, would (obviously) have a preference for Dublin but if it's later in the year then I'd be willing to travel.

I would be willing to share my car in travelling down, Nissan Tino sits another 4 quite comfortably.

ike

Don't forget the jump leads Woddle!

If the timing suited I would be interested in this as well

Woddle

ike wrote: »

Don't forget the jump leads Woddle!

If the timing suited I would be interested in this as well

39 euro in aldi, jump leads, battery and compressor

christeb

Woddle wrote: »

I would be willing to share my car in travelling down, Nissan Tino sits another 4 quite comfortably.

The 6'4" guy calls shotgun!

Racing Flat

--amadeus-- wrote: »

I guessed that Dublin would have a lot of support as a location but my worry there is safety. If we do it regionally (even somewhere like Wicklow) then we can do distance on trails rather than pavement and roads, which makes it safer. We can have all the waivers and disclaimers in teh world but there is less chance of a serious injury if we take loony drivers and road crossings out of the equation!

If it turns out that most people want Dublin, then the Phoenix Park will offer you most of this. A 6.7 mile loop (majority grass), flat areas for speedwork, hill sessions available...

epopnomis

Sounds interesting, it'll be my first marathon this year, trainings going well, doing about 40km a week, too much or too little? Personally the dublin area would suit me but I'm open to suggestion!!!!!!!

--amadeus--

Bumping an old thread here...

We talked about this ages ago and there was a bit of enthusiasm for the idea. We're now about 12 weeks out from the race and I reckon 8 weeks out would be nice timing - close enough to the race that you can discuss strategy, fuelling, tapering etc without it all seeming really distant. You're also far enough into training that you could do a decent run / training session. However you've also got enough time left to make changes to your schedule / diet and still have an impact.

And it gives us 4 weeks to pull it together.

Any thoughts?

How Strange

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Bumping an old thread here...

We talked about this ages ago and there was a bit of enthusiasm for the idea. We're now about 12 weeks out from the race and I reckon 8 weeks out would be nice timing - close enough to the race that you can discuss strategy, fuelling, tapering etc without it all seeming really distant. You're also far enough into training that you could do a decent run / training session. However you've also got enough time left to make changes to your schedule / diet and still have an impact.

And it gives us 4 weeks to pull it together.

Any thoughts?

This is a great idea. I'd definitely be interested as long as it doesn't clash with my holidays in September.

SOH32

sounds interesting. Currently training for the DCM which will be my first marathon so getting answers to the many many questions I have sounds very appealing!

Bally8

I would be very interested in doing this. I would love to get to meet some boardsies before the marathon itself. And as this is my first marathon any extra tips/info would be great. Limerick would be perfect for me too but I would be willing to travel if costs were not too high.

Great idea

racheljev

Yep, I'd be interested as well. Sister-in-law's hen night in September - if it doesn't clash with that, I should be good to go.:)

buck65

certainly be on for 1 night -2 days anyway

gerard65

I'd be interested as well. I'd drive if its outside Dublin so I could offer a lift to three.

jeffontour

I've quite a bit on in September but if I'm free on the weekend in question I'll go along and help out with supporting the long runs as needed.

RacoonQueen

There's nothing really stopping us doing two though is there? One in Dublin and one in Limerick? I'm sure there's enough experienced runners/knowledgeable people on here to split between two different sessions.

RAL3

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Bumping an old thread here...

We talked about this ages ago and there was a bit of enthusiasm for the idea. We're now about 12 weeks out from the race and I reckon 8 weeks out would be nice timing - close enough to the race that you can discuss strategy, fuelling, tapering etc without it all seeming really distant. You're also far enough into training that you could do a decent run / training session. However you've also got enough time left to make changes to your schedule / diet and still have an impact.

And it gives us 4 weeks to pull it together.

Any thoughts?

I'd be very interested in attending if it comes off. Even though I'm much closer to Dublin, I'd have no problem in going to Limerick, would actuallly probably prefer it as a change of scene - off site 'Camp David' type of situation.
Be very happy to offer lift to others travelling from Dublin\Kildare

christeb

Still v interested in this

louise_w

hey that is a really good idea.. I am running a lot of the time alone so I would love that and would travel from waterford and share car!!
I might be a bit new to running to attend tho! I'd hate to hold everyone else up!!
Also I get the feeling there aren't many 21 year old girls going!!

metamorphosis

RacoonQueen wrote: »

There's nothing really stopping us doing two though is there? One in Dublin and one in Limerick? I'm sure there's enough experienced runners/knowledgeable people on here to split between two different sessions.

Excellent idea. Im a student with a lot of free time on my hands(nothing but free time :pac:) so would deffo be up for that whether it be limk or dub

Odysseus

Out of interest who is doing the psychological imput, if its ok to post the person's name. Cheers

Mr Marenghi

Very interested if the date suits ! Its a great idea !

Sub430

I'd be up for that once dates work.

henryporter

Great idea - Me and the Mrs. are both first timers for the DCM and this would be a great help. I presume it would be the weekend around the middle of September? Limerick or Dublin doesn't matter. Only thing is to make sure we can get a dogsitter organised, so the sooner we know the date, the better.