Longford Marathon

kennyb3

Not sure if there is a previous thread re same, had a quick look (first 3 to 4 pgs) and couldnt see one.

Anyone done this in the past? recommended or not?

Anyone signed up already?

My main question would be to thos of you with marathon experience, would i have sufficient time to recover from this and run the DCM. Basically im thinking of doing Longford as my first ever marathon, a prep for the DCM. I wont run it overky hard and just wanna see what the distance is like. I then want to target sub 3.45 for the DCM.

Should i only be doing the half instead?

RoyMcC

Good choice for a first full marathon, in my opinion. If you enjoy company though you won't get much once the half marathoners cut away from the race.

Flat, friendly, lots of ad-hoc feed stations along the way.

You'd be taking a chance with the weather at the end of August though. It was cool last year, which was ideal.

I'd say there would be no problem in recovering for the DCM but I'd bow to the advice of more experienced marathoners.

rovers_runner

Think I'll do the half this year as part of prep for the DCM.
It's a much more suitable timeframe than the adidas series in Dublin as it's two months apart from the Dublin Marathon.

Anyone know the route for the half? The full marathon is the only one on the official site.

Woddle

While training for a marathon, I don't think anybody bar Krusty clown would advise you to run one in preperation for another.
Would you not consider doing the Longford half, I'll be doing that in prep for Berlin.
Now the me of last year did sth similar and yes if you want to do both you can but some might reckon your Dublin performance will be below par. I still pb'd in Dublin.It's a good marathon though with a good atmosphere and only you know whether you really want to do both but from my experience last year I would suggest doing the half and giving Dublin a lash.

ZiggyStardust

I do the half every year and love it. It really lives up to its name as the friendly marathon. Nice food afterwards as well for athletes included in the entry fee.
I've never done the full in Longford, so can't really comment on the full course, but with regards doing this and Dublin, it is do-able, as you have the best part of 7 weeks in between, but seeing as it is your first, my advise would be to do the half in Longford. This is what I did before my first marathon which was Dublin '06.

Rovers runner, The half course changed last year and should be on their website.

Peckham

Ran the half last year and enjoyed it from the point of view of getting a good time, and will probably be back there again this year as a tune-up for Berlin.

Personally I'd never run the full marathon there...I'm a big-occasion marathon type person (i.e. big crowds, big excitement etc.). Longford can't offer this, and would imagine things get quite lonely in the full marathon from time to time.

rovers_runner

ZiggyStardust wrote: »

I do the half every year and love it. It really lives up to its name as the friendly marathon. Nice food afterwards as well for athletes included in the entry fee.
I've never done the full in Longford, so can't really comment on the full course, but with regards doing this and Dublin, it is do-able, as you have the best part of 7 weeks in between, but seeing as it is your first, my advise would be to do the half in Longford. This is what I did before my first marathon which was Dublin '06.

Rovers runner, The half course changed last year and should be on their website.

Ziggy, I've seen on runireland that it turns at Tarmonbarry and heads back into Longford town, seems like a nice scenic route so I'll probably do the half for sure now.

kennyb3

Thanks for the advice. sounds like the half is the best way to go. would also be nice to run it and meet a few boards members as i ve yet to meet any of you. hopefully change that soon

Krusty_Clown

As Woddle suggested, it's not for everyone. However, in my case, Longford as my first marathon was the key goal, and Dublin (some 8 weeks later) was a 'just for fun' marathon. So there's no problem going from one marathon to the other, as long as you can avoid injury. I wouldn't really recommend trying to run both marathons very hard though. If running a good time in Dublin is your goal, then do the half. If you think you'll be at peak fitness in August, run Longford, and do Dublin for the experience.

Longford is a lonely run, and is only scenic at times, as often you'll be running in the hard shoulder of a national road. But it still holds a dear place in my heart as the people were heart-warmingly friendly, fellow runners were much more sociable to each other (as you aren't just one runner among 11 thousand), and how often will you get a chance to finish in the top 100?!

I would recommend Connemara above Longford, for all the support you get from the half-marathoners, but you'll have to wait nearly a whole year, and pay twice as much!