Focus Ireland triathlon 2009

steve McQueen

Anyone here thinking of signing up for this? Do you think the swim part will go ahead this year?

Got a question about timing mats and chips. My wetsuit takes ages to pull off, do I need to worry about my transition time? Should I just invest in a properly fitted wetsuit?

Bambaata

If you're not too bothered by time and the suit works for you then you should be fine but on the other hand if you want a fast time why not ask around if you can borrow one from some friends or alternatively i think some places hire out suits.

I'm still undecided if i'll bother doing it. I've done it the last 2 or 3 years and i don't want another duathlon (albeit a frantic sprint into transition). Had they lengthened the initial 1km run to start it would have been much better but it was ridiculous having it so short and close to transition and i have my doubt it'll get the go-ahead but you never know.

wizwill

I seriously doubt they will have the swim section any time soon, I did it last year and was like a bear with a sore head when they cancelled the swim. On the morning they had the cheek and likened it to Ironman NZ a couple of years back when the weather stopped the swim section. In fairness it was a great duathlon but i had to pay the majority of the 300 quid myself which i didnt mind too much, but i needed swim practice!

if you are doing it for charity then fair paly, if you are desperate for a triathlon close to home then look at the new events in skerries or kilcock, i did a tri in portumna held by the same organisers and it was good. I hear you will go a long way to beat Tri athy

MrCreosote

What happened last year to cancel the swim?

PachosMa

something to do with the water quality

interested

PachosMa wrote: »

something to do with the water quality

First off, personally I think this and any charity related event are worth supporting. Focus Ireland in addition to the other charities cant be having it easy these days.

However, when I saw they'd moved the event from west wicklow into the city and saw the plan for the swim Id my doubts .. so much so I steered a friend of mine from Kerry to stick a few quid in an envelope for Focus than take the time to travel to take on a full triathlon. The Water quality in that spot has always been a problem. Ive had the pleasure of doing a sea swim in the spot at can tell you it can be pretty awful. Maybe I just got unlucky.

Having a city centre triathlon is a great idea and advert for the sport that people could definitely get behind. BUT IMHO they need to get on first name terms with Dublin city council or the like to try to sort out water treatment in that area. Probably alot easier said than done.


Anyhow - just an opinion

tunney

Water quality is normally okay.

However in heavy rains run off can cause water quality issues as was the case last year.

EMPM

A few friends of mine did it last year and i went to watch it. The one thing that i noticed was the poor quality of the roads on the cycle routes, this seemed to cause a few problems.

griffin100

I did it last year as my first triathlon / duathlon and it was a good day out. It was easy enough to get sponsorship as it was my first event and people sponsored me as they didn't believe a fat git like me could do it.

As a first tri it's not bad as lots of the particpants are beginners and it made for a good atmosphere (well for me anyway). Support on the course was good near transition but non existent on the north quays.

However the roads are crap and if it rains during the week comiong up to the event the water quality will be poor and you will have a duathlon instead with a few hundred people arriving / leaving transition at the same time making for a confused set up.

If your aim is to raise money for charity then its a good one to do. However if its the challenge of doing a tri that motivates you then I would go with Skerries or Kilcock or similar as at least you will be guarenteed a swim (I'm doing Skerries, I didn't fancy the canal swim in Kilcock). I was gutted last year after all the swim training and the 'will I' / 'wont I' be able to do the swim stress to find that the swim was cancelled.

wizwill

Focus ireland is a good charity, last year when i did it they rang me a few days before closing and told me i didnt have enough sponsorship so i couldnt do it, i was expecting a few more donations to cover it and told them that, long story short i had to cover the remainder with my credit card that day, 70 quid, i subsequently got the remaining donations that would have taken me over the 300 quid, it left a sour taste to be honest, at the time i asked was the swim going ahead to which they told me yes, definetely. The Friday evening before the event an email was sent to competitors telling them the swim was cancelled, i rang and there was no-one to talk to about it. The water quality issue was put down to heavy rain but the water quality issue is serious in that area, i dont think they had done their homework, i see they are advising it may be a duathlon this year. They are a great charity and do great work, it was well organised on the day but it is a charity event and shouldnt be confused with a full on triathlon, thats the mistake i made last year.

lecheile

tunney wrote: »

Water quality is normally okay.

However in heavy rains run off can cause water quality issues as was the case last year.

Not sure if even the 'normal' water quality is ok - after the liffey swim they hose swimmers down with antiseptic as soon as they leave the water. If you are ever in it, keep your mouth closed!!

Carpe Diem

Can I just raise an issue that has been touched on here regarding triathlons. I am due to do the mucknomania triathlon in Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan. Firstly fair play to the organisers for organising this first event. However I have concerns as to whether the issue of water quality was addressed. I heard a number of participants who have been training recently in lough muckno have suffered upset stomachs. I know this can be hearsay and often exaggerated as strenuous exercises can dsturb the digestive system!, however further investigation reveals the town sewage treatment plant flows into the river 100m upstream of one of the turn points for the swim.

Does anyone know what water quality standards ( if any) are applicable!

tunney

Carpe Diem wrote: »

Can I just raise an issue that has been touched on here regarding triathlons. I am due to do the mucknomania triathlon in Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan. Firstly fair play to the organisers for organising this first event. However I have concerns as to whether the issue of water quality was addressed. I heard a number of participants who have been training recently in lough muckno have suffered upset stomachs. I know this can be hearsay and often exaggerated as strenuous exercises can dsturb the digestive system!, however further investigation reveals the town sewage treatment plant flows into the river 100m upstream of one of the turn points for the swim.

Does anyone know what water quality standards ( if any) are applicable!

A water quality test is required for the TI Technical Delegate before they will sanction the race.

Poncherello

Ive been wakeboarding up on lake muckno for a couple of years and never had any issues or heard of any.

Focus Ire tri is grand for your first one but otherwise I would avoid it

mackattack

Hi

First time triathlon for me so looking forward to it, but from reading elsewhere chances are the swim part might not go-ahead with all the rain over the last few weeks.

Anybody have any thoughts on this.

Mac

sronoc

Hi,

Does anyone know if results and photos of sundays triathlon will be posted anywhere?

Or if you have any pics, you might put them up here...

Thanks

mloc123

Did the swim go ahead?

DeviantD

Hi Guys,

The swim went ahead and the water quality was excellent.
The winning time was 1 hr 10 mins (Dont quote me on this).
The event was very well run, but the roads were shocking. Pot holes all over the circuit. The area surrounding the transition area looked like a building site.
Apart from this, congrats to all who attended and raised money.

I was second last out of the water and finished in 1hr and 50 mins.

So proud

PCPhoto

does anyone know if there was professional photos done during this ?