Gaelforce 2010

yop

Event is now open.

http://www.gaelforceevents.com/

A new event in May.

Numbers in GF2010 is now 3250 :rolleyes:

Reg price increased by 10 euro if you miss early registration to 95 spots.

Bike section they are hoping we can still use road bikes.

Can't say I am mightly impressed with the changes, considering they made a complete sh*! of last years with 2100 people.

So whos entering

Whos doing both

Mr Freeze

yop wrote: »

Can't say I am mightly impressed with the changes, considering they made a complete sh*! of last years with 2100 people.

Couldn't agree more...Not impressed. But not one bit surprised either with the increase in cost and entrants.

The changing of the road up to the reek definitely bad news, that road is very bad, and not suited one bit for racers unless they resurface it, very doubtful as its a bog road filled with ruts and pot holes.

Despite my complaints, I will probably do both...


EDIT: But I'd like to know how they justify upping the price! And how much they are donating to the volunteers like the Mountain Rescue too? Because they gave them sweet FA this year.

GoHardOrGoHome

yop wrote: »

Reg price increased by 10 euro if you miss early registration to 95 spots.

So is 79 euro the reduced rate or do you get 10 euro off that?

I couldn't see it on the website.

Peterx

The new elite wave real time race is fantastic.
40 kayaks will be plenty - if you're not in the first 40 to the kayaks you probably won't be winning:) First past the post is where it's at.

I'd like to see some checkpoints up and down the reek at the zig-zag to;

1 - keep erosion to one place
2 - ensure everyone runs the same course

Ditto for the open bog section from the kayak to the road.

Assuming the new organisers have taken all the other feedback on board I'm sure they have a workable plan to cope with the numbers envisaged.
It does not matter where they route the bike leg - the bike choice remains an important part of overall race strategy - if they take us up a bad boreen you'll have to think about your skinny roadbike..

yop

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

So is 79 euro the reduced rate or do you get 10 euro off that?

I couldn't see it on the website.

On this page here
http://www.gaelforceevents.com/en/register_now/prices.html

"GFW = Early Bird Price €85pp up until end of April 2010 (excl booking fee of €3pp)
Late Comers Price From April to August = €95pp (excl booking fee of €3)
"

nerraw1111

I'm tempted to do it again. Last year was brilliant, great course and stunning scenery.

However, it's getting expensive and hard to see why the price is going up despite an increase in numbers.

That said the new changes signal they took on board the criticisms of last year's race

peteg

yop wrote: »

Event is now open.

http://www.gaelforceevents.com/

A new event in May.

Numbers in GF2010 is now 3250 :rolleyes:

Reg price increased by 10 euro if you miss early registration to 95 spots.

Bike section they are hoping we can still use road bikes.

Can't say I am mightly impressed with the changes, considering they made a complete sh*! of last years with 2100 people.

So whos entering

Whos doing both

gaelforce needs a shake up and i hope the event goes well for killary adventure co. but 3000 people is lot to handle. hope to do the connemara challenge and the 24hr cycle challenge.

c montgomery

I cannot believe they are upping the numbers for this next year after the total fiasco that was last years race.

Anyone who competed in it will know what im talking about. Very poorly organised registration, shocking bike drop facilities (some bikes stacked 6-7 deep), spam "goody bag", not enough checkpoints and overcrowding on the reek to mention only a few.

It was one of the best races i have ever done despite this as the scenery and course is fantastic.

With the improvements they have indicated hopefully they will rectify all of the problems from last year. I just dont know can the course handle that many competitors,if its a wet day i doubt it. ( remember the first offroad hill this year?).

The price i have to say is crazy expensive. With the increase in numbers i would expect a drop in cost per person resulting in a cheaper race for the competitors. What do we get??A price increase,they gotta be kidding!!

Last year throughout the weekend i felt like the organisers we just lining their pockets,and by the looks of it they are at it again.

Next year i will be doing War, the ballyhoura blitz and Achill Roar.
GFW??????Just dont know is it worth it when accomidation, travel from cork and everything else is considered.

Mr Freeze

Just after signing up for next year....

Ya its a farce, more expensive (unless you count the early bird discount), more competitors, but screw it, I have a time to beat, so I'm going back.

Not a lot of people are availing of the early bird discount from looking at the site anyways.

belcarra

CKWPORT wrote: »

but screw it, I have a time to beat, so I'm going back.

The course is likely to change in at least one or two ways (Different cycle route to CP and/or different foot route up & down CP) so beating your PB may not be very applicable.
Granted, it gives you a nominal target time but the course will (Probably) be different.

Having said all that I'll be in the same boat (/kayak!)...

Mr Freeze

belcarra wrote: »

The course is likely to change in at least one or two ways (Different cycle route to CP and/or different foot route up & down CP) so beating your PB may not be very applicable.
Granted, it gives you a nominal target time but the course will (Probably) be different.

Very True....I wont be happy with the route to the reek if they send us up through the bog road and through the road in the forest...That road is terrible, and a good bit longer than going straight up to the mountain rescue base.

ronanmac

Have also just entered... I know that last year's organisation was a bit of a mess but the event itself was fantastic, plus it seems to be taken out of the hands of the event management company that looked after it in 2009. Here's hoping for relatively dry weather the week beforehand, and a cycle route that won't destroy my shiny new bike :eek:

skuz

I'm just after finding out about this race, it sounds amazing! Can anyone give a bit of advice as regards training for the 65km gaelforce race? I've done a couple of half-marathons and the DCM this year, and can cycle reasonably well, what kind of training effort is needed for an event like this?

belcarra

skuz wrote: »

I'm just after finding out about this race, it sounds amazing! Can anyone give a bit of advice as regards training for the 65km gaelforce race? I've done a couple of half-marathons and the DCM this year, and can cycle reasonably well, what kind of training effort is needed for an event like this?

Hill running, road running, road cycling, mountain biking, kayaking, orienteering, puncture repair, First Aid....you should be covered with all that!!
Seriously though, The main part of the running is through offroad and bog, so the more you train in those environments the better. If you stick to road running you'll manage it also but your time may be a little slower.
Last year the best choice for bike I felt was a road racer. This year though it sounds like there'll be more offroad cycling involved so a mountain bike may be the better choice...
Breakdown of race distances per discipline should be available from the event's homepage.

padlad

signed up for both, hope I can still use my road bike for Gael Force this year.

djpm

They're talking about resurfacing that proposed route. This could be part (or all) of the reason for the increased entry fee. Don't know the exact proposed route myself, must go check it out. The reason I believe they want to change it is because with 2 way bike traffic along the narrow road between turnoff to Sceilp (off-road bike section) and reek, ambulances can't make it by. From looking at it briefly on the map I don't think it'll make a huge difference to the overall distance.

They seem to have taken on a lot of what people were giving out about (and they needed to).

Anyway, as CK said above, I've a time to beat. Still seems better value than some half marathons for 75 quid. OK, onto the turbo trainer...

BTW Skuz, do loads of hills, running and on bike. Mountain runs if there's any near you. There are some training tips on the website.