selecting a half marathon in May/June

traininglog

I am looking for a well organised marathon in these months.It will be my second half marathon and i would like a big pb.
I would like a flat/fast course(hard to find in ireland)
Kildare are having their first www.kildaremarathon.ie
Some fast ones usually in the UK.
anyone got any ideas???

christeb

http://www.irishmultimarathon.com/

However, I don't think it will be quite suitable. Ca. 3.5m of it is on sand....

traininglog

3.5 miles on sand emm i think i will be giving that a miss.well done on your run last night btw.
have you ran a half before christieb?

Oryx

I ran the clontarf one last year, the sand was hard packed and grand to run on. However the day was misty, muggy and roasting. They did run out of water at the finish, but I put that down to the exceptional heat. Otherwise a good, fast course.

Eoin also runs the Wexford Half in early May, which is 'undulating' as in feckin hilly. But I found it a nice course as there were plenty of downhills to compensate for the upward drags.

The only other half I did was in phoenix park which is quite flat. But Ive always noticed that most descriptions of 'flat' are anything but, because the elite runners who measure the course are so used to hills!

christeb

traininglog wrote: »

3.5 miles on sand emm i think i will be giving that a miss.well done on your run last night btw.
have you ran a half before christieb?

Thanks. Ran this race last year (1:39) and the half in the Park last Sept (1:33 IIRC). Need to get a lot closer to 1:25 this year!

RedB

Maybe the half on May 2nd in the http://www.greatlimerickrun.com/

The elevation profile given shows a flat route but not sure if it'd count as fast? Pretty sheltered but several turns. Suppose there has to be some :rolleyes:.

traininglog

thats the problem,there are no flat courses in Ireland.Reading and Bath both on too soon in the UK nad not sure about any other ones over there.

rigal

Edinburgh Half is on the same day as the Edinburgh full: Sunday 23 May.It's on a fast, flat course AFAIK.

Krusty_Clown

rigal wrote: »

Edinburgh Half is on the same day as the Edinburgh full: Sunday 23 May.It's on a fast, flat course AFAIK.

It's not flat, it's down-hill! Definitely one for the PBs, but would you ever beat it, after that first downhill mile?!

Nialloooo

Did Wexford last year and is still my PB and i ran the Phiniox park, its well run and a good weekend away also

Gringo78

try http://irelandrunning.blogspot.com It has a list of most races in ireland over 10 miles. Looks like a half marathon in Glengariff 2nd May, Limerick 2nd May, Dundalk 5th May, Newry on 31st May & Lisburn on 16th June apart from others mentioned above. Only one I've run is Glengariff to bantry Bay Run which is not an overly fast course, its got some testing hills.

rigal

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

It's not flat, it's down-hill! Definitely one for the PBs, but would you ever beat it, after that first downhill mile?!

sssshhhhh KC... you're taking away from my potential pb due to be set there in May....

In all seriousness I would prefer a flat start. Running downhill early on in a race can be sore on the quads, especially if you're trying to steady the pace. It's not ideal for the first mile of a marathon IMO.

Rein-in

It's been mentioned above, but the first Dundalk Half is on the 5th May. It opened yesterday for registration, and it seems to have a bit of local interest already. I'd imagine by looking at who's involved with it, it'll be well organised. Good and flat, too!

http://www.dundalkhalfmarathon.com/

Nialloooo

http://www.strawberryhalfmarathon.com/

This is the fisrt year its the 27th june, cant say how it will be run but it is run by a local club so always very good 10k in feb, i know the course and nice and flat one or two drags but nothing to much, im really lookingh forward to it

RoyMcC

www.jerseyhalf.com

Fantastic North Run Sunday 23rd May, held on Jersey's north coast. Course is fast all right with an amazing downhill towards the end.

Worth the hassle in getting to Jersey.

Sosa

Nialloooo wrote: »

http://www.strawberryhalfmarathon.com/

This is the fisrt year its the 27th june, cant say how it will be run but it is run by a local club so always very good 10k in feb, i know the course and nice and flat one or two drags but nothing to much, im really lookingh forward to it

Im thinking of doing this myself Nialoo...what kind of numbers are they expecting at it.
The wexford half is only 6 weeks beforehand...will that take from it i wonder

BMcCrystal

If you wanna get a PB then enter Dundalk half !! it is seriously
flat... It's around the town centre with no traffic! Should make for a great atmosphere..

If your a triathlete I suggest throwing it in a hard week.. It is a good time of year to be doing that type of work..

But if you wanna get a time then taper well and lace up the gutties and put your toe on the line!!

See you there..

Nialloooo

Hi Sosa,
i think the fact that wexford is on a bank hol this year might mean this i a alternative for thoses who go away for bank hol weekend.. also there is a good prize fund so plenty of good talented runners will prob be intrested also.

I have a wedding on the friday the weekend of wexford so ill have to give that one a miss this year so looking forward to this one now

kit3

Hi,


The Achill Half Marathon is on 3rd July. A few hills but amazing scenery and a great place for a weekend.

Nialloooo

kit3 wrote: »

Hi,


The Achill Half Marathon is on 3rd July. A few hills but amazing scenery and a great place for a weekend.

hoping to do it this year but heard they ran out of beer in the night club last year?? just spent new years up there its fab place to run