ARC Men's Mini Marathon 2010

unreggd

Did the first one last year, was very good, so defo doin it again this year

Anyone else do it last year / doin it this year?

colblimp

unreggd wrote: »

Anyone doing it this year?

At €22 for a 10k I doubt it very much!

robinph

That Flyer Up There wrote:

All monies raised from this event goes directly to ARC House

Less reason to critisise the €22 entry than there might be with with other races.

donothoponpop

robinph wrote: »

Less reason to critisise the €22 entry than there might be with with other races.

Why?

Oisin11178

I did it last year and because of a mistake someone made at the start it was only around 9.6k.
i doubt ill be doing it this year.

robinph

donothoponpop wrote: »

Why?

If an event is being run for charidee, how are they supposed to get that money for their cause without taking it from the entrants?

They still need to provide a well run event to pursaude people to part with their cash, but the reasons for the price are not for commercial gain.

donothoponpop

robinph wrote: »

If an event is being run for charidee, how are they supposed to get that money for their cause without taking it from the entrants?

They still need to provide a well run event to pursaude people to part with their cash, but the reasons for the price are not for commercial gain.

The second poster questioned the value in paying 22€ to run a 10k race, and you're suggesting that the charitable status of the race be taken into account when questioning the same.

There's been a large increase in charities looking to raise money by cashing in on the running boom. Nothing wrong with that per se, but a lot of these events are poorly organized by professional fundraisers who have limited race directing experience. The lack of accountability for charities throughout Ireland, and where the money actually goes ("not for commercial gain"), is an issue for a different forum, but the standard of races, and the bang you get for your buck, is relevant to this one. A fundraising event will make a lot more money in the long run by offering good value for money.

robinph

I've no major problem with €22 for a 10k, and definately not for a charitable one.

I would have a problem with any kind of fee for a race where the lead car takes you round the wrong route, the route is shortened due to unspecified "safety issues" decided the night before, someone forgets to start the timing system when the gun goes off, the results published only list the first 100'ish finishers or the start/ finish points are put in the wrong place creating some random distance race.

This race is not guilty of all of those errors, but they may be of some of them, I cannot remember though. But they are valid reasons for querying the worth of paying €?? entry fee. The 2nd post just said that €22 was too much for a 10k and as you said I suggested that it's charitable nature should be taken into account regarding the cost.

If the reason for not doing the race was due to the course being wrong previously then I'm in agreement, if it is just because of the entry fee being a couple of Euros more than another then I'm not as that higher fee is going to a good cause.

smmoore79

Think i'll do this one. At the end of the day, its 22 quid which goes to charity. You'd easily spend 70 on a night out and not think about twice it (I would anyway!). Plus surely this runs more about charity than the quality(organisation/distance/route) of the run?

Oisin11178

Yeah i agree i have no probs with the 22 euros as it seems to be the norm these days unfortunatly. As i stated above getting to the end being on for a massive 10k pb and the line comes 500 metres or so to early, thats a reason not to do a race again imo sorry.

chinguetti

I agree, no problem with the fee but i have a problem with not been informed the course is shortened (i found it out here) or been led the wrong way.

If we are expected to pay money to charity to enter a race, we should be treated with a bit of respect, not seen as a source of money which is what some charities seem to think from what i've seen in the recent past at some races.

--amadeus--

smmoore79 wrote: »

Plus surely this runs more about charity than the quality(organisation/distance/route) of the run?

Maybe if it was on the Volunteer forum or wherever but this is an athletics board and on here the charity has *nothing* to do with it.

If you're charging €22 for a 10k you better have a damn good race planned. Unfortunately there will be plenty of people who don't know any better who're more than happy to stump up thier money and accept shoddy organisation and planning. And as long as rip off events are full to capacity thier fees will provide a bench mark for all other races, so driving race entry inflation.

aero2k

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since I did this last year, but the only negative thing I can remember was the short course, which I believe was down to the lead car missing the right turn off Ordinance Road that would have taken us into the Furry Glen.
The good points were the small field, a nice goodie bag (I mean the actual bag, it was Louis Copeland and really good quality! I think there was a pair of dress socks in it) and otherwise no organisational problems.
The t-shirt was cotton rather than technical fabric.
The entry fee seems to be about the going rate - Raheny 5 was €20, Cupid's dash the same I think.
I'll be doing the Arc as it's 3 weeks before Edinburgh so good timing.

jinka

They need to make a donation to a good running club who will help out and run it for them on the day. This helps the running club and provides a good race for all concerned. Also clubs know how to promote a race right unlike some of the charities thus getting a bigger entry keeping everybody happy.

smmoore79

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Maybe if it was on the Volunteer forum or wherever but this is an athletics board and on here the charity has *nothing* to do with it.

If you're charging €22 for a 10k you better have a damn good race planned. Unfortunately there will be plenty of people who don't know any better who're more than happy to stump up thier money and accept shoddy organisation and planning. And as long as rip off events are full to capacity thier fees will provide a bench mark for all other races, so driving race entry inflation.

I completely understand where you're coming from on shoddy races/value for money. Last year i did a 10k out west, paid 15 quid and a guy sent 5 or 6 of us down the wrong route. We only turned back coz we ended up at a dead end, needless to say there was plenty of shouting! And i realise that we're here to talk athletics, not charity. My point was that for this specific run, its advertised as a charity run and i would expect slightly less in terms of race organisation than a BHAA race for example. Though I would be p!ssed off if the course was cut short and it ruined my pb!

unreggd

--amadeus-- wrote: »

this is an athletics board and on here the charity has *nothing* to do with it

Just because you say so?

And how do you know for a fact its badly organized?

Unfortunately there will be plenty of people who don't know any better who're more than happy to stump up their money and accept shoddy organisation and planning

God you're patronizing
Not all runners are strict professionals, and this forum isnt described as "professional only".
Many use events like this as a way of havin somethin to focus their training on, and to do something charitable

If you want to treat every single race in existence as an Olympic qualifier then go ahead, but that's not the goal of this race, it's about raising money and awareness for a cause that many people relate to

If you're not interested, don't do it. And don't belittle people who would want to

kennyb3

Dont think Amadeus is belittling anybody, firstly when did he say all runners were strict professionals?

What he is saying and what he has said is that alot of these charity type races are over priced and under organised. That is an opinion this is an opinion based discussion area (so long as inside the charter)

And what is wrong with making newer runners aware that the organisation for these type of races generally is nt as good as club ones? if people are still willing to do it and pay the price advertised that is their choice and i dont think amadeus will stop them. but he is making them aware.

As for ''it's about raising money and awareness for a cause that many people relate to'' - move along to the charities section or whatever. if you want to advertise races here, promote them on their correct distance, good organisation etc - thats what i and most others around here are interested in anyway.

because the fact of the matter is that there is one of these charity races every second week and if i was to do them all to do a good charity deed id be the one in need of charity.

As for belittling people - i think we are more bemoaning the fact that as long as uninformed people are willing to turn up and pay €20+ for a short course then these shoddy races will continue, whereas if they were not the organisers may actually put more of an effort into teh actual organisation. now im not saying that is this race but there is a long history of this for similar races. (but as aero2k has suggested it seems this race was short last year)

even if amadeus was belittling, are you any better being insulting to him?

menoscemo

unreggd wrote: »

Just because you say so?

And how do you know for a fact its badly organized?


God you're patronizing
Not all runners are strict professionals, and this forum isnt described as "professional only".
Many use events like this as a way of havin somethin to focus their training on, and to do something charitable

If you want to treat every single race in existence as an Olympic qualifier then go ahead, but that's not the goal of this race, it's about raising money and awareness for a cause that many people relate to

If you're not interested, don't do it. And don't belittle people who would want to

:rolleyes:
if you actually read the thread in full, Amadeus made his point because of the fact that last year's race was badly organised and the course did not even measure 10k but 9.6km. Given that this is a common occurrence in charity organised races (e.g. aware race just before christmas was suposed to be a 10k and ended up being 8.9k), many of us are put off about spending €22. While most of us are not professionals or even contemplating qualifying for the olympics in the future, it is nice to measure your progress in races and set PB's over a certain distance. Given that 8.9k or 9.6k are not distances commonly run (apart from the false advertising) the race ends up being useless. We cannot afford either physically nor financially to be running races every week. There are infinate races run every weekend by clubs for half the price of this one which are excellently organised, so when choosing a 10k race most runners would go for one of those.

tldr: if a charity is going to run an overpriced race, hoping to attract lots of participants they should at least look into getting some professionals with knowledge of racing to organise it properly.

Edit: snap!!

kennyb3

busier meno - boss is out golfing, least i can do is repay him by dossing

unreggd

But that's what I was askin, how did he know it wasnt exactly 10k?

And his first post said this is an athletics board and on here the charity has *nothing* to do with it
As in only serious runners are on this forum [so not interested]

robinph

We know it wasn't 10k last year because the driver of the lead car admitted to having taken a wrong turn. The route was correctly marked though, just the driver got lost.

kennyb3

ever heard of gps watches? unless everyones was wrong it was short. by saying its an athletics board he didnt say its for elites, he was saying its where runners come to discuss races, not charity donations, and that they want to see properly measured races at a decent cost

Condo131

I'm sitting on BOTH sides of this particular fence.

I hate high priced races, particularly the growing number (and I'm *NOT* referring to this race) that masquerade as charity events and are very vague as to how much actually goes to charity - very often, little or nothing.

However, the flyer for this particular race say that "All monies raised from this event goes directly to ARC House" and I've no doubt 100% of it will - not just the nett proceeds.

I am a Cancer Survivor and have used ARC House's FREE services (and they do cost a fair bit of money to run). One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life was to knock on their door for the first time.

I have nothing but praise and support for ARC, however if anyone is organising a race, one of the fundamentals is to get the distance right AND to ensure that the lead car goes the right way. I presume/hope that they've got that one sorted this year.

Btw, if YOU or someone YOU know is also a Cancer Survivor and might come on relay teams, in the Cork City Marathon, consisting solely of Cancer Survivors, please send me a PM. Time doesn't matter a fiddlers, for most teams but it'd be nice to have a team try to hang on to Boards <another gauntlet thrown down!!>.

Maybe you know someone, swimmer, GAA, rugby, runner or whatever who is surviving Cancer and might consider this. We had one team last year, hopefully we'll have several this year - with YOUR help,


and finally.......do support ARC House....they made a difference to me .....and to countless others!

RoyNeary

Wasn't the 32 marathons event for Autism Ireland stickied on this forum and that was charging a lot more than €22 for entry!!

nerraw1111

Just to add to this.

ARC is one of the few charity races that AAI Ireland actually support, with a permit, and that all of the entry fee goes to charity, unlike the Great Ireland Run etc

ARC is a genuine charity race unlike 99% of other 'charity races.'

whatnext

I've recently done my first 10k - only just under the hour mark.

What is the standard for this event - I cant seem to find out.

Will I be left on my own out the back or will there be a mix of fun runners novices and elite runners?

Just wanted to know before I fork out €22 , as I wont be paying that kind of money to make a show of myself when I do it for free most of the time:D

Thanks in advance

robinph

The field will be smaller overall and there will be less super fast people than were in the Great Run. The spread of different times will be about the same though.

aero2k

aero2k wrote: »

I'll be doing the Arc as it's 3 weeks before Edinburgh so good timing.

Damn internet, making a liar of me.:)

I'm making a few last minute tweaks to my training program and I may have to miss this race after all. So many races, so little time....

Caprica

The course has changed from last year, it is now the same as the Great Ireland Run. Wonder why they changed it?


http://www.activeglobal.com/Events/index.cfm?AC=EventDetails_V2&E=86043

jinka

course is the same-thats good so:D

tunguska

Same course as Great Ireland run.......now that makes things interesting. Im in.

SnappyDresser

€22 means that they better get the distance and timing right at the very minimum.
Nearly all the race we do have a charity element and that is not the point.

The point is simply that 22 euro for a 10k MUST have an accurate distance and time. Even those weekend joggers will expect at least that much to be right. The BHAA have the right attitude of tenner for races and a year sub of 15 for good races at a right price. Not a chance I would do it if the previous year they got the distance wrong and its overpriced.

aero2k

i008787 wrote: »

€22 means that they better get the distance and timing right at the very minimum.
...Not a chance I would do it if the previous year they got the distance wrong and its overpriced.

I think the timing was right last year according to my watch, and I suspect the course was the right length too, except the lead car missed a turn.
€22 is hardly overpriced, it's dearer than some, cheaper than others, and all the profits go to the charity, which by all accounts is a very deserving one.
I was disappointed at the mistake last year, but nobody died, and but for the conflict with my Edinburgh training I'd be in again this year.

Hands up anyone on here who has never made a mistake.:)

tunguska

Just realised that race number collection has been taking place all week. I was wating for my chip and number to come through the post. Collection from 65 Eccles Street, D.7, on sunday between 5pm-8pm.
Is anybody else doing this race? Doesnt seem to be a big pick up.

Sonderval

Wait, the collection is not on the race day?

I haven't seen any info about collection!

tunguska

Sonderval wrote: »

Wait, the collection is not on the race day?

I haven't seen any info about collection!

This is what I thought aswell Sonderval, until I clicked on this link to check the course:


http://www.activeglobal.com/Events/i...ils_V2&E=86043

Theres details down the bottom of the page about chip and number collection. It was mon -friday of this week(that ship has sailed) but also tomorrow(sunday 2nd)at 65 eccles street d.7 between 5pm-8pm. Almost got caught off guard with that one. I hate bitchin' and moaning but I have to say, maybe an e-mail to let us know about number collection wouldve been useful.

tunguska

Caprica wrote: »

The course has changed from last year, it is now the same as the Great Ireland Run. Wonder why they changed it?


http://www.activeglobal.com/Events/index.cfm?AC=EventDetails_V2&E=86043

Sorry the link in that last post wouldnt open, but this one will. Cheers to Caprica.

aero2k

I see they have painted yellow guidance arrows on the road, so hopefully no wrong turnings this year.
Best of luck to all doing this, I should be around to give a bit of support.

tempo

was down watching this race today.Wasn't many numbers in the race!!!
Good to see a race where the money goes to charity and a worthy cause at that.

tunguska

Grand race, no complaints. Exact same course as Great Ireland run 2 weeks ago so it was bang on 10k. Not a bad turnout, although the top guys stayed away. Havent seen the results yet but Im pretty sure the winning time was only around the 33:50-34min mark.
I think they should ditch the mens only thing though. For two reasons: The first, Girls in lycra(worth the price of admission alone). But also its a charity event and theyd make way more money by opening it up to everybody.

aero2k

I went to this today to participate from the sidelines for a change. (Sorry all, my camera died so no pics) I have to say they didn't spare the organisation, with plenty of police bikes and cars - I even saw a few lads who obviously turned up late getting dropped near the start in a patrol car! - and lots or marshals at the junctions. Due to the route I was able to see the start and jog to 4k, 6.5ish and the finish. Great to see tunguska running very strongly, I had a hard job holding myself back from jumping in behind and trying to keep up with him.
It was also nice to chat to Martin Kelly of Raheny Shamrocks before and after the race; he's one of the select few who have completed all 30 DCMs, and he ran an excellent 37:15 ish today.

cantonaisking77

Anyone know where you can get the timing results?

tempo

did they use chips for this race?any resluts or pictures even.didnt see any pictures on racepix.com

cantonaisking77

Yeah they used chips. Saw a few people taking photos, looked semi-professional rather than just photos of mates!

LukeKennedy

Results are in a excel spreadsheet on
http://arcchallenges.com/run/the-arc-2nd-mens-mini-marathon/
haven't seen any photos yet

Ans Blix

This was my first race i did, i had so much fun I'm addicted need MOAR!

Great set up, great weather, great cause!

bpollard

Does anyone know if there is pictures of race published anywhere? checked marathon-foto and racepix but unsuccessful.

Bren

Ans Blix

Results are up http://arcchallenges.com/run/the-arc-2nd-mens-mini-marathon/

Still no sign of any pics? Anyone know were to look?

tempo

send email to organisers,there are a few pics on the website.
Im sure they have plenty of pics.