Galway City Marathon - anyone know any details?

yungwan

:eek: First time half marathoner here!

Nervous but excited also.

Training hasnt gone ideally but Ill give it a lash anyway. Will be nice to do it in lovely Galway.

Who knows, the weather might even allow some beer garden refreshments after!

Best of luck to everyone

gizmo73

Is everyone off at the same time or are the halfers off at later time????? Couldn`t find anything on site

onemorechance

Everyone at 9. Full marathon then do the second lap.

BrokenMan

Everyone starts at 9 I think

gizmo73

I see. Done a few before where the halfers are let off 90 mins after the full. Woks well if its a course with more than one lap as there is something different to look at and course is a bit busier ect

pudgeydev

The pickup point wasn't very well organised today, anyone else register more than one person and only 1 person's stuff ready? That table seemed to be very busy when I was there. Ah well, hope the race is good tomorrow, best of luck everyone!

gizmo73

How did people find the run today? I did the half. Found the run itself fine, a nice course but wasn`t too impressed with the organisation. They didn`t have half enough marshals and workers. The finish area was just madness, and i honestly felt sorry for the few marshals that were around that area having to deal with 4 different races, public all over the place, traffic....enough said.

littlebug

Good but tough course. Some good points but plenty to build on (I'm being nice ) as it has great potential. I'm sure there'll be feedback on specifics. A few ould bananas or something at the end wouldn't have gone amiss. Have been at races where I've paid a fiver and had copious amounts of fruit after.

yungwan

Yea it was a good course (except for the return run on that pier!) but it wasnt well organised.

I havent done many events myself so I dont know what the average water stops are for a marathon, but I thought there werent enough.

I was relying on having the option to have a sports drink but they were few and far between for us slower runners - there was none left by time I got there. Also, when I got to the Eyre Sq point the stewards were just standing around and not really ready to prooffer a drink. I had to move across the road and actualy ask a girl for one!

It was nice to do my first half in Galway though and I guess organisation can be worked on.

Morgoth

Enjoyed the run but to echo the other posts, organisation was poor. It really doesn't compare to Dublin/Cork/Connemara.

- Cups, not bottles. Not a big deal for me but every other "big city" marathon has bottles these days. Had no issue though with frequency of the stations or the stewarding there, and about half the stops had Powerade as well, pretty decent really.

- Stewards were light and some of them disappeared completely for the second loop. I wonder if the 4+ hour full marathon runners saw a single steward in the last few miles. :rolleyes:

- Finish gantry taken down and timing mats removed at 5:45 on the full marathon clock. I saw a lad running past Jurys a couple of minutes later - no official time for him. That's tough, when you've been out on your feet for that long.

- The focus was all on the 50k elite runners and the sponsors. I know it's a race, and a 4 or 5 hour runner is "only taking part" but other races manage to offer more respect for the casual runners than this one did.

- No way were there 2500 entries. :rolleyes: But if there had been, the finish chute and stewarding there would have fallen to pieces. Running through it after completing the half, it wasn't immediately clear (to a runner with tunnel vision) which way I should go. A bit of extra, more prominent signage would have worked a treat. Or maybe setting the chute up before the finish line, so full marathoner could skip the gantry after the first loop. Also, people finishing around the 5 hour+ mark were asking people hanging around the finish area where to go to hand in the timing chip and where to get water. Come on... stewards! signage!

- The 50k runners were eligible for the full marathon prizes. Although this was made known in advance of the race via the race newsletter, I thought it was a shocking disgrace. You had some elite lad from Africa win the 50k, who went through the full marathon in 2:18. Suffice it to say, 1st 2nd and 3rd in both male and female were exactly the same in both the marathon and 50k, and all were international elite athletes. What was the point in any semi-elite or highly competitive local runner taking part in the marathon? They were up against elites who were running a different (admittedly longer) race. As someone noted to me at the finish line, the 50k elites were probably first in their equivalent half-marathon categories too... at least they didn't rob the half runners of their prizes. :rolleyes:

- On the sponsors thing. Ocean Fitness were a sponsor, and they had to get their time in the spotlight. So although the race was supposed to start at 9am, instead a "warm-up" was started at 8:55am. For the next 20 minutes, 4 Ocean Fitness people started jumping and kicking the air up on the stage. A bunch of casual runners played along... but all the competitive runners / elites must have been thinking... WTF is this. It was laughable. We eventually started at approx 9:20am.

- Mile markers. These disappeared for the full marathon after 19 miles. There wasn't even a paint marking on the road. This is pretty basic stuff...

- Roads were re-opened to traffic for the full marathon runners (on the second loop). Running down Kingston road with a dozen cars behind me, all trying to overtake, wasn't that pleasant. Yeah it's an important thoroughfare, but I'd have thought roads-closed meant exactly that. When going through the roundabout in Salthill, a steward who was walking backwards away from directing some motorist nearly knocked me down. Stewarding was chaotic at times...

- Some stewarding was great, but under-staffed. The lady at the top of Well Park road was having a tough time persuading traffic that a race was taking place and that they needed to slow down / stop, and that they weren't allowed down Well Park road. Fair play to her !

- Hardly worth a note, but again, comparing it to other races, the t-shirt was cotton and the goodie bag just had the number and the chip. Basic enough for what was a standard race entry fee (full = €55 to €75 depending on when you entered).


Really a lot of things to improve on or the meagre entry numbers will disappear completely for next year (if there is a next year).

yungwan

Morgoth wrote: »

- The focus was all on the 50k elite runners and the sponsors. I know it's a race, and a 4 or 5 hour runner is "only taking part" but other races manage to offer more respect for the casual runners than this one did.


Really a lot of things to improve on or the meagre entry numbers will disappear completely for next year (if there is a next year).

Completely agree, the MC managed to make everyone feel like **** about not being an "elite" runner before we even started! Thought it was out of order... to be fair we have to start somewhere and I bet he cant even run a mile!

Yes some things need to improve, I too was very disappointed with my race bag, considering the price

Runonewon

yungwan wrote: »

Completely agree, the MC managed to make everyone feel like **** about not being an "elite" runner before we even started! Thought it was out of order... to be fair we have to start somewhere and I bet he cant even run a mile!

Yes some things need to improve, I too was very disappointed with my race bag, considering the price

Yeah,What was the story with the MC taking the P**s out of all but the international runners at the start.He was fairly dissmissive of everyone but the elites and let us know that by saying this a couple of times before we started,great support.........not

littlebug

Morgoth wrote: »

- Finish gantry taken down and timing mats removed at 5:45 on the full marathon clock. I saw a lad running past Jurys a couple of minutes later - no official time for him. That's tough, when you've been out on your feet for that long.

That's awful I agree with your points unfortunately and I could add a few. I had a long post written earlier but decided to leave it until I knew I was separating views on the race from disappointment in my own running.
I know it must hard to get everything right especially on the first time running of the race but some of the issues were very basic.

Have you seen the results somewhere Morgoth?

hot to trot

I have mixed feelings about today too. I personally had a tough race as I ran at a higher heart rate in the first half than I usually do for marathons and later paid for it when I struggled all the way back from 19 miles, but that was just my own fault.

Race pick up had no bag for me but I eventually got a tshirt and a chip. For riverrock sponsorship as in Belfast it wouldnt have killed them to put even a bottle of water into the number bag. Not a single extra "goody". Was disappointed as I like my little treats and companies often provide them free if asked. Would have liked a map , even a photocopy of the route for supporters.

Turned up at the docks to see a huge queue. I would have thought that more than 6 toilets could have been provided. There wasnt a single loo on the route either so it had to be a pitstop in a garage or coffeeshop if you needed to.
I didnt see any powerade on the route. Maybe I just missed it ? But sitting in Eyre Square afterwards a lady carrying loads of the stuff asked my daughters would they like some as they had extra crates of the stuff. They got 2 packs with 8/10 bottles in each.

Marshalling was mixed. Some of them were super but at salthill before we turned down to the golfcourse at a major junction I got clipped by a car while four stewards had the chat in the middle of the road:mad:. Cars were coming from all directions and runners didnt know where to go . We followed each other and had to squeeze in between cars coming towards us and those travelling in the same direction. On the second lap there was a single steward and less traffic and what we did was stay to the right where there was a footpath the whole way. We didnt even need to set foot on the road, not to talk about crossing a major junction. A single person prior to the junction guiding us to the right side would have sorted out the necessity for anyone at all to set foot on the road. Thankfully I wasnt knocked right over and got no injury.


No grub after , that I saw. Would have loved anything as I had forgotten my wallet and was really tired afterwards.Anything edible would have been fab.

The bag drop and collection was very efficient and was well sheltered out of the weather.

I think the medals are gorgeous and I like the cotton tshirt for a change. Have lots of technical ones , most of which are too big.

The route was grand as well and in a small city you will get a lot of road crossings, traffic arteries and housing complexes though it was nice second time around for the three miles along the seafront when the rain had stopped. The hills were manaageable for those of us with no hill training.
MY first with a double loop which was welcome today as I was able to coax/bully myself to the next point.
There was a super atmosphere downtown after with lots of runners sitting outside in the cafe areas eating and drinking.

I was a bit suprised that this marathon which was a showcase for the world champs wasnt able to benefit from the wealth of experience garnered by other marathons. Things like marshalling will always be very difficult over a large city area but the other things wouldnt have cost a lot and would have created a great feel good factor.
Dont mean this to sound like a moan. Its supposed to be a neutral comment.
Well done all who ran it.

ger664

It really astounds me that so many people here choose to run this event instead of Longford. Longford have been doing this for years know what they are at and its much better value. As for grub I will only say that i was well feed @ st mels today and would like to thank all the ladies who looked after us.

brutes1

Top six results up in races

http://www.precisiontiming.net/result/

Tough course, i had a personal worst run, no excuses though obviously not fit enough, great run by half winner on that course.
As a race it has potential i think but..it will certainly need more hands on deck next year in terms of experienced stewarding, medics, and finish line assistance, with food and drinks thrown in at the end .
Would be good to know the top marathon only winners not the 50k heads..??!

littlebug

brutes1 wrote: »

Top six results up in races

http://www.precisiontiming.net/result/

Tough course, i had a personal worst run, no excuses though obviously not fit enough, great run by half winner on that course.
As a race it has potential i think but..it will certainly need more hands on deck next year in terms of experienced stewarding, medics, and finish line assistance, with food and drinks thrown in at the end .
Would be good to know the top marathon only winners not the 50k heads..??!

I assume they'll put all the results up at some point?! Was John Byrne the first Irish Ultra to finish?

Morgoth

littlebug wrote: »

Have you seen the results somewhere Morgoth?

No I hung around for the prize presentation (even that was brutal, jesus, half an hour to present 1st 2nd 3rd in half, full, 50k... with full and 50k being the same people). Paul Donovan called out one or two of the finish times with the person's name which was how I knew about the 2:18 figure, which I presume it what you were getting at.

hot to trot wrote: »

I didnt see any powerade on the route. Maybe I just missed it ?

...

We followed each other and had to squeeze in between cars coming towards us and those travelling in the same direction. On the second lap there was a single steward and less traffic and what we did was stay to the right where there was a footpath the whole way.

They probably didn't distribute the powerade properly. I would have been well up the marathon field and picked up some at 3 miles, at Eyre sq on both passes, and it was available after the left turn at the end of Kingston road both times too, though I didn't take any. Probably a good call on the footpath but I'd take the selfish approach and would insist on running on the flat road surface, rather than being up and down off kerbs.

ger664 wrote: »

It really astounds me that so many people here choose to run this event instead of Longford.

For me it was a choice of a 5 min cycle or 2 hour drive to the start line. But otherwise, fair point...

Oisin11178

Every bad point people are pointing out in this race was excellent in longford. Goodie bag weighed about 2 stone there was so much in it. Stewards were in abundance and a massive amount of water stations. Unfortunatly these commercial races are springing up all ouer the place and the organisation leaves alot to be desired to say the least.
Also taking the timing mat away amd slower people nt getting a finish time, jesus christ.

BrokenMan

Unfortunately I have to echo most of the bad points raised here as well and add one of my own. I saw a runner collapse just after the finish line while I was waiting for someone to finish the full marathon and it took nearly 10 mins to get an ambulance to them. There were peole tending to them but that's just not good enough.

brutes1

littlebug wrote: »

I assume they'll put all the results up at some point?! Was John Byrne the first Irish Ultra to finish?

Hope so, and think so, he had 3.19

gizmo73

Anyone any idea when full results will be available to view

hot to trot

Morgath. at the prizegiving was the winer of the antarctic marathon package given out?
This was one of the main reasons I entered. First 1000 entrants were to go into a draw for an all expenses trip to do the antarctic marathon.
If there is no trip than I would consider this fraud.

If the 50k winners got given the marathon prizes for the separate event - were they given the ones for the half marathon as well?

Dying to know about the antarctic thingy

yungwan

hot to trot wrote: »

Morgath. at the prizegiving was the winer of the antarctic marathon package given out?
This was one of the main reasons I entered. First 1000 entrants were to go into a draw for an all expenses trip to do the antarctic marathon.
If there is no trip than I would consider this fraud.

If the 50k winners got given the marathon prizes for the separate event - were they given the ones for the half marathon as well?

Dying to know about the antarctic thingy

OMG I completly forgot about the antarctic trip. I wonder what happened with that all right. Email them!! lol I bet they handed it to one of the "elite runners" anyway, the rest of us didnt matter dont ya know!??

No they were'nt given the half marathon titles, they were separate.
And in relation to race times, it will probably take them a fortnight to post them, if everything else on the day is anything to go on.....

sealgaire

- Some stewarding was great, but under-staffed. The lady at the top of Well Park road was having a tough time persuading traffic that a race was taking place and that they needed to slow down / stop, and that they weren't allowed down Well Park road. Fair play to her !




THAT B**CH!:mad:

The roads around wellpark were a disaster. Why wasn't the bus lane on the Dublin road used for the run insted of closing the road inbound. Was a disaster for traffic. I had to drive past that lunatic casue there was no other way back to my house.

Morgoth

hot to trot wrote: »

Morgath. at the prizegiving was the winer of the antarctic marathon package given out?
This was one of the main reasons I entered. First 1000 entrants were to go into a draw for an all expenses trip to do the antarctic marathon.
If there is no trip than I would consider this fraud.

If the 50k winners got given the marathon prizes for the separate event - were they given the ones for the half marathon as well?

Dying to know about the antarctic thingy

No mention of it at the prize giving. Given the recent coverage by the Galway Independent, I'll be interested to read what they have on the winners/prizes in this weeks copy...

My issue with the prizes was, the 50k runners were eligible for the full marathon prizes also. I think if you and 99 other runners enter the full marathon event, and you finish ahead of the other 99, that should put you first place in the marathon. That wasn't the case.

(The half-marathon was totally separate so they got their own prizes.)


Also from one of the newsletter emails before the race:

The top Galwegian finishers will win the Galway Independent Trophy and a trip to the great Chicago Marathon. "In addition, the top male and female finishers from Galway will get prizes in the half marathon" said Paul Donovan, race director. To be eligible for the local prizes, however, the winners must be on the Galway Register of Electors.

No mention of any of that at the prize giving...

BrokenMan

The delay with getting full results up isn't inspiring confidence either. No reason that they shouldn't be up by now with chip timing

brutes1

Update here
http://www.galwaycitymarathon.com/news/152-race-results

Had a quick chat with the ROs after, they know who the first Galway man home was, would imagine they are doing the final checks to the Reg of electors ..!

Certainly there are issues to be sorted, more manpower required and experienced ones at that ..

yungwan

Great thanks Brutes1.

So full results up @ 5pm today.

ButchMG

I echo everything mentioned above. I did the full marathon and have the following observations....

- MC taking the **** at the start was a joke, so everyone please lighten up.
- The race starting 15 mins late is unprofessional but not a crime.
- Cups for water in this day and age is just sub-standard, particularly given the cost of entering. Also, on the second lap, the number of providers seemed to shrink. At some stations, you had to pick up the dregs yourself.
- The handling of traffic at some parts on the second lap was a joke. Coming into Salthill I had to weave through the traffic myself without a marshall in sight.
- The course was incorrectly measured - too far by 0.17 miles. Didn't matter much to me mind you as I wasn't even remotely close to a PB.
- The lack of mile markers after mile 19 is completely unacceptable. I had a Garmin, so I knew where I was, but that's not much consolation to those that don't have one.
- The registration process was a joke. It was in a half-built shack beside the main hotel, with queues out the door. The people distributing the packs knew very little about the event and were unable to answer the simplest questions. (The t-shirts were nice though).
- I was disappointed at the end of the Belfast marathon to get only a packet of crisps for my troubles. How I wished for that packet at the end of Galway. This quite simply represents very poor value for money. At the end of Dublin, it's like a feast. More expensive, yes, but a much higher quality product.

All in all, I can't say I enjoyed the experience much. The second lap was like a bad training run - all alone in the sun and rain, with little support. It was nice meet the legend that is Sonia O'Sullivan and while I wish the organisers well, I won't be back.