Glendalough 15km run, Sat Oct 30

Wonkagirl

Here's a nice one, and it's in support of a great cause- The Fighting Blindess 15km trail run.

http://glendaloughtrail.com/

I've signed up. Keen to not lose the momentum once the winter rolls in!

Very close to DCM, but one to consider for anyone not taking part in DCM.

another world

Looks good. Pretty well priced too.

RacoonQueen

I'm probably not doing Dublin and this looks like one I'd really enjoy. Food for thought.

Edit: There's a minimum sponsorship fee...

Wonkagirl

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I'm probably not doing Dublin and this looks like one I'd really enjoy. Food for thought.

Edit: There's a minimum sponsorship fee...

oh yeah- just spotted that now- it's only 50 eur thank god! you'd get that in a whip around the office no bother, a fiver from 10 people..

donothoponpop

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Edit: There's a minimum sponsorship fee...

€70 to run a trail race!:eek:

This looks like a for-profit race that costs €20 to enter- with each runner then raising €50 for a charity- rather than a race held in aid of a charity. Possibly some people might think I'm splitting hairs here, but I really dislike the amount of new races which are aligning themselves to a charity in this way, to disguise their commercial aspect.

Wonkagirl

donothoponpop wrote: »

€70 to run a trail race!:eek:

This looks like a for-profit race that costs €20 to enter- with each runner then raising €50 for a charity- rather than a race held in aid of a charity. Possibly some people might think I'm splitting hairs here, but I really dislike the amount of new races which are aligning themselves to a charity in this way, to disguise their commercial aspect.

Well, i guess the idea is that people pay 20 eur, which covers costs etc- then the 50 which they raise (which, come on, is TINY) goes directly to the charity.. the charity (FB) has running costs obviously, like salaries for a start, so i'm sure some of that 20 eur will indeed go towards FB running costs, but what about it? it's still good value provided you can raise the extra 50 yourself- which should be fairly easy in fairness, unless you have NO Friends, NO family and NO colleagues !!

I would disagree that it's not a race held in aid of charity. Dont be so cynical! This one is run by FB, with the help of paul mahon and the guys (saw his email on the site)- so it's a specific race run by the charity in order to raise funds.. unless i'm missing something

Looks like a lovely race one way or another, and not many of them are 20 eur.. as i say, provided you're confident of raising the other 50.. jesus, i've done charity cycles and stuff before where the target has been 500, so i dont think anyone can complain about a 50 eur target!

donothoponpop

Wonkagirl wrote: »

!

I would disagree that it's not a race held in aid of charity. Dont be so cynical! This one is run by FB, with the help of paul mahon and the guys (saw his email on the site)- so it's a specific race run by the charity in order to raise funds.. unless i'm missing something

Fair enough, perhaps I am being cynical. I know of a lot of races which are help in aid of charity, where very little money goes to charity, the charity is used as a "hook". Apologies to this race if that's not the case.

Wonkagirl

well i can see why you're cynical- a lot of 'for profit' races are aligning with charities in order to give an illusion of the feelgood factor..

but let's be realistic, most of these races are indeed commercial undertakings, so like all commercial undertakings, they should be allowed make a profit..this one (from what i can tell) is most definitely being held specifically to fund raise for fighting blindness.. the 20 eur entry (which is very low) aimed to cover costs on the day, and running costs of the charity.. maybe we can get someone from the charity to confirm though, i might send the link on to them!

maybe i'm deluding myself, but i really like the ones with a charity element, provided it's genuine like this one is. Even for the races where it's not 100% genuine, at least some of your entry fee goes to the charity.

Stark

Wonkagirl wrote: »

it's still good value provided you can raise the extra 50 yourself- which should be fairly easy in fairness, unless you have NO Friends, NO family and NO colleagues !!

You would have no friends if you were bugging them to pay your race entries every other week.

Also, I wonder if they asked for IMRA's permission to use their photographs to promote their event.

Wonkagirl

Stark wrote: »

You would have no friends if you were bugging them to pay your race entries every other week.

Also, I wonder if they asked for IMRA's permission to use their photographs to promote their event.

i'd imagine so, paul mahon's email address comes up when you go to register.. he seems to be running it from that side of things.

i do about 2 - 3 charity things a yr, i try to hit different people each time.. this one is only 50 eur- if i have to pay it myself it wont be the end of the world. you wouldnt get a round of drinks for that!

As for 'paying your race entry'- you pay that yourself (20)- the 50 you raise goes directly to the charity.

donothoponpop

Wonkagirl wrote: »

As for 'paying your race entry'- you pay that yourself (20)- the 50 you raise goes directly to the charity.

That's kind of my point when I question how this is a race "in aid of charity". You enter and race a commercial, for-profit event- on top of that you donate funds to the charity. I realize no-one has a gun to their head, and is free to enter or not as they see fit, and I've nothing against anyone who wants to make a profit, but I would see a big difference in calling this a "race in aid of charity", as opposed to, say, tonights trail race in which everything raised goes to the charity.

RayCun

At least this one is clear about where the money goes, and there is a definite amount going to charity for every runner that enters. It's not great, but better than a race that says its supporting a charity, but by that they mean they'll send you out a sponsorship card if you want one.

Completely agree about the IMRA race though. It's much, much better if 'charity race' means that all of your entry costs (or at least a defined amount of a not-extortionate entry cost) go to charity.

ThisRegard

donothoponpop wrote: »

Fair enough, perhaps I am being cynical. I know of a lot of races which are help in aid of charity, where very little money goes to charity, the charity is used as a "hook". Apologies to this race if that's not the case.

The biggest sinner doing this is the Great Ireland runs.

Excuseless

Just to address a couple of points raised in this thread as I am organising this event on behalf of Fighting Blindness:

Out of the €20 to register comes costs such as Active Europe's commission, cost of development, maintenance and updating of website with event information & results, domain name registration, provision of signage, fees for permits from Coillte and Nat Parks, etc.

If these costs are covered by the €20 portion of the entry fees, then I will benefit in getting some payment towards my time and efforts organising and running the race on behalf of Fighting Blindness.

I will see nothing of any additional monies raised through the sponsorship element which goes directly to Fighting Blindness.

The photos from IMRA races are the property of John Shields of Action Photography who supplied them for use on the event site.

Not sure if this race really falls under the "Hook" category but it up to others to make that assessment themselves.

The reality is that Fighting Blindness asked me to organise an event to raise funds for them.
This format for a basic entry cost and the sponsorship to Fighting Blindness was what we thought was transparent and fair for all concerned.

For sure it is best to have totally "For Charity" events like the IMRA one tonight.
I will be at that event to participate and thankfully they have enough volunteers to run this event and support from IMRA in terms of website, first aid, laptop, etc without the need to take any money from the entry fees.

The reality is that there are only so many events that can secure sufficient volunteer support to be properly organised on a similar basis and I speak from quite a degree of experience having being involved in many such as the Art O Neill last year, the Runamuck in March, the DMP "Plod" recently, etc

The alternative is for other "charity" events which are of different formats with varying degree of the income going to the charity as has been well publicised both here and elsewhere and it is up to them to clearly state their position regarding the charity element.

The aim in the case of the Glendalough Trail race is that it will be well organised, marked, etc and will be enjoyed by those that do it.

My involvement with the Charity stems from a friendship with one of the directors of the charity who is visually impaired.
This friendship originated when I began helping him in his efforts to qualify for the Paralympics as a guide runner for training (Garry Crossan was his race day guide) and as "driver" (on a tandem bike).

My motivation in organising this event is to help the charity but as I am no longer in the regular "employed" working world I am hoping not to be out of pocket for my efforts which I consider to be fair enough given the time and effort I will have to put into the event to have it of the quality of the event that I wish to organise.

jlang

To be fair, excuseless is being very open about the details of the charity connection. Taking off the donation element, 20 isn't a crazy amount for what should be a well-run race, as others from the same source have been. It looks like a fine run in a very nice setting and I hope enough people enter that the charity does very well out of the arrangement. That said, I wouldn't be as quick as the earlier poster to declare 50 as "TINY".

I'm starting to have ideas about having just run a marathon so I might be forced to put any decision off.

Slogger Jogger

Best of luck with it. I daresay its too near to the DCM for me but you never know.

dolliemix

This is perfect for me. I'm following the 15k Hal Higdon Plan and I should be up to 15k mid October hopefully

jlang

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Best of luck with it. I daresay its too near to the DCM for me but you never know.

You'll probably be out for a short 15k somewhere that day anyway.

Wonkagirl

jlang wrote: »

That said, I wouldn't be as quick as the earlier poster to declare 50 as "TINY".

It's certainly the smallest i've come across in terms of fundraising targets.

temple st childrens hospital are doing a 80km spin in sept- target- 500eur
The oxfam trailtrekker- 1000 eur.

granted, probably more costs invovled in the above, but i've never come across one as low as 50- there are other races where you might pay 40 and a 'portion' goes to a designated charity, but it's not the same really..

Anyhoo, Best of luck to FB and paul with it, i'm looking fwd to a nice run through glendalough! Briefly contemplated DCM but have too much on socially (5 weddings for a start, electric picnic and a week in ibiza:rolleyes:) in the next 6 weeks to be serious about the training, so aiming for Cork 2011 instead...

ThisRegard

I've no intentions of doing the marathon so this suits me right to the ground, it's a fantastic area for a race.

grasshopper2

I'm up for doing this challenge. In fairness I think the ask of €50 fundraising is pretty reasonable considering the money goes directly to Fighting Blindness.

RacoonQueen

grasshopper2 wrote: »

I'm up for doing this challenge. In fairness I think the ask of €50 fundraising is pretty reasonable considering the money goes directly to Fighting Blindness.

I think it's going to effect the uptake for the race. Big time. I'm not going to pay €70 for a 15k race and I'm certainly not going to go around and ask people to sponsor me to do it. They'd probably make more money for the charity if they charged €35 - €40 and made it clear that 50% was going to the charity. I'd be more likely to do it then...

nerraw1111

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I think it's going to effect the uptake for the race. Big time. I'm not going to pay €70 for a 15k race and I'm certainly not going to go around and ask people to sponsor me to do it. They'd probably make more money for the charity if they charged €35 - €40 and made it clear that 50% was going to the charity. I'd be more likely to do it then...

No one is asking you to pay E70 for a 15k race. This is simply untrue.

You're been asked to partake in a fundraising event for a charity. It is not a 15 km race. It solely exists to help Fighting Blindess.

You have made a decision that you're not willing to raise E50. Fair enough. But don't complain that you're being charged E70 for a race. You're not.

You're been asked to run a trail for charity. It's a bit like complaining about a cake sale for Trocaire on the basis that Tesco sells similar cakes cheaper.

If they did what you suggest and give 50% to charity, you'd have people complaining about using charities for financial gain and asking why 100% isn't going to charity.

Wonkagirl

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I think it's going to effect the uptake for the race. Big time. I'm not going to pay €70 for a 15k race and I'm certainly not going to go around and ask people to sponsor me to do it. They'd probably make more money for the charity if they charged €35 - €40 and made it clear that 50% was going to the charity. I'd be more likely to do it then...

i dont think it will affect the uptake at all, tbh. i know a good few who have signed up already. they expect big numbers onthe day

if gaelforce can sell out 2000 places at 85 squid a pop, then..........?

have we become that miserable as a nation that we cant sponsor our friends and colleagues a fiver? i dont think so.. goes on here all the time.. and we've all taken pay cuts. you can still throw out a fiver every few weeks for a good cause.

I intend on raising over the odds for this one if i can, probably 100-200..

RacoonQueen

nerraw1111 wrote: »

No one is asking you to pay E70 for a 15k race. This is simply untrue.

The entry fee in €20 and the MINIMUM fundraising fee is €50. That is just dressing up that the event costs €70 to enter

nerraw1111 wrote: »

You're been asked to partake in a fundraising event for a charity. It is not a 15 km race. It solely exists to help Fighting Blindess.

Of course it's a race, don't be so pedantic.

nerraw1111 wrote: »

You have made a decision that you're not willing to raise E50. Fair enough. But don't complain that you're being charged E70 for a race. You're not.

You are. According to the site it's €70 to participate and I wasn't 'complaining' I was making an observation...

nerraw1111 wrote: »

If they did what you suggest and give 50% to charity, you'd have people complaining about using charities for financial gain and asking why 100% isn't going to charity.

Not really, we all know it costs money to put a race on. In the climate of over priced races it's no harm to inform people that €20 covers the cost of organising/staging the 'run' and the rest goes directly to the charity. The problem people have with using charities for financial gain is because they charge €35 to enter a 5 mile race and only give about a euro of that to the charity. If a race is for profit then fine, I'm as likely to take part in that as I am in a race thats for charity, it's the cost of races that people have a problem with.

RacoonQueen

Wonkagirl wrote: »

i dont think it will affect the uptake at all, tbh. i know a good few who have signed up already. they expect big numbers onthe day

if gaelforce can sell out 2000 places at 85 squid a pop, then..........?

have we become that miserable as a nation that we cant sponsor our friends and colleagues a fiver? i dont think so.. goes on here all the time.. and we've all taken pay cuts. you can still throw out a fiver every few weeks for a good cause.

I intend on raising over the odds for this one if i can, probably 100-200..

Gaelforce is a different event entirely, it would have massive insurance costs for a start. I couldn't really afford to 'throw' out a fiver every few weeks to be honest and the only charity events I tend to give to are cancer ones, I have no real interest/connection to a blindness charity. It's highly likely that the charity would make equal or more money if it was 40 or so to enter and the charity got a massive chunk of it. Especially if they did further fundraising at the event. It's a shame, there aren't many easily accessible trail runs in Ireland(as in non-IMRA) despite the fact that we have amazing trails here, would be nice to see more races like this pop up.

nerraw1111

RacoonQueen wrote: »

The entry fee in €20 and the MINIMUM fundraising fee is €50. That is just dressing up that the event costs €50 to enter



Of course it's a race, don't be so pedantic.



You are. According to the site it's €70 to participate and I wasn't 'complaining' I was making an observation...



Not really, we all know it costs money to put a race on. In the climate of over priced races it's no harm to inform people that €20 covers the cost of organising/staging the 'run' and the rest goes directly to the charity. The problem people have with using charities for financial gain is because they charge €35 to enter a 5 mile race and only give about a euro of that to the charity. If a race is for profit then fine, I'm as likely to take part in that as I am in a race thats for charity, it's the cost of races that people have a problem with.

I know what you're saying RQ but I would think of it as a fundraising event rather than a race. And part of your involvment in the event is to raise E50 over the next two months rather than just turn up on the day.

Agree to disagree

dolliemix

Anyone still aiming for this one? Hows the training going?

Wonkagirl

dolliemix wrote: »

Anyone still aiming for this one? Hows the training going?

yep I am and a good few of my pals have signed up too.. training wise not really planning on much to be honest- i doubt it'll be too steep, but maybe we should fine out!!

pistol_75

Anyone know what the course is like terrain wise? I presume it could be quite hilly in places.

Wonkagirl

paul mahon will be able to tell us when he spots this i suppose, as he's working with fighting blindness on it..

It'll be aimed at an easy-moderate level i'd imagine, so i wouldnt think it'll be that hilly. but i could be all wrong.

Mr Freeze

Looks good, will keep it in mind, and hopefully give it a go....

Will mark it down, and pop a reminder in the phone for it.

Wonkagirl wrote: »

paul mahon will be able to tell us when he spots this i suppose, as he's working with fighting blindness on it..

It'll be aimed at an easy-moderate level i'd imagine, so i wouldnt think it'll be that hilly. but i could be all wrong.

I think he is a fan of big tough hills, I would be expecting this to be tough!

nerraw1111

The course is now up.

http://www.glendaloughtrail.com/course.php.

About 440 metres of climbing.

Wonkagirl

nerraw1111 wrote: »

The course is now up.

http://www.glendaloughtrail.com/course.php.

About 440 metres of climbing.

i'm a bit clueless regarding garmin routes/elevations etc- how do you reckon it'll compare to tulfarris 10 nerraw? seems similiar-ish? (apart from obvious terrain difference)

Wonkagirl

OK, so miles 1.7- 4.5 is a constant climb, then a nice down hill from there.

i'd personally prefer undulating, but this looks ok. a lot of trips out to ticknock methinks.

nerraw1111

I'd say it's a totally different kettle of fish from Tulfarris.

I messed up my Garmin reading of the Tulfarris so don't have the exact garmin readin. (left it on for the car journey home) But I think in that race the longest continuous climb was about 40 metres in height with numerous hills of 20 metres etc.

This is just one drag, going from 130 metres to 490 metres in 4.5 kms.

Contrast that with the first 4.5kms of Tulfarris which had about 80 metres of climbing.

Slogger Jogger

Route mapped from the garmin data...

greenplain

i've just signed up should be a bit of craic

Mr Freeze

nerraw1111 wrote: »

I'd say it's a totally different kettle of fish from Tulfarris.

I messed up my Garmin reading of the Tulfarris so don't have the exact garmin readin. (left it on for the car journey home) But I think in that race the longest continuous climb was about 40 metres in height with numerous hills of 20 metres etc.

This is just one drag, going from 130 metres to 490 metres in 4.5 kms.

Contrast that with the first 4.5kms of Tulfarris which had about 80 metres of climbing.

Here is the tulfarris one if you want to compare:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/43478772

Wonkagirl

in laymans (blonde) terms, tulfarris was like MMMM, glenda is like a giant inverted V!!!!!!!!!

lot of downhill, anyone got any tips for faster downhill running? apart from letting gravity take you and belting away mad??

nerraw1111

Wonkagirl wrote: »

in laymans (blonde) terms, tulfarris was like MMMM, glenda is like a giant inverted V!!!!!!!!!

lot of downhill, anyone got any tips for faster downhill running? apart from letting gravity take you and belting away mad??

Some good tips here:
http://www.imra.ie/forum/topic/id/2082/?PHPSESSID=da9da7fdb650e680370bdd60b8466bae

I like the tip of jumping straight up to get an extra half second to find your footing if in trouble.

Wonkagirl

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Some good tips here:
http://www.imra.ie/forum/topic/id/2082/?PHPSESSID=da9da7fdb650e680370bdd60b8466bae

I like the tip of jumping straight up to get an extra half second to find your footing if in trouble.

jayz... isnt t'internet great all the same

i feel sorry for our parents that they didnt have it like

dolliemix

This will be my first 10 miler if I sign up and now I'm wondering would all these hills be too much for a first timer? I only started running in Feb

What do you experts think?

Wonkagirl

dolliemix wrote: »

This will be my first 10 miler if I sign up and now I'm wondering would all these hills be too much for a first timer? I only started running in Feb

What do you experts think?

my first 10miler was tulfarris10, which was very hilly.. prior to that had only run 10km flat.

aside from that, it's 6 weeks away! and, it's a charity run.. methinks most of us will be walking up the steep bit anyway.

go for it dollie!

Wonkagirl

Wonkagirl wrote: »

my first 10miler was tulfarris10, which was very hilly.. prior to that had only run 10km flat.

aside from that, it's 6 weeks away! and, it's a charity run.. methinks most of us will be walking up the steep bit anyway.

go for it dollie!

ETA- it's actually 9.4 miles- as opposed to 10- so 1km shorter than a 10miler.. just as an aside!

dolliemix

Wonkagirl wrote: »

ETA- it's actually 9.4 miles- as opposed to 10- so 1km shorter than a 10miler.. just as an aside!

Good news!!

grasshopper2

Hi,

I hear there are over a 100 signed up for this. Should be a goo one and the route looks perfect.

Wonkagirl

crikey, 100+, wow!

it's halloween so i'm considering running in fancy dres.. if i can find something breathable:D

ThisRegard

Haven't been up that way since the summer, has anyone been around there recently ? I'm wondering what the conditions are like on the route, i.e. is it mainly on the gravelly path or is some of it a bit mucky. The site says only 300m on tarmac but would the rest be like say the path from the lower to the upper lake ?
Trying to decide to go with trail runners or road shoes.

Wonkagirl

ThisRegard wrote: »

Haven't been up that way since the summer, has anyone been around there recently ? I'm wondering what the conditions are like on the route, i.e. is it mainly on the gravelly path or is some of it a bit mucky. The site says only 300m on tarmac but would the rest be like say the path from the lower to the upper lake ?
Trying to decide to go with trail runners or road shoes.

I was down there last weekend, the weather's been great so it's not at all mucky at the moment- but god knows what might happen between now and then!

I'll be wearing my Inov8 trail shoes regardless, but i'd imagine either would be fine, trail or road.

Are you trail shoes not comfortable or something? I wear mine all the time, unless i'm doing an all tarmac route.

ThisRegard

They're comfy enough, just a little heavier than my road shoes, not that it makes much difference to me. I was looking at some very tasty and light Salomon Speedcross and various Innov8s a while ago which I want, I'm just never happy with what I have, I only have ny current Salomons since the summer.