Athlone ¾ Marathon, Sun 2nd Oct 2011 11am

bazman

Athlone ¾ Marathon is back this year and promises to be bigger and better.

You may think it's a little early to be planning your Autumn race schedule, but if you're thinking of doing Dublin Marathon then this is an ideal preparation race. This year it's four weeks before Dublin, so ideal recovery time.

Main reason for posting now is that we're offering a discounted price of €29 for January, saving €10 on normal entry price.

http://www.athlone3quarter.com

Last year's thread

seanynova

bazman wrote: »

Athlone ¾ Marathon is back this year and promises to be bigger and better.

You may think it's a little early to be planning your Autumn race schedule, but if you're thinking of doing Dublin Marathon then this is an ideal preparation race. This year it's four weeks before Dublin, so ideal recovery time.

Main reason for posting now is that we're offering a discounted price of €29 for January, saving €10 on normal entry price.

http://www.athlone3quarter.com

i think this race is a very good oppertunity to try a PMP run pre dublin marathon.

Last year before the dublin marathon, i did a 2mile warm up and ran at goal marathon pace(PMP) for 15miles and a 2mile cool down(as part of 15mile cork to cobh-but same idea), my dublin marathon pace was exactly the same as the 15m PMP and the HR was the same average also....

In short, if you are comfortable in this race at PMP, then dublin should be the same...best of luck!

Magnet

Fastastic race - One of my highlights of 2010

Runonewon

bazman wrote: »

Athlone ¾ Marathon is back this year and promises to be bigger and better.

You may think it's a little early to be planning your Autumn race schedule, but if you're thinking of doing Dublin Marathon then this is an ideal preparation race. This year it's four weeks before Dublin, so ideal recovery time.

Main reason for posting now is that we're offering a discounted price of €29 for January, saving €10 on normal entry price.

http://www.athlone3quarter.com

Baz,
Great to see 3/4 is on again this year.A cracker of a race,a real runner focused race.I will be there again this year.

L.Jenkins

I'll be registering for it now soon enough and Glasson is a lovely spot with some great hills so it should be a challange.

bazman

4 stars (good)

Just a reminder that the reduced entry price ends on 31st Jan ...

bazman

4 stars (good)

Time to start thinking about Dublin City Marathon. Our suggested training schedules on our Athlone ¾ Marathon website http://www.athlone3quarter.com/training.php start on 4th July & to launch our schedules we're offering a €10 entry discount until independence day - use code 'A3QPlan' at checkout to get the discount. Happy training ...

kevd2000

I did this race last year, great race, well organized. Athlone is not as flat as one might think though!

pistol_75

Had this race as part of my Dublin training plan. Have just tried to enter but it's telling me it's an invalid code?

bazman

4 stars (good)

pistol_75 wrote: »

Had this race as part of my Dublin training plan. Have just tried to enter but it's telling me it's an invalid code?

Sincere apologies - typed the code wrong!

Whoops

Code is: A3QMPlan

Oisin11178

4 stars (good)

You having the pacers back again this year Bazman?

bazman

4 stars (good)

Yep, we plan to have pacers & we'll make sure they have Garmin's this year

Have a couple lined up, but will post here closer to the race requesting more pacers ...

pistol_75

bazman wrote: »

Sincere apologies - typed the code wrong!

Whoops

Code is: A3QMPlan

Got signed up today. Thanks.

tHE vAGGABOND

3 stars (average)

Signed up for this today too..

elvis jones

I think i might get 5 together to get the reduced rate and do this, i know the area around Glasson.........it ain't flat !

dernipper

4 stars (good)

Really enjoyed this race, one of the best organised I have participated in and the location in Glasson hotel and route was fantastic but it was so much tougher than I thought it would be !! last 3 miles seemed to be up winding boorens going steadily upwards,,,, still remembering asking the steward at the 19 mile marker and no sign of the finish 'how long is this flipping race'' !!

I felt the benefits of this race in Dublin and am sure this year will be the same

elvis jones wrote: »

I think i might get 5 together to get the reduced rate and do this, i know the area around Glasson.........it ain't flat !

Marthastew

dernipper wrote: »

Really enjoyed this race, one of the best organised I have participated in and the location in Glasson hotel and route was fantastic but it was so much tougher than I thought it would be !! last 3 miles seemed to be up winding boorens going steadily upwards,,,, still remembering asking the steward at the 19 mile marker and no sign of the finish 'how long is this flipping race'' !!

I felt the benefits of this race in Dublin and am sure this year will be the same

I'm doing Berlin this year so I will be enjoying a long awaited Sunday morning lie-in on October 2nd this year:)
I did this race last year and I also found the last few miles hellish... In the end I managed a good enough time but I had to dig deep. It was GREAT preparation for DCM and after those hills in Glasson the UCD flyover was easy (I'm not joking).
And the free T shirt was fabulous, I've worn it loads and it's still going strong.

If you're at all tempted to run this I'd say go for it...

elvis jones

Just about to register 5 of us for this race..........oh the hills:D

tinydave

elvis jones wrote: »

Just about to register 5 of us for this race..........oh the hills:D

see you there for the Pain !
the last hill is a bitch too!

DublinDilbert

What sort of numbers do they get for this race? looks very good timing for dublin marathon!

Q7

4 stars (good)

DublinDilbert wrote: »

What sort of numbers do they get for this race? looks very good timing for dublin marathon!

About 400 according to last year result. First run last year so probably be a bit more this year. Great training event for DCM. Tough course by all accounts but would stand you well for Dublin.

elvis jones

7 of us are in for this. I feel if i can get to the end of this i can do DCM.

I'm up to 15 mile now so a bit of work to hit 19 plus miles !

average_runner

Have to check schedule for this as could do 2 mile warm up, 2 mile warm down and 16 miles pmp.

dev123

4 stars (good)

I've just registered for this and realised that its going up a tenner from the first of September (Thursday) - 39 quid to 49.

Although from the website the pricing brackets are between 1st February to 30th August 2011 and 1st to 28th September 2011.

Not sure what the craic is for 31st August?

subscriber

3 stars (average)

Is it not possible to pay by laser card for this race? It only has visa and master card options on the site? Very strange indeed...

Also what's with the age categories? It seems to be listen in ancient chinese scripture. Letters and numbers rather than age brackets. Im 24, so which bracket will this put me in?

dev123

4 stars (good)

subscriber wrote: »

Is it not possible to pay by laser card for this race? It only has visa and master card options on the site? Very strange indeed...

Also what's with the age categories? It seems to be listen in ancient chinese scripture. Letters and numbers rather than age brackets. Im 24, so which bracket will this put me in?

From what I remember there was MS and MJ which I think are Men - Senior and Men - Junior. I went with Men - Senior.

If the age brackets are something to do with prizes then I don't think it will be too big of an issue what age group I am in

Excuseless

subscriber wrote: »

Is it not possible to pay by laser card for this race? It only has visa and master card options on the site? Very strange indeed...

Also what's with the age categories? It seems to be listen in ancient chinese scripture. Letters and numbers rather than age brackets. Im 24, so which bracket will this put me in?

Active Network's entry system does not yet accept Laser cards despite numerous requests and indeed promises from them to resolve this as many folk are inconvenienced by the need to have a credit card.

To facilitate those wanting to enter by Laser we have setup for individual entry on the Run Ireland site though this will not facilitate group or any other discounts.


This is from the website - we will have DOB from entry so can assign AG cat - not sure what is not clear about it

2011 Prizes will be announced closer to race date, but will be in the following categories:
First 3 male finishers
First 3 female finishers
First male finishers over 40, 50 and 60
First female finishers over 40, 50 and 60
First male and female juniors

We are going to have cash prizes for top finishers plus Salomon and Trizone are combining to provide top quality category prizes
More details should be on the site next week once Bazman get the mere matter of National Half out of the way today

bazman

4 stars (good)

Athlone 3/4 Marathon Pacer Request

We're short a few pacers for the Athlone 3/4 Marathon on 2nd October. Is anyone out there interested? If so can you send me a PM and I'll fill you in on the details of what's on offer ....

Thanks

ShaneRoo

Hi folks

I'm in training for the Dublin Marathon (my first marathon) and someone told me about the Athlone 3/4 Marathon and I was considering running it.

However, whilst buying trainers the other day the expert didn't seem overly enthusiastic about it. Whilst he didn't say anything bad about the race and it could be that he has never ran it, however I didn't get the impression that he'd encourage someone to run it.

Has anyone ran the 3/4 marathon in Athlone?
Would you recommend it?

Cheers

dernipper

4 stars (good)

Last year was the first year and it was excellent, all aspects of the race were very good, the location, the changing facilitates, the pacers, fruit and gels at the water stations, great t shirts and a tough course which will challenge on the day but really pay in Dublin, I have no reason to doubt this year will be the same, if you want a good training run to test your approach to the marathon then this is it

ShaneRoo wrote: »

Hi folks

I'm in training for the Dublin Marathon (my first marathon) and someone told me about the Athlone 3/4 Marathon and I was considering running it.

However, whilst buying trainers the other day the expert didn't seem overly enthusiastic about it. Whilst he didn't say anything bad about the race and it could be that he has never ran it, however I didn't get the impression that he'd encourage someone to run it.

Has anyone ran the 3/4 marathon in Athlone?
Would you recommend it?

Cheers

pilot1087

How difficult is this course in comparison to the half marathon in the phoenix park last Saturday? Finished that in 2HR 8Mins and was thinking of stepping up to a 3/4 but feel this may be a bit beyond me.

tHE vAGGABOND

3 stars (average)

Anyone driving down to this from Central Dublin want company and a few quid for petrol money? I need to think about logistics. PLEASE!

Its 90 minutes on the train, which is fine, but the first train I can find only gets into Athlone at 10.07, which is cutting things fine if there was a delay or something?

I could also get a Bus Eireann bus at 7am, [journey taking 2 hours], and get into town much earlier, but hardly ideal preparation for a 20 mile run!!!

@pilot1087 - Think about adding 50% again to the distance you ran on Saturday? If you ran that half a bit slower do you think you could do another 6 miles odd?

pilot1087

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Anyone driving down to this from Central Dublin want company and a few quid for petrol money? I need to think about logistics. PLEASE!

Its 90 minutes on the train, which is fine, but the first train I can find only gets into Athlone at 10.07, which is cutting things fine if there was a delay or something?

I could also get a Bus Eireann bus at 7am, [journey taking 2 hours], and get into town much earlier, but hardly ideal preparation for a 20 mile run!!!

@pilot1087 - Think about adding 50% again to the distance you ran on Saturday? If you ran that half a bit slower do you think you could do another 6 miles odd?

Thanks for that, I think I might give it a go. Good luck with the lift. I'll be heading from north dublin, If you're still stuck closer to the time let me know.

subscriber

3 stars (average)

will entry to this race be available right up to the before the race. just wondering as i don't know if injury will allow me to run yet until after another 1 or 2 more physio sessions. .. its not possible it would sell out is it??

NiallG4

Disgrace.

dev123

4 stars (good)

NiallG4 wrote: »

Disgrace.

I have heard nothing but good things about this race. Challenging course, well stocked aid stations and good organisation.

There were earlier registration fees. I paid €39 about 2 weeks ago.

Having paid €50 for a 15 mile race (Killarney Maximarathon) and avoided €35 for a 10 mile race :eek: (Tulfarris 10) I think €39 represents very good value for 19+ miles of running.

If I remeber correctly there was even a promo code for this race for a cheaper rate but like yourself I was too late to enter for that.

belcarra

4 stars (good)

dev123 wrote: »

If I remeber correctly there was even a promo code for this race for a cheaper rate but like yourself I was too late to enter for that.

Yes, there was an offer of €10 off about 2 months ago so I managed to snare this for €29 back then:D

bazman

4 stars (good)

subscriber wrote: »

will entry to this race be available right up to the before the race. just wondering as i don't know if injury will allow me to run yet until after another 1 or 2 more physio sessions. .. its not possible it would sell out is it??

Online entry will be available up until 28th Sept. Depending on number of entries, there may be limited entries available on the day.

bazman

4 stars (good)

NiallG4 wrote: »

Disgrace.

Can I ask have you ever organised an event of similar scale and quality? It costs money, lots of it! We have no sponsorship and are taking all the financial risk. If we get a high number of entrants well in advance of event we can plan on that basis - that's why we offer discounts for early entries.

We are making small profits, with a relatively large proportion going to our charity the Irish Wheelchair Association.

We are competitively prices when compared to similar half marathons and marathons all around the country. Myself and Paul are not the type to over-price. We're not going to Barbados any time soon We are providing a product at a particular price point - we think it is fairly priced - lots are entering, so hopefully the generally public agree.

pistol_75

Bazman I wouldn't worry about random comments like this with no substance.

On another topic how many pacers are there for each time and any chance of pacers for 3:45 marathon? Looking forward to it.

bazman

4 stars (good)

pistol_75 wrote: »

Bazman I wouldn't worry about random comments like this with no substance.

On another topic how many pacers are there for each time and any chance of pacers for 3:45 marathon? Looking forward to it.

It's a fair comment - €49 is a lot of money. I just wanted to provide some explanation as to why events can cost so much. There are discount codes out there - some are still active Go to facebook page for details.

Regarding pacers for 3:45 marathon - leave that with me. We have quite a few fast pacers, so we may be able to convince one or two to go at 3:45 pace.

bazman

4 stars (good)

Updated pacing table: http://www.athlone3quarter.com/userfiles/2011_A3Q_Pacing2.jpg

Briefing pack will be distributed to entrants a few days in advance of race which will confirm the pacing available.

NiallG4

Fair enough Bazman. I do appreciate that it takes a lot of organisation and without people like yourself, who knows, prices may increase due to lack of races however I was just making an observation that in my opinion it is pricey. I really do hope it goes well for you and grows in future and then possibly you might bring the price in line with our Northern Ireland friends and races around the meath area etc.

bazman

4 stars (good)

NiallG4 wrote: »

Fair enough Bazman. I do appreciate that it takes a lot of organisation and without people like yourself, who knows, prices may increase due to lack of races however I was just making an observation that in my opinion it is pricey. I really do hope it goes well for you and grows in future and then possibly you might bring the price in line with our Northern Ireland friends and races around the meath area etc.

All feedback is appreciated. Positive & negative - it's helps us improve. If the event grows and we get sponsorship we will be able to bring prices down. We promote early entries so we can plan appropriately. We also promote discount codes to regular athletes, facebook friends & boardies. Marathons required planning, so we feel that this is an event that people can enter in advance. We also allow entry transfers for a €10 administration fee - fair in our opinion. Will upload race briefing pace to website soon ...

Van.Bosch

Hi Bazman - I find that table confusing, is there any explanation of how it works, maybe taking one line as an example?

bazman

4 stars (good)

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Hi Bazman - I find that table confusing, is there any explanation of how it works, maybe taking one line as an example?

If you are preparing for a 4 hour marathon, then run at 10:10 mile pace for 1st quarter marathon, 9:38 pace 2nd & 3rd quarters.

Essentially, we recommend taking it easy for first quarter and picking it up for last half marathon. To me the pacers provide useful reference points, particularly to those without GPS watches - personally I would run my own individual pace and not rely on a pacers. Again, it's a race service that's there to take or leave ...

belcarra

4 stars (good)

This seems like a great service Bazman.
I'm doing the Galway Bay 10k the day before (In search of sub 45) and am therefore planning on taking this as an LSR.
The 3:30 pacers will have me going at 5:32 for the first quarter distance and 5:14 for the final two quarter distances...I think this should be perfect for what I'm looking for so will tag along with these guys/gals.
Looking forward to it!

Van.Bosch

bazman wrote: »

If you are preparing for a 4 hour marathon, then run at 10:10 mile pace for 1st quarter marathon, 9:38 pace 2nd & 3rd quarters.

Essentially, we recommend taking it easy for first quarter and picking it up for last half marathon. To me the pacers provide useful reference points, particularly to those without GPS watches - personally I would run my own individual pace and not rely on a pacers. Again, it's a race service that's there to take or leave ...

Thanks - I think there is a typo on the table as on the top it says Projected 1st Quarter 3 times. I assume this is 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

So these pacings are a LSR in a way, because if you aim for a 4 hour marathon and follow the plan the first 3/4 will take you 3:13. so the last 6 odd miles at 9:09 pace will take you about 56/57 minutes for a time of 4:10.

Is this the intention or have I totally mis read it?

Thanks again

Marthastew

NiallG4 wrote: »

Disgrace.

Might seem like a fairly steep price but I did it last year and I thought it was worth evry penny. I found it invaluable in terms of my training for DCM. The course was tough but very scenic and the volunteers, admin etc were excellent. I got dehydrated towards the end (completely my own fault, plenty of water stations) and finished in fairly bad shape but I went on to do a PB in DCM.
Oh and the freebie T-shirt was SUPER:D, I still wear mine all the time. If I weren't doing Berlin this year I would definitley be back.

bazman

4 stars (good)

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Thanks - I think there is a typo on the table as on the top it says Projected 1st Quarter 3 times. I assume this is 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

So these pacings are a LSR in a way, because if you aim for a 4 hour marathon and follow the plan the first 3/4 will take you 3:13. so the last 6 odd miles at 9:09 pace will take you about 56/57 minutes for a time of 4:10.

Is this the intention or have I totally mis read it?

Thanks again

Thanks - you're right - fixing that now ...

bazman

4 stars (good)

We will be providing free recovery massage facilities after the race. 10-15 minutes per person should be enough to ensure to feeling ok a couple of days after this race ...

Add it all up:
- cool technical t-shirt
- 500ml running water bottle
- good race refreshments
- massage
- free shuttle bus
- excellent facilities
- enjoyable scenic route

It's a bargain