Dundalk Half Marathon & 10K - Wed 4/5/2011

huskerdu

Today is the last day for the cheap early sign-up for the Dundalk Half Marathon and 10K.

Friends who did it last year said that it was a nice flat course, well organised and a good atmosphere.

www.dundalkhalfmarathon.com

nosnagaoithe

Thanks for heads up huskerdu - just put my entry in. Looks fairly flat, could be PB material.....

ThePiedPiper

3 stars (Average)

Cheers for that huskerdo. Just put my entry in there too.

Course is pretty flat alright, would be good for a crack at a fast time if fitness is there. I'm not sure I'll be in my best shape for this after pacing Limerick 3 days beforehand. Good motivation to put in a bit of work over the next 5 weeks but.

sportfanatic

3 stars (Average)

Thanks for that, from Dundalk, looking at the course there are no real hills to speak of, good weather and it should be quick.

huskerdu

3 stars (Average)

I dont know if enough of us are doing the Dundalk Half on Wednesday to justify a poll, butI added it anyway.

The GPS map of the route is here

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/22053433

smoochie06

4 stars ( Good)

This is my first half marathon. Done the GIR this year and loved it. Just took up running in January so I'm not very experienced but i will post on Thursday what I thought of it.

huskerdu

3 stars (Average)

Good race last night. The was great atmosphere around the town, lots of support. Plenty of water and sweets and a shop on the route had people outside with fresh orange slices which were lovely.

The route was a 1 mile loop of the town centre, followed by two laps of a 6 mile loop.

The good thing about this was that your supporters and friends got lots of opportunities to cheer you on.

The problem with doing two loops is that there is something very depressing about starting out on the second loop.

The wind had picked up by the end, and there was a stretch along a river, facing the sea where the wind was right in your face.

The only problem was that the 10K race was going on at the same time, so at the end of the first loop, there was a marshal telling everyone which gantry to go through for the finish line for the 10K or the continuation of the half marathon. A few people got this wrong and had to double back.
Maybe a few signs would have been a good idea.

I did it in less than 1.57. I forgot to turn off my garmin immediately, but I am guessing my chip time with be about 1.56.50. I was happy, I might have done is a minute quicker if I hadn't struggled when the wind picked up. My split time was 57 minutes, so I was slower at the end.

Still, happy with < 2 hours.

The Kenyan who won the 10K was a really impressive runner. It was sight to behold when he ran past us plodders.

Congrats to the organisers and everyone who ran it.

ThePiedPiper

3 stars (Average)

Well organised event in Dundalk lastnight. I ran the half also. Course was closed to traffic the whole way which was great.. The race director kept everyone informed of when to move to the starting area after getting the ok from the gardai that the roads were closed.

Big thumbs down to the two ignorant taxi drivers who decided to plough straight through the entire half marathon field at the start line!! Nuts..

Anyway, after that, the whole thing seemed very well organised, loads of marshells and gardai on the roads to keep us right. The course had a few out and back sections which was actually nice to keep an eye on how faster and slower friends were doing. The course wasn't particularly challenging, just a couple of very small hills. The real tester yesteday was the wind, particularly on the exposed section along the river from the old Newry road over to the bypass. On the second loop, this definitely took the pace off a lot of runners. Depending on the runner, I'd say the wind probably added between 1 and 2 minutes to the time.

The chip timing and finishing area were well managed with loads more volunteers to help out. The technical T-shirt given out with the race number is of the Hi-Viz variety so it'll come in useful for evening time running next winter.

I ran 1.27 for the race which I was happy with. I was a bit excited at the start running the first 2 miles at 6.20 per mile, but maintained pace at 6.30-6.40 for the duration.

All in all, a very good race, decent value at €25 as far as I remember, and definitely one that I'll do again.

smoochie06

4 stars ( Good)

Really enjoyed the race last night. Thought it was run excellent. There was no messing around at the start line and started on time. I liked the course no bad hills the worst being at Dowdallshill.

The wind as you came back over the river for the second lap was a killer i think it picked up from the first time.

The atmosphere in the town was brilliant and the crowd definately gave me push to finish just under the 2 hr mark.

Well done to everyone who took part and well done to the organisers

BFassassin

Some photographs I took
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21030370@N02/sets/72157626655394938/


Dundalk half marathon-50 by BFassassin, on Flickr

smoochie06

4 stars ( Good)

BFassassin wrote: »

Some photographs I took
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21030370@N02/sets/72157626655394938/


Dundalk half marathon-50 by BFassassin, on Flickr

Thanks for that.

Picture No 55 was me and my brother struggling along. Im No 1200.

BFassassin

smoochie06 wrote: »

Thanks for that.

Picture No 55 was me and my brother struggling along. Im No 1200.

Your welcome.
You finished it so well done for that.

Pighead

huskerdu wrote: »

The Kenyan who won the 10K was a really impressive runner. It was sight to behold when he ran past us plodders.

Was speaking to him after the race and he told me that he won the marathon in Limerick just three days previously which makes his efforts in Dundalk even more impressive. Don't think he was too impressed with his time though (31.11)