Travelling abroad solo to race

G-Money

Anyone here ever travelled abroad on their own to race in a half or full marathon? Or in any race for that matter?

By on your own, I mean flying off on your own, racing on your own, not knowing anyone else doing the race and basically having to support yourself before, during and after.

If so, how did you get on and how was the experience overall?

RacoonQueen

Yep, I've done it a few times. You won't be alone for long if you do it, you'll spot people at the airport, on your plane, in your hotel etc who are there for the same reason as you. Lots of them would be travelling alone as well and would only be too happy for the company.

hunnymonster

like RQ, I've done it a pile of times and have made some great friends this way. It can also be great for following your race plan exactly e.g. trying to get 10 runners into a restaurant for carb loading pasta can be like herding cats and you end up eating at 10pm rather than the 6 pm you planned :-)

G-Money

Interesting.

I've done a few races here in Ireland but never really got talking to anyone at them. It's usually a case of show up solo, do the race, go home.

It makes me wonder what would be different if I went abroad.

TFBubendorfer

I've gone to races on my own on a couple of occasions, including abroad, but usually met some friends at the race.

But when I did the Loch Ness marathon in 2007 I was completely on my own and didn't know anyone there. How did I get on? I had a pretty good race.

As HM said, it makes the logistics easier. In general, I do prefer to be with friends and family, though.

hot to trot

Apart from my first marathon and the 24 hour , I have gone to every single race on my own. ( didn't have anyone to come with me )

If you are thinking of going abroad buy an Irish tricolour singlet like the ones on irishfit website is a great conversation starter. Its amazing how people chat to you and talk to you .Also other Irish runners who wear them will approach you and support you .
I usually stay in hostels and regularly meet other runners there. You do have to be prepared to step outside your comfort zone if you are shy though but a few standard stock phrases can be a great start.
Go and Enjoy.
If I had never gone on my own I wouldn't know a single person on this board.

ecoli

hot to trot wrote: »

If you are thinking of going abroad buy an Irish tricolour singlet like the ones on irishfit website is a great conversation starter. Its amazing how people chat to you and talk to you .Also other Irish runners who wear them will approach you and support you .

The singlet can always help. My club colours are yellow and red and was racing in Spain. Had the support of every person I went by and had groups of locals talking to me after the race (just a pity I couldnt understand everything they were saying:D)

shotgunmcos

Yep. Berlin Marathon last year. I had a terrible run and afterwards I just wanted to beam myself back home Startrek style. I shook it off though, got myself some grub and a Pilsner and mingled with some Locals for a bit of Craic. I agree with the others about wearing a home Jersey. I was just zipping up my wetsuit before my first Ironman last year, as nervous as you like, when a random Australian 60+ AGer comes up to me after spotting my tri top and regails his memories of the time he spent in Limerick 40 years ago!

RoyMcC

Quite often I go to race in Ireland - it's a bit scary at first but then you find that the natives are friendly enough

For me, one of the great benefits of having gotten into running is travelling, seeing new places, meeting new people who share a common interest. You don't always get the same exposure to these things if surrounded by friends and family.

menoscemo

G-Money wrote: »

Interesting.

I've done a few races here in Ireland but never really got talking to anyone at them. It's usually a case of show up solo, do the race, go home.

It makes me wonder what would be different if I went abroad.

You'll get talking to people at home, abroad, anywhere as long as you make the effort.
The difference when you're abroad is that your more likely to go for food with the people the day before the race, meet up for drinks after etc. Still; you have to make the effort to talk to people yourself.

If you are doing one of the bigger races abroad there's usually a crowd from Boards going over. You only have to pop into the events thread (or create one) to see who else is doing it. There's almost always a meet up or two planned. I've met many boards folk this way in the past.

RayCun

menoscemo wrote: »

You'll get talking to people at home, abroad, anywhere as long as you make the effort.

+1
If you don't talk to people here, are you more likely to start conversations abroad?

robinph

G-Money wrote: »

Interesting.

I've done a few races here in Ireland but never really got talking to anyone at them. It's usually a case of show up solo, do the race, go home.

It makes me wonder what would be different if I went abroad.

That's probably because you are just viewing the race at home as something that just needs to be got out of the way. Once you go abroad then it becomes more of an event and you can find that you get more social interaction out of it, especially as you are not rushing straight back home afterwards to do... whatever.

Agree with RoyMc that those Irish races can be a bit intimidating initially because of the scary locals, but they are a bunch of softies really once you get to know them over a pint or two.

Pisco Sour

Only gone abroad to race once, in Rotterdam, and some serious craic was had in the Irish bar that night!! With Boards.ie in existance you will never be on your own after a foreign race as there is always post race beers.

Not only would I recommend going abroad solo to race, I would highly recomment going abroad solo full stop. Travelling by myself has been one of, if not the, greatest experience of my life, as you step out of your comfort zone, and actually get out there and talk to people, rather than hiding behind your friends.

Oryx

I try to go to races alone. I prefer it, the travel itself is easier as youve only yourself to look after and you can please yourself re eating and travel arrangements like buses. It can be daunting, if youve an issue or get lost, but once you learn to strike up a conversation in a registration queue or at your hotel youll be sorted and you can usually find help when you need it. Everyone else is there for the same thing, and youll always find company if you want it. You just got to get used to approaching people.

nerraw1111

I’ve travelled on my own loads of times and it’s a great experience. You’ll always meet someone. Free to do what you want, when you want etc. I would guess that doing an event while travelling alone would greatly add to the experience.

notsofast

ecoli wrote: »

The singlet can always help. My club colours are yellow and red and was racing in Spain. Had the support of every person I went by and had groups of locals talking to me after the race (just a pity I couldnt understand everything they were saying:D)

You been watching Ricky Gervais at the Globes??:)

BeepBeep67

Could be an option on the Boards AC facebook page to add an events section for international races where boardies could meet up (similar to Marathon Talk)

KentuckyPete

Yep - travelled to Rotterdam twice for the marathon and as was said on the previous page had a great night there post-race in 2010 with Robinph, Brianderunner, Moycullen one and 0472511. We even have a photo of us all with our medals. Misty Floyd was with his oul' doll that night so could only pay a flying visit

Post on here about the race in advance and see if anyone else is going - you'll usually find someone. Some lad might even sign up based on the fact that they see soneone else going.

The thing is though that even if you don't know anyone, you'll still end up meeting people around race time - especially in the finishing pen - and will have the craic. Also if you've trained extensively for a race you may be better off travelling and completing final preparation alone. OK, part of racing is having the craic but the most important part is setting yourself up to go for your target performance.

robinph

Bunch of solo travelers for Rotterdam marathon 2010:

RacoonQueen

Another thing is, your senses will be heightened for someone speaking English or an Irish accent - so it's easier to chat to someone then, and often foreign races have your name on the race number, so, if like me, you have an obviously Irish name it gets conversation flowing that way.

KentuckyPete

robinph wrote: »

Bunch of solo travelers for Rotterdam marathon 2009:

hmmmm... you can see who was the fastest drinker anyway

And I'm pretty sure it was 2010 Robin!

robinph

KentuckyPete wrote: »

hmmmm... you can see who was the fastest drinker anyway

And I'm pretty sure it was 2010 Robin!

Ninja edit.

ecoli

notsofast wrote: »

You been watching Ricky Gervais at the Globes??:)

Don't get the link? Can't stand the man as a comedian

notsofast

Yeah, I'm not a big fan either.
Introducing Salma Hayek and Antonia Bandaras at the Golden Globes last weekend he said they were gorgeous specimins etc and probably very interesting but he couldn't tell as he hadn't a f*&king clue what they were talking about.

kingQuez

Haven't travelled to any events by myself yet by lucky coincidence, but have met plenty of people at events that were there by themselves. Staying in a hostel, while not as shiny as a hotel if you've got the cash, seems to be great tactic - if your cooking you'll inevitably be forced into meeting other people that are there doing the same race during mealtimes, you'll see them before/after the race too, and have lots to talk about. In a hotel its a bit harder to land yourself into a group during a meal etc. Worth keeping in mind that lots of hostels have separate ensuite rooms that you can book if you're really not keen on staying in a shared dorm.

G-Money

I travelled around Australia for about 3-4 weeks on my own a number of years ago when I lived over there and stayed in hostel's the whole time. They were grand but I couldn't hack sharing a room with strangers anymore. I'd perhaps stay in one but only if I got a room to myself.

Pisco Sour

Another time I travelled solo for athletics purposes was to Daegu last year for the world champs. Booked into a hostel, and the majority of people in the hostel were there for the same reason. Dutch, English, French, German, Americans, Belgians, some banterhead Aussies, Estonian etc. Lots of craic, and lots of chats and debates about athletics. What more could you want!

--amadeus--

I think it can also depend on what you want to achieve from your trip. Having sunk months of training into it I always travel pretty set on running a PB. By going solo I can do what I want, from eating where I want the night before to napping in the afternoon rather than feeling that you should do some sight seeing with the OH.

I did take MrsA on my last trip and we had a good time and I ran ok but I felt a bit guilty about dictating what we did and when. I'd rather travel to run and concentrate on that and then go away for a proper break with friends or family afterwards. Even traveling with other runners you can get pulled into doing things you maybe don't want to - hours at the expo or beers the night before for example

Izoard

In the IM races at least, the person's name and flag are usually on the number...along with the grey skin, a good way to pick out the Paddies on tour...