Athlone ¾ Marathon, Sun 7th Oct 2012 11am

bazman

Athlone ¾ Marathon is back this year. Hopefully we'll continue to get your support for this race.

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.

It was a very successful prep race for winners Linda Byrne & Gary O'Hanlon last year.

Slight difference in fees structure this year:

• Before 29th February €29pp
• 1st March to 30th April €34pp
• 1st May to 30th June €39pp
• 1st July to 31th August €44pp
• 1st September to 3rd October €49pp

Main reason for posting now is that we're offering a discounted price of €29 until the end of February, so get in early for cheap entry.

http://www.athlone3quarter.com

2011 race thread

belcarra

Already signed up for this - A really useful and well organised race last year!

pistol_75

4 stars (good)

Missed this last year with injury but would hope to do it if I'm doing Dublin.

happygoose

Delighted that this doesn't clash with Berlin. Fantastic prep 'race' for anyone doing Dublin, in my top 3 races for 2011, highly highly recommended.

Slogger Jogger

Highly recommended.

tHE vAGGABOND

+1 - A great prep race for anyone doing Dublin.

Im doing Berlin the week before this, so wont be able to be there unfortunately!

elvis jones

Gotta do it this year seeing as i got there last year only to find out that i had...........forgot my runners:o

opus

4 stars (good)

Decided to go for it as well given the great response from people in last year's thread.

AngelaRI

Entered!!
I ran this for the first time last year, and was highly impressed with every aspect of the race. Well organised, scenic route, great vibe!! Looking forward to this year's event.

bazman

Last day for cheap cheap entries ... €29 on the 29th

elvis jones

bazman wrote: »

Last day for cheap cheap entries ... €29 on the 29th

So €1 on the 1st ;)

guysmiley

Hi bazman

Trying to sign up this evening 29/2/12 and it seems the Run Ireland website is down for the last 2 hours and price going up tomorrow.

bazman

guysmiley wrote: »

Hi bazman

Trying to sign up this evening 29/2/12 and it seems the Run Ireland website is down for the last 2 hours and price going up tomorrow.

Hi guysmiley - did you get sorted? If not let me know and we'll sort something out ...

guysmiley

no bazman, didn't get sorted. It's for the OH by the way.

911sc

3/4 marathon is a bit short IMO... 4/5 would have been much better.:)

bazman

A wise man once told me that August bank holiday is the right moment to make the commitment to the October bank holiday weekend Preparation starts in earnest now for Dublin Marathon. This all means it is time to sign of to Athlone 3/4 Marathon as your last long prep run. If the ideal prep event where you can test your refreshment and pacing strategy in a controlled race environment.

We've ordered top quality medals as an addition this year. All the established services will be maintained - technical t-shirts, chip timing, refreshment stations, post race massage, excellent facilities, marshals at every junction, and free transport from bus/rail stations.

Seanie_H

4 stars (good)

Just wondering how people are approaching are this one with it's proximity to Dublin?

I'm wondering if I should race it or treat it as a training run.

How have previous year's participants tackled it?

nerraw1111

From last year's thread, it seems it's run slower than planned race pace. For instance, here's the pacer targets. EG 3 hour marathon target ran the race at 4.35/km

• 3:00 Marathon Prep Pace = Approx. 7:20/mile or 4:35/km = RED balloons (2hr 25mins for ¾)
• 3:30 Marathon Prep Pace = Approx. 8:35/mile or 5:20/km = GREEN balloons (2hr 50mins for ¾)
• 4:00 Marathon Prep Pace = Approx. 9:40/mile or 6:00/km = BLUE balloons (3hr 10mins for ¾)

I think the idea behind it is that it gives you enough time to recover?

bazman

If your target in the marathon, then all races leading up to the marathon ideally should simply be preparation events. This is designed as a long preparation event where you can practice your fueling strategy and get an understanding of the importance of pacing over long distances.

Almost every training program will have your last long run 3 weeks before the main event. Our recommendation is to treat this as a training run, but with substantial benefits - fueling stations, pacers, post race massage, medal, technical t-shirt, transport from Athlone, magical surroundings - add all this up and it's a value event.

Common questions are 'Is this too close to Dublin marathon?' and 'what pace should I run?'. To the former, I'd say no as 3 weeks is more than ample recovery time. Make use of the post-race massage and commence your taper post race. Yes, you're legs will ache for a few days afterwards but the recovery process will kick in and make your legs stronger. To the latter question, everyone should have an idea of their own ability to recover so run a pace where you know you'll recover easily from. If you're a novice runner with low mileage, I'd say focus on completion over speed. If you're a seasoned runner, then run conservatively and finish strongly to give you confidence going into the marathon. The course has a few hills, one close to the finish - but so too has Dublin

happygoose

I did this last year in the run in to Dublin - ran with the pace group for my target time and ended up getting what I wanted out of Dublin. Its a great run, at enough of a pace to stretch you without going too far into the red so as not to recover for Dublin.

Any year I'll do Dublin I'll do this. Its a nice way to cap off the hard slog for DCM and begin the wind down / taper.

TownBound

Hi - just wondering if this is just for fast runners? Dublin will be my first marathon so I don't really know my pace but judging by half marathon time it should hopefully be about 4hr30mins. I notice the pacers only go up to 4 hours. Would like to do it just to take the boredom out of the 20 mile run...
Thanks

woody1

4 stars (good)

havent gone beyond half marathon distance yet, but im seriously tempted to chance it and see what happens and see how i cope.. dont have very long to get distance up even a bit though ! is there a deadline on entry , dont see anything on the website..

zefer

4 stars (good)

Just signed up there to it, best way to do the 20 mile run pre marathon that i can see!

opus

4 stars (good)

For anyone who frequents the MarathonTalk website I added it as an event on there.

belcarra

opus wrote: »

For anyone who frequents the MarathonTalk website I added it as an event on there.

Just signed up to that and a few other races also. Never knew that function existed seeing as I've not been back there much since Jantastic finished!

ultraman1

4 stars (good)

TownBound wrote: »

Hi - just wondering if this is just for fast runners? Dublin will be my first marathon so I don't really know my pace but judging by half marathon time it should hopefully be about 4hr30mins. I notice the pacers only go up to 4 hours. Would like to do it just to take the boredom out of the 20 mile run...
Thanks

,you have a better idea of your dublin marathon pace after this run,its a great race,im ,lookin forward to it

bazman

TownBound wrote: »

Hi - just wondering if this is just for fast runners? Dublin will be my first marathon so I don't really know my pace but judging by half marathon time it should hopefully be about 4hr30mins. I notice the pacers only go up to 4 hours. Would like to do it just to take the boredom out of the 20 mile run...
Thanks

There are walkers every year participating in this event. The race will remain open for 6 hours at a minimum, so you're more than welcome to join the fun

TownBound

Thanks guys - just signed up!

bazman

Hey all
The price remains at €44 this week - until Friday 7th midnight so get in now to save €5.
I know some on this forum will argue that this is expensive, but considering all on offer it's a bargain race, technical t-shirt, medal, refreshment stations, free transport from Athlone, post-race massage, pacers

tunguska

I did this race the firdt year it was run and I enjoyed it but the course was extremly undulating. Just wanna know have changes been made to the course to flatten it out since that first year? Thanks

CCR

Is it possible to get to this race by public transport? I'm travelling from Dublin so I could get a train to Athlone but the problem is getting from Athlone train station to start of race and back.
Thanks in advance.

tang1

bazman wrote: »

Hey all
The price remains at €44 this week - until Friday 7th midnight so get in now to save €5.
I know some on this forum will argue that this is expensive, but considering all on offer it's a bargain race, technical t-shirt, medal, refreshment stations, free transport from Athlone, post-race massage, pacers

This might answer your question.

Dalken

Man the last 2 mles are tough.

bazman

We're short a few pacers for 7th October 2012.

Anyone interested?

bazman

CCR wrote: »

Is it possible to get to this race by public transport? I'm travelling from Dublin so I could get a train to Athlone but the problem is getting from Athlone train station to start of race and back.
Thanks in advance.

Just to confirm - free bus transport is provided to/from Athlone bus/rail station.

bazman

tunguska wrote: »

I did this race the firdt year it was run and I enjoyed it but the course was extremly undulating. Just wanna know have changes been made to the course to flatten it out since that first year? Thanks

Same course as last year, but it's not that bad! It's undulating in a similar way to Dublin, so from a preparation perspective it's ideal so long as you don't kill yourself on the course My advice is to run controlled and finish strong ...

kencoo

4 stars (good)

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone is running this race again on 7th of October this year and if so is the route the same as 2010 & 2011?


Thanks

RayCun

I moved this post in from the main forum

ultraman1

4 stars (good)

.......I AM A gom

kencoo

4 stars (good)

That answers my question!

Very well organised in 2010 which i think was its first year. Very tough and i was in real pain afterwards. Looking forward too round two in a few weeks!

bazman

We're still short a few faster pacers, particularly:
- 7:15 / mile pace (3hr marathon prep group)
- 8:20 / mile pace (3:30hr marathon prep group)

PM or email info@athlone3quarter.com if interested. There are some perks to the job

Prize fund also confirmed:

• 1st Male & Female: €300 + commissioned trophy + €100 bonus for course record
• 2nd Male & Female: €200
• 3rd Male & Female: €100
• First male and female finishers over 40, 50 and 60: €60 Amphibian King Voucher
• Second male and female finishers over 40, 50 and 60: €40 Amphibian King Voucher

woody1

4 stars (good)

is there a deadline on entries by the way, going for a long run tomorrow to see am i up to it..

bazman

woody1 wrote: »

is there a deadline on entries by the way, going for a long run tomorrow to see am i up to it..

Entries are limited to 1,000 and we expect to sell out, so it is best to get your entry in early if you want to run ...

Muppet Man

4 stars (good)

Anyone know if there Are there any 3:45 marathon prep pacers? (5:20/km?)

Is there a hill profile available anywhere?

(sorry - on blackberry and haven't checked website)

Thx!
Muppet man.

bazman

Muppet Man wrote: »

Anyone know if there Are there any 3:45 marathon prep pacers? (5:20/km?)

Is there a hill profile available anywhere?

(sorry - on blackberry and haven't checked website)

Thx!
Muppet man.

It's an undulating course - particularly miles 4-8, and mile 18 is a difficult one close to the finish

Profile available here: http://www.athlone3quarter.com/race-info.php

Regarding pacers:
- Pace group @ 6:05/km (for those targeting sub-4 marathon)
- Pace group @ 5:20/km (for those targeting sub-3:30 marathon)
- Pace group @ 4:35/km (for those targeting sub-3 marathon)

Reason for pace groups being slighly slower than marathon pace is to ensure you conserve your 'A' game for marathon, but you could run with 5:20/km group for first 28 km easily and then back-off and relax for the last couple of hilly kms ...

woody1

4 stars (good)

bazman wrote: »

Entries are limited to 1,000 and we expect to sell out, so it is best to get your entry in early if you want to run ...

thanks..entered now anyway..

Muppet Man

4 stars (good)

bazman wrote: »

.... you could run with 5:20/km group for first 28 km easily and then back-off and relax for the last couple of hilly kms ...

Thanks Bazman - I was thinking the exact same thing. I'll probably stick my name down alright - just waiting on a pay cheque any day now

Muppet Man

woody1

4 stars (good)

so from looking at the website and the pacers, its assumed if you can run this race in 3 hours your looking at roughly 3.40 for dublin...
is it that much harder than the dublin marathon course..?? not doing dub marathon this year anyway but curious to know for whenever i do

bazman

woody1 wrote: »

so from looking at the website and the pacers, its assumed if you can run this race in 3 hours your looking at roughly 3.40 for dublin...
is it that much harder than the dublin marathon course..?? not doing dub marathon this year anyway but curious to know for whenever i do

You need to flip your question. The idea of the pacing is not to predict your marathon time. The idea of pacing is to recommend a pace for a target marathon time. So if you're planning a 3:45 marathon, we recommend running Athlone 3/4 Marathon in 3:00 hours. This conservative guidance is provided to ensure you don't run your best race in Athlone - the full marathon is the target for most.

Let's take Linda Byrne as an example. She finished Athlone 3/4 marathon in 2 hours, but this did not mean she was going to run a 2:30 marathon. She finished with an excellent 2:36 marathon. She obviously got her pacing in Athlone right to produce an Olympic A standard in Dublin. The pacing chart provided is just a little more conservative, particularly for less experienced runners.

Important thing for me is that you should run Athlone within your capabilities - at no stage should you feel like you're firing on all cylinders and you should finish the race feeling confident about Dublin. Legs will be tired on Monday, but not to the point of not being able to walk The recovery process will strengthen your legs for Dublin and 3 weeks is ample time to fully recover as long as you don't over do it post Athlone. The 3 weeks post Athlone should be taper time ...

woody1

4 stars (good)

bazman wrote: »

You need to flip your question. The idea of the pacing is not to predict your marathon time. The idea of pacing is to recommend a pace for a target marathon time. So if you're planning a 3:45 marathon, we recommend running Athlone 3/4 Marathon in 3:00 hours. This conservative guidance is provided to ensure you don't run your best race in Athlone - the full marathon is the target for most.

Let's take Linda Byrne as an example. She finished Athlone 3/4 marathon in 2 hours, but this did not mean she was going to run a 2:30 marathon. She finished with an excellent 2:36 marathon. She obviously got her pacing in Athlone right to produce an Olympic A standard in Dublin. The pacing chart provided is just a little more conservative, particularly for less experienced runners.

Important thing for me is that you should run Athlone within your capabilities - at no stage should you feel like you're firing on all cylinders and you should finish the race feeling confident about Dublin. Legs will be tired on Monday, but not to the point of not being able to walk The recovery process will strengthen your legs for Dublin and 3 weeks is ample time to fully recover as long as you don't over do it post Athlone.

ahhh fair enough.. that makes sense to me.. not running dublin this is part of a long build up to maybe running it next year... had run the 31k at the weekend in 3 hours but in no way felt id do the full distane in 3 hr 45 minutes..thats where my curiousity was coming from .. thanks

kencoo

4 stars (good)

If youre a novice id ask the pacer boys/gals at the start... in 2010 i expected to finish in 3 hours so followed the 3 hr pacer for 12 miles before i cracked.... during that 12 miles i kept thinking that they were going to slow down at any minute now!!

Its an excellent prep race for DCM. Tough with plenty of hills.