Would you try your hand at Track and Field?

ecoli

Be interested to here peoples thoughts on this one which has spawned from a discussion in another thread.

Most here take part in road races yet never seem to contemplate running in Track races or even trying field events. Would you consider it? And if not why not?

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

Wheres the option for "I would like to try track AND field events"

donothoponpop

ecoli wrote: »

Be interested to here peoples thoughts on this one which has spawned from a discussion in another thread.

Most here take part in road races yet never seem to contemplate running in Track races or even trying field events. Would you consider it? And if not why not?

No way, only the first three get medals I'd give it a shot but there's no track within miles. Means a trip to Dublin or whatever, but a Boards T&F day might be an idea- even if it showed a few people that there's more to athletics than getting goody bags etc. Failing that I'd try and enter some graded/Masters T&F this summer.



(Of course by "might be an idea", I mean "might be an idea for someone else to organize")

ecoli

04072511 wrote: »

Wheres the option for "I would like to try track AND field events"

Trying to gain understanding of actually whether its athletics as a whole or simply field events which people tend to distinguish themselves as road runners

menoscemo

I would never go near a track

04072511 wrote: »

Wheres the option for "I would like to try track AND field events"

yeah multiple poll ftw. I would like to do both. was always bad at throws but good at jumps

RayCun

ecoli wrote: »

Most here take part in road races yet never seem to contemplate running in Track races or even trying field events. Would you consider it? And if not why not?

I've run a BHAA track event, will run more this summer, and there's probably more like me. (But how many people will/have run track races shorter than 400m?)

Field events? Not a chance. Sure, I could rock up to the next open competition, chuck a hammer a couple of metres or fall into the sand in a long jump. But what's the point? I'm not going to train for these events - I enjoy running to keep fit, and as an end in itself, but would I enjoy specific long jump training? Would any coach even train me? - I'm not going to achieve anything in a field event, and their limited time could be spent on some 14 year old with potential.

menoscemo

I would never go near a track

RayCun wrote: »

I
Field events? Not a chance. Sure, I could rock up to the next open competition, chuck a hammer a couple of metres or fall into the sand in a long jump.

You're too skinny ray.

pconn062

I would like to try field events

Yes I would love to do some track events, especially racing a mile or a 3k on a track but unfortunately there is no rubber track within a 40 minute or more drive of my house. The track at my club is a 500m (or so) gravel track so no races are really held. There seems to be a bit of thinking here on boards that most people are only interested in road races and marathons but I think in a lot of cases it comes down to facilities, or rather the lack of facilities. Most local clubs in my area don't have a 400m track or field event facilities, in fact some of them don't even have a track and meet and train on the roads, which is a shame, but like a lot of things, it comes down to money.

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

RayCun wrote: »

I've run a BHAA track event, will run more this summer, and there's probably more like me. (But how many people will/have run track races shorter than 400m?)

Field events? Not a chance. Sure, I could rock up to the next open competition, chuck a hammer a couple of metres or fall into the sand in a long jump. But what's the point? I'm not going to train for these events - I enjoy running to keep fit, and as an end in itself, but would I enjoy specific long jump training? Would any coach even train me? - I'm not going to achieve anything in a field event, and their limited time could be spent on some 14 year old with potential.

One of the coaches at my club down here started Track and Field at 43. He’s now 48 and over the 11 AV Shield meets he has competed in around 95 events. It’s not unusual to see him on a given day do a 100m, 400m, 1500m, Steeplechase, Pole Vault, Long Jump, High Hurdles, Hammer, and a relay.

Point being, it’s fun to try different events even if you are not good at them.

Though because we have a grassroots interclub competition down here (AV Shield) all his and my performances count for points for the club in the standings. Harder to get somebody like yourself to do a long jump when there is no such competition really in Ireland, certainly at grassroots level anyway.


On a side note, down here at an AV Shield meet you usually tend to get around 150-160 people doing a 200m race for example. They end up having to do 25 or so heats.

RayCun

04072511 wrote: »

Though because we have a grassroots interclub competition down here (AV Shield) all his and my performances count for points for the club in the standings.

Well there is a point for him then - it doesn't matter how bad he is at an event, he achieves something for his club just by showing up. And maybe if there was a similar thing in Dublin, I would also just show up, to get the club points. But otherwise?

With running events (of 400m+, at least), most of the training you do is just running. That's why there are so many runners who aren't in clubs - running is fairly easy to do by yourself. And if you enjoy running, and just keep running, you will get better at it naturally. You don't need coaching, there are no complicated techniques to master. (Same is true of cycling and, to a lesser extent, swimming) You do the thing you like, and you do more of it.

But if I entered a long jump competition next month on a whim, and kind of liked it, my road to improvement would be much more complicated. It would probably involve doing a lot of stuff (eg weight training) that isn't necessarily what I liked - the jumping bit. And I would need more specific coaching. And I still wouldn't be any good. (and since these are not mass participation events, being not very good sticks out a lot more )

couerdelion

There's knowhere to hide on a track. Everyone can see how much you'e been beaten by. In a road race you can happily run at your own pace and you won't get lapped 2-3 times.

--amadeus--

I train on a track (very lucky to have an excellent facility a warm up run from my house) but have no interest at all in racing on it.

As Ray says it boils down to doing what floats your particular boat. I did a tiny bit of track in school and was pretty hopeless at it. And short races hurt. I personally like the rhythm and build up to a marathon, the atmosphere around the start of a big city race is great and the challenge of a long distance race is something special. I did once do a 5k and that was too short and far too much like hard work, it's simply not enjoyable. So why on earth would anyone want to go out and thrash themselves till they puke for a couple of minutes around a track???! Where is the fun in that?

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

--amadeus-- wrote: »

I train on a track (very lucky to have an excellent facility a warm up run from my house) but have no interest at all in racing on it.

As Ray says it boils down to doing what floats your particular boat. I did a tiny bit of track in school and was pretty hopeless at it. And short races hurt. I personally like the rhythm and build up to a marathon, the atmosphere around the start of a big city race is great and the challenge of a long distance race is something special. I did once do a 5k and that was too short and far too much like hard work, it's simply not enjoyable. So why on earth would anyone want to go out and thrash themselves till they puke for a couple of minutes around a track???! Where is the fun in that?

Haha, well you have no choice now but to give the 400m a go after your comment on the Big 10 thread, suggesting that sub 60 is a walk in the park based on the ability to lash out a good 10x90 session for 400m

The fun of a 400m, 800m etc is in the racing. A marathon is a time trial among thousands of others. You may think you are racing Haile but you are only racing the clock.

--amadeus--

04072511 wrote: »

Haha, well you have no choice now but to give the 400m a go after your comment on the Big 10 thread, suggesting that sub 60 is a walk in the park based on the ability to lash out a good 10x90 session for 400m

The fun of a 400m, 800m etc is in the racing. A marathon is a time trial among thousands of others. You may think you are racing Haile but you are only racing the clock.

Pfft, how hard can 400m be?

I get the challenge of racing - I mean I speed up if I see someone in front of me on a training run - but I'm really more interested in how fast I can run and not how fast I can run relative to some other people who have been put in the same heat because they can run kind of the same speed as me. And FWIW I do get a kick out of looking at my placing in big marathons, working out where I was % wise in the field, how many people were ahead or behind, how I stood in my category etc. Just because you came 4000th out of 8000 rather than 4th out of 8 doesn't mean you weren't racing. Of course you aren't racing the elites but then a 400m runner at a graded meet isn't either

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Pfft, how hard can 400m be?

I get the challenge of racing - I mean I speed up if I see someone in front of me on a training run - but I'm really more interested in how fast I can run and not how fast I can run relative to some other people who have been put in the same heat because they can run kind of the same speed as me. And FWIW I do get a kick out of looking at my placing in big marathons, working out where I was % wise in the field, how many people were ahead or behind, how I stood in my category etc. Just because you came 4000th out of 8000 rather than 4th out of 8 doesn't mean you weren't racing. Of course you aren't racing the elites but then a 400m runner at a graded meet isn't either

Yeh, but from my time doing 5K’s, 10K’s, Half’s and my one Marathon it always just felt like I was racing the clock. Sometimes towards the end you will have a sprint finish against some chap who has no idea he is in such a race But generally it is me versus the clock.

In the track races I do now, it is still me versus the clock, but with the added bonus of being in a genuine human versus human race. It is a good feeling seeing a guy who is 5 metres in front of you going into the home straight of a 400m, and then he dies a slow death, and you sail past him, timing your race to perfection. There is a good buzz out of little things like that.

Yeh I see your point about checking where you are in teh field. I used to do that a lot and thought I was great finishing in the top 13-15% of the field with a 45:xx 10km. Then I did a 10km club race down here with some 600-700 entries and I set a PB and I was in the bottom 15%, so since then I don’t see any relevance is seeing where you rank in big mass participation races in Ireland. The grannies walking at the back boost up the stats to make my performance look better than it really is.

ecoli

04072511 wrote: »

Yeh I see your point about checking where you are in teh field. I used to do that a lot and thought I was great finishing in the top 13-15% of the field with a 45:xx 10km. Then I did a 10km club race down here with some 600-700 entries and I set a PB and I was in the bottom 15%, so since then I don’t see any relevance is seeing where you rank in big mass participation races in Ireland. The grannies walking at the back boost up the stats to make my performance look better than it really is.

Could say the same about track races to. More choice of events in same day means more diluted a field. Meets where there is an 800 and 1500 means you may cut your competition in half simply because they made a choice between one and the other.

This has been shown to occur when you compare track and XC also. Not saying it right but i just pointing out there two sides to every coin

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

ecoli wrote: »

Could say the same about track races to. More choice of events in same day means more diluted a field. Meets where there is an 800 and 1500 means you may cut your competition in half simply because they made a choice between one and the other.

This has been shown to occur when you compare track and XC also. Not saying it right but i just pointing out there two sides to every coin

Perhaps. Down here though they dont run all the events each day for the AV Shield. One week they will have a 200, 800 and 3000, while the next week you will have a 100, 400, 1500, 5000, so it would be rare that you will have somebody not do one event in order to focus on a similar event.

RandyMann

I would like to try field events

Horses for courses but I have tried middle distance with the odd 5km/10km road race and I was just lost in the crowd. Not very exciting being a midpack runner. Never got to race someone so it was a just me against the clock with poor times.
Track racing is more real, exciting and the raw nerves in the starting blocks does not come close to any other mid to long distance race I entered for excitement.
You are very exposed on a track with nowhere to hide. When you are beaten convincingly by someone better, its a great leveller. To win a medal is nice too

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

RandyMann wrote: »

the raw nerves in the starting blocks does not come close to any other mid to long distance race I entered for excitement.

Bloody hell yes! The nerves in the leadup to a race are a killer. I don't know how many trip sto the bathroom there are but it's multiple!! Then that wait when you are standing behind your blocks. Then he says on your marks, followed by another ridiculously long wait before he says "set", and what feels like an age before the damn gun goes off. I love it and I hate it at the same time!

RandyMann

I would like to try field events

04072511 wrote: »

Bloody hell yes! The nerves in the leadup to a race are a killer. I don't know how many trip sto the bathroom there are but it's multiple!! Then that wait when you are standing behind your blocks. Then he says on your marks, followed by another ridiculously long wait before he says "set", and what feels like an age before the damn gun goes off. I love it and I hate it at the same time!

Funny that, I can feel my heart beat faster just reading your post, and I am not racing again till April !

runrabbit

I would like to try field events

I ran some BHAA track events (800m, 1 mile, 3k) last year and will again this summer. I'm poor over the shorter distances as I lack speed and am a slow starter but at BHAA you're up against people of your own standard so it's not so bad. I enjoyed the events - great craic!

I've also tried my hand at some of the throws (shot and javelin) when helping out at the county championships. Generally no senior ladies turn up for these events so once the kids events are wrapped up some of us coaches have a go. I'm terrible, I can't throw at all! I'm not brave enough to try jumps.

I started running exactly 2 years ago having never done any sport before in my life, so it's nice to try out as much as possible. However as a mid/back of pack plodder my main focus will remain with the 5m/10k road races. My brief attempts at track and field have not revealed any talents that have lay hidden for the last 30-odd years!

G-Money

I would like to try field events

At the risk of someone deciding to have a go, I'd definitely be interested in doing a track event like a 5000m or 10,000m.

However I'm about as far away fitness-wise as it's possible to be so it would take me a long time to get anywhere near fit enough to compete on a track event. It would have to be some sort of event that is open to all fitness levels.

I could be wrong but I think most track events here are aimed at the top end of the fitness levels and elite's such as the National's in Santry. I went to those last year as a spectator and watched the 10,000m and I think the last guy finished around the 35 minute mark with the winner finishing somewhere in the 28 minute range. So for me, I think I'd have to be able to break 35 minutes for 10k before I'd be wiling to give something like that a go, and that's a long long way off for me at the moment.

robinph

I'd have a bash at 400-1mile on the track for a laugh. Sure it does no harm to just roll up and run a couple of laps at full pelt.

There isn't the same kind of thing as the Dublin Graded meets over here for me to have a bash at now though. I did put my name forward last year to run for our partner club that does track and field (to make up the numbers for them in some meet) but they didn't seem interested at that point.

--amadeus--

Track is to road racing as NASCAR is to F1...

BeepBeep67

Track is great fun and I love it, the combination of running against the clock - hearing your splits every 400m, the competition, jostling for position, keeping the inside lane, looking for gaps, passing on the straight, holding someone off on the bend, killing the last 120 or struggling with jelly legs.
I know some people are put off, there's nowhere to hide on the track, you're exposed for 1, 4, 25 laps - but I'd encourage everyone to give it a try.
Round 3 of this year's Wicklow F4L will be a floodlit mile, ran in several time categories, so all are welcome. The date is likely to be Tuesday March 13th - this will be confirmed early next week.

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Track is to road racing as NASCAR is to F1...

Road Running is to Track as Special Olympics is to Olympics ;):D:cool:

runrabbit

I would like to try field events

G-Money wrote: »

So for me, I think I'd have to be able to break 35 minutes for 10k before I'd be wiling to give something like that a go, and that's a long long way off for me at the moment.

At the risk of sounding like AJCOT ... if you wanted to try out track races you should definitely give the BHAA ones a go this summer. Because they split the races up by standards, you will be competing against others who will be running a similar pace to yourself. So while there are plenty of speed demons in the first couple of races of the night, as the evening progresses the pace slows. There's some sort of error on the results page at the moment (bhaa.ie), but have a look at the 2011 results in the next few days and you will see that you would have people in your pace group to compete against. The track races are the Trinity races (on a grass track in front of the Pav), Aviva mile and Irish Life and Permanent 3k (at Irishtown stadium) and Zurich 2 mile (Tallaght).

The social aspect is great too - the best part of the night is the tea, brack and chat afterwards, and a spot prize or quiz if you're lucky!

thirtyfoot

04072511 wrote: »

Road Running is to Track as Special Olympics is to Olympics ;):D:cool:

Says it all baby, love it;)

Its all about competing, not winning. I compete against myself, its just for me. I measure myself against myself. Blah, blah pussy look in the mirror sh*t.

Road racing comfortably in a pack is to track what masturbation is to sex (with a real person).

If people were interested we could organise a track & field comp covering a range of events like a Pent (Hept or Oct) hathlon or a version of it.

donothoponpop

thirtyfoot wrote: »

If people were interested we could organise a track & field comp covering a range of events like a Pent (Hept or Oct) hathlon or a version of it.

That's a brilliant idea! Fair play!

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

G-Money wrote: »

At the risk of someone deciding to have a go, I'd definitely be interested in doing a track event like a 5000m or 10,000m.

However I'm about as far away fitness-wise as it's possible to be so it would take me a long time to get anywhere near fit enough to compete on a track event. It would have to be some sort of event that is open to all fitness levels.

I could be wrong but I think most track events here are aimed at the top end of the fitness levels and elite's such as the National's in Santry. I went to those last year as a spectator and watched the 10,000m and I think the last guy finished around the 35 minute mark with the winner finishing somewhere in the 28 minute range. So for me, I think I'd have to be able to break 35 minutes for 10k before I'd be wiling to give something like that a go, and that's a long long way off for me at the moment.

Down here in Melbourne for the AV Shield meets they tend to throw everybody into the one race for a 5000m, in order to keep everybody who isn't competing in the 5000m happy (nobody wants to watch 4-5 graded heats of a bloody 5k, you'd be there all day). But as a result the standard varies wildly, from the 14-15 minutes guys, down to the back markers who are going at 21-22 minutes. So you have people getting lapped multiple times. In fact you could be lapping somebody, and getting lapped yourself at the same time. Not only is this a disaster for the officials to keep track of, but it also is boring to watch as nobody knows who is coming where in the race, and in general it looks just like a mass participation road race, but with teh added torture of running around a circle 12.5 times. To be honest who wants to run in a race where you get lapped!

The moral of this? Don't run 5000m's on the track. Do something like a 1500m.

G-Money

I would like to try field events

Nice, I didn't really know there were track events open to people at a slower pace and there were shorter distances like 2 mile and 3k and so on. I guess I was thinking there was just the normal sprints, middle distance and then 5000m and 10,000m. Will check out that BHAA thing. With some luck, hopefully my pace will have improved by the summer.

ecoli

04072511 wrote: »

The moral of this? Don't run 5000m's on the track. Do something like a 1500m.

Or, don't base all your evidence of Irish meets on Australian events;)

Pisco Sour

I would like to try field events

ecoli wrote: »

Or, don't base all your evidence of Irish meets on Australian events;)

Ah I was more referring to people in the 18-22 minute range. Somebody like yourself could get many a decent race in down here where you dont have to spend half the race in lane 2 going past people, while somebody else is in lane 3 passing you!

RayCun

G-Money wrote: »

Nice, I didn't really know there were track events open to people at a slower pace and there were shorter distances like 2 mile and 3k and so on.

A word of warning - I can't check against the results now, but I'm pretty sure that the standards in the open races (for non-BHAA members) are higher than the standards in the slower graded races.

runrabbit

I would like to try field events

RayCun wrote: »

A word of warning - I can't check against the results now, but I'm pretty sure that the standards in the open races (for non-BHAA members) are higher than the standards in the slower graded races.

That's true. So ideally you should join up and then you'll be assigned a standard for your second race (based on your time in your first one). It's €15 for the year and only €10 a race after that. There are some nice road races coming up in the spring that you could use as an intro and it would mean you'd have a standard for the track races. Keep an eye on this thread.

Actually now that I think about it I seem to remember at the Trinity track last year that new people signing up were asked for their PBs over the distance and were assigned to a standard based on that. But join up and get involved in the races and you'll see your fitness and pace improve no end.

shels4ever

I would like to try field events

RayCun wrote: »

A word of warning - I can't check against the results now, but I'm pretty sure that the standards in the open races (for non-BHAA members) are higher than the standards in the slower graded races.

I'm not so sure about that now. Think the BHAA 3k have been won in about 9 mins and have people over 11 mins . Last graded 3k I seen everyone was under the 11min mark.
Graded meets are great events hope to run one again someday.

runrabbit

I would like to try field events

shels4ever wrote: »

I'm not so sure about that now. Think the BHAA 3k have been won in about 9 mins and have people over 11 mins . Last graded 3k I seen everyone was under the 11min mark.
Graded meets are great events hope to run one again someday.

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I could be getting the wrong end of the stick here) but I think RayCun means the different graded races on an individual BHAA track night (off the top of my head there's typically 6 races, the graded races for Standards roughly 1-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-30 and the "open" race). The BHAA "open" race is for non-members and would often be a faster race than the Std 13-15 and Std 16-30 races for example. So if you were a slower paced runner you would have more competition in one of those races than the open one, where you might be dropped off the back on the first lap.

I've never gone to one of the Dublin graded meets myself, the standard would be a bit too high for me! Maybe one day!

BeepBeep67

Re BHAA: for the 3k and 2M track they also handicap within the grades with 15sec and 16sec handicaps respectively.

shels4ever

I would like to try field events

runrabbit wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I could be getting the wrong end of the stick here) but I think RayCun means the different graded races on an individual BHAA track night (off the top of my head there's typically 6 races, the graded races for Standards roughly 1-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-30 and the "open" race). The BHAA "open" race is for non-members and would often be a faster race than the Std 13-15 and Std 16-30 races for example. So if you were a slower paced runner you would have more competition in one of those races than the open one, where you might be dropped off the back on the first lap.

I've never gone to one of the Dublin graded meets myself, the standard would be a bit too high for me! Maybe one day!

Oh ok, I though he was talking about the standards at the graded meet ie grade B,C,D been lower than the open race at the Bhaa race that has no standards or Handicap race.

Wouldnt show up at a graded meet if i wasnt in sub 11 3k shape, while I would run the BHAA open 3k if I was.
But I havent ran a garded meet since 1994 :eek:

G-Money

I would like to try field events

So am I right to think the graded meets are for people who are in really good shape whereas the open meets are basically open to all levels and abilities mainly?

Woddle

I would like to try field events

I can't wait for the track season. All the hard work that's been done at the moment is geared towards it.
My favourite distances would be 800/1500 and I can almost touch my new PBs

Woddle

I would like to try field events

G-Money wrote: »

So am I right to think the graded meets are for people who are in really good shape whereas the open meets are basically open to all levels and abilities mainly?

My opinion is for graded meets you'd want to be in at least 5:30 mile shape and 2:30 800m shape. Just my opinion.

baza1976

ecoli wrote: »

Be interested to here peoples thoughts on this one which has spawned from a discussion in another thread.

Most here take part in road races yet never seem to contemplate running in Track races or even trying field events. Would you consider it? And if not why not?

Main reason for me is having to join a club so I can do what your asking. Same goes for cross country. Don't see why I can't turn up to these meets early, register, pay my fiver or tenner and run acouple of events. With most road races that is how it works.

shels4ever

I would like to try field events

G-Money wrote: »

So am I right to think the graded meets are for people who are in really good shape whereas the open meets are basically open to all levels and abilities mainly?

Well the Graded are run by the Dublin Athletic board so you will mostly club runner there, You have grade a-d based on standards but in a lot of race you might just end up with an A and B race depending on numbers.
The Bhaa open race is for anyone to run, usually no BHAA members run in this one as well as some faster guys looking for times. Both are great events .

runrabbit

I would like to try field events

G-Money wrote: »

So am I right to think the graded meets are for people who are in really good shape whereas the open meets are basically open to all levels and abilities mainly?

No they are 2 different events. The graded meets are organised by Dublin Athletics and participants are generally quite fast (you are graded A/B/C/D).

The BHAA track events have several races graded by standards 1-30 (info on the standard system here). They also have an open race for non-BHAA members who have not been assigned a standard based on a previous race. RayCun's point was that the runners who typically shows up as a non-member to run the open race are often faster than those running in the lower standards:

runrabbit wrote: »

there's typically 6 races, the graded races for Standards roughly 1-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-30 and the "open" race). The BHAA "open" race is for non-members and would often be a faster race than the Std 13-15 and Std 16-30 races for example. So if you were a slower paced runner you would have more competition in one of those races than the open one, where you might be dropped off the back on the first lap.

Hope that has made it clearer or have I muddied the waters further? I blame shels4ever for the confusion

Edit: Sorry - Post crossed with shels4ever who explained it much more succinctly!

RayCun

runrabbit wrote: »

No they are 2 different events. The graded meets are organised by Dublin Athletics and participants are generally quite fast (you are graded A/B/C/D).

The BHAA track events have several races graded by standards 1-30 (info on the standard system here). They also have an open race for non-BHAA members who have not been assigned a standard based on a previous race. RayCun's point was that the runners who typically shows up as a non-member to run the open race are often faster than those running in the lower standards:

Yes, sorry, I introduced the confusion here.

There are the Dublin Graded Meets, a series of track and field events through the summer. They're only open to AAI members, and the standard is quite high.
The BHAA organise races through the year, that are open to members and non-members alike. Members are assigned standards based on their performances in each race. In road races everyone runs together. In crosscountry, there are men's and women's races. In track races, there's a series of races for BHAA members of different standards, and an open race for non-members. The standard in the open race is relatively high, but the standards in some of the members-only races are lower. So if you want to run a track race,but are worried about the other runners being too fast, your best bet is to join the BHAA and run in one of the lower standard races.

meathcountysec

baza1976 wrote: »

Main reason for me is having to join a club so I can do what your asking. Same goes for cross country. Don't see why I can't turn up to these meets early, register, pay my fiver or tenner and run acouple of events. With most road races that is how it works.

There are open t&f and cross country events out there. Some county/provincial t&f champs are open as well.

seanynova

I would like to try field events

i plan on running in the indoor series next winter, 1500m-3000m...but would be worried about being a back of the packer in these events....low 3:5X wins 1500m events here with a good few going sub4 and the 3k events are around 8mins for the winners with most sub10mins

but that said, if i actually trained for those event i might be able to get a reasonable time for a road plodder

baza1976

meathcountysec wrote: »

There are open t&f and cross country events out there. Some county/provincial t&f champs are open as well.

Really? Any around the limerick area?

longjump67

I would never go near a track

For those around the Dublin area here are the details of Graded meets

http://www.dublinathletics.com/attachments/163_Graded%20Book%202012.pdf

meathcountysec

baza1976 wrote: »

Really? Any around the limerick area?

Not sure to be honest. I've checked AAI fixture list and there are the following:

Cushenstown – Meath, St. Senan’s – Waterford, Leevale – Cork, St. Abbans – Carlow, Riverstick/Kinsale – Cork

All open t&f events. Cross country events will probably show up later in the year as it is essentially an autumn/winter category.

If your local county board/provincial council has a website that might be the place to start looking.