Athlone Half Marathon - 15th September 2012

Lostnfound

I've been thinking about this as a first half marathon, its either this or the Phoenix Park Half on the same day but the flat half in Athlone as a first somewhat appeals.

Anyone have any thoughts? - I don't know the area or the race so any advice appreciated.

http://athlonehalfmarathon.com/joomla16/

tang1

Its the races first year, i'm doing it myself as i'm from just outside Athlone. I was emailing the organiser regarding it and he says its pancake flat, which seems to be the case from race profile on the website. Be less of a crowd than Dublin so it should be more comfortable to run. Its well priced to for a half marathon IMO.

ekevosu

I signed up for this as well, more as a training, enjoy it type run than to get any sort of time. Free non alcoholic beer at the end as well is a nice touch. First year is probably going to be a bit chaotic at times but I think it'll be good, less crowded than the Dublin one but hopefully a good atmosphere.

seeryd

Hi There,

I'm one of the organisers and we really hope that this race is going to be a great success. It is on quiet country roads, very flat and the 20euro entrance fee includes a t-shirt and race finisher medal and oh yeah, a free non-alcoholic isotonic Erdinger beer after!!

Our original target was for 300 entrants and I think we will achieve this target easily. I wish you all the best with your training and hopefully we get to see you at the startline. Plenty of updates in the coming weeks on the race website and facebook page.

Yours in Sport
The Flatline - Athlone Half Marathon

iarmhi1975

Hi All,

Just to help you make a decision as to what to do. It is the first event for us but we are all coming from a running or Triathlon background and have all been involved in running event s previously. Hopefully it will not be chaotic as we are working hard to cover all the items that we can foresee.

As I said we come from sporting backgrounds and want to put on a event that is enjoyable and offers people who have never completed the distance the opportunity to complete as well as give more serious runners the opportunity to break their Personal Bests. All this with the guiding principal that it is fair value.

We have been fortunate that local sponsors and the likes of Erdinger have come aboard based on the principals of the event and that is fair value and a good event.

We have a Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/athlonehalfmarathon

and a website

http://athlonehalfmarathon.com

• You will find a lot of information on both sites. There is a Garmin map of the course. At the highest point on the course the between kilometres 10-15 there is a rise of 40cms every 100ms. It really is that flat.!!
• We have 4 entrants to the event who are blogging on the website and they range from those tring to set a PB to those trying to complete the distance. There are some really inspiring stories in the blogs.
• We will have pacers on the day at 1.20hrs, 1.30hrs, 1.45hrs and 2.0hrs.
• It will be chip timed
• The Beer we will give to finishers is NON ALCOHOLIC but not just that, it is ISOTONIC. Might be unbelievable but it is true.
• Anything that you need to know and can’t find on the website or Facebook page just drop us a note and we will help.

We are looking forward to a great event. At the moment it looks as if we will go over what we hoped for and we almost have 50/50 participation between male and female so that is great.

Hope to see you all on the day and thanks for considering the event.


Yours in Sport,

The Flatline - Athlone Half Marathon

Lostnfound

iarmhi1975 wrote: »

Hi All,

Just to help you make a decision as to what to do. It is the first event for us but we are all coming from a running or Triathlon background and have all been involved in running event s previously. Hopefully it will not be chaotic as we are working hard to cover all the items that we can foresee.

As I said we come from sporting backgrounds and want to put on a event that is enjoyable and offers people who have never completed the distance the opportunity to complete as well as give more serious runners the opportunity to break their Personal Bests. All this with the guiding principal that it is fair value.

We have been fortunate that local sponsors and the likes of Erdinger have come aboard based on the principals of the event and that is fair value and a good event.

We have a Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/athlonehalfmarathon

and a website

http://athlonehalfmarathon.com

• You will find a lot of information on both sites. There is a Garmin map of the course. At the highest point on the course the between kilometres 10-15 there is a rise of 40cms every 100ms. It really is that flat.!!
• We have 4 entrants to the event who are blogging on the website and they range from those tring to set a PB to those trying to complete the distance. There are some really inspiring stories in the blogs.
• We will have pacers on the day at 1.20hrs, 1.30hrs, 1.45hrs and 2.0hrs.
• It will be chip timed
• The Beer we will give to finishers is NON ALCOHOLIC but not just that, it is ISOTONIC. Might be unbelievable but it is true.
• Anything that you need to know and can’t find on the website or Facebook page just drop us a note and we will help.

We are looking forward to a great event. At the moment it looks as if we will go over what we hoped for and we almost have 50/50 participation between male and female so that is great.

Hope to see you all on the day and thanks for considering the event.


Yours in Sport,

The Flatline - Athlone Half Marathon

Thanks, looking forward to it, haven't entered yet getting Phoenix Park 10 mile out of the way first but will do.

meouldstock

Hi seeryd and iarmhi1975,

Will race entry be cut off once you get 300 participants or can people register after you reach that figure?
Do you have a closing date for registration?

I'd been thinking about this race but I won't know if that weekend will be free until the week before.

Cheers.

iarmhi1975

The principal of the race is to allow people to run so we would not be in favour of turning people away at all. We can plan for more than 300, the route can easily cater for more, and have contingency with regards to T-shirts, Medals, Water, timing chips and the Beer for more .
We have guarenteed that there will be race entry on the day and we will stick to that. We will announce closer to the day how many will be available on the day.

If you want to run then you will run and we will look after you while you do.;)

Updates all the time on the Facebook page.

Online entry closes on Thursday September 13th for €20 and entry on the day is €25.

meouldstock

Cheers iarmhi1975, hopefully will get to see ye down there.

watergal

Looks good and a nice change to have an alternative to the Dublin half which I've been doing for the last number of years ( I live near enough to the pheonix park), so I think I'll give it a shot. Need to check if I'm working that weekend but should know early next week. As long as there's a place for joggers I'm happy
Did the Longford half a few days ago and it was very warm.. so beer will be welcome at the end..even non-alcoholic and even in the rain !

Also, a flat course is always a winner, especially for us plodders ..

blockic

Just registered for this due to Kilkenny HM being cancelled. Looking forward to it as based on what ive seen so far it looks like it will be well organised.

dizzymom

Looking forward to doing this flat half marathon, thrilled that its only 20 euro ! and you get a medal and tshirt and chipped ! more events should take note

ManFromAtlantis

This looks likes a good race and I think I'll do it. I wonder tho could someone confirm if it has been certified/measured course.
Thanks. Looking forward to it.

tang1

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

This looks likes a good race and I think I'll do it. I wonder tho could someone confirm if it has been certified/measured course.
Thanks. Looking forward to it.

I think it is, remember seeing it on there Facebook page. If your in doubt email the organiser, hes very prompt & accomodating usually.

Lostnfound

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

This looks likes a good race and I think I'll do it. I wonder tho could someone confirm if it has been certified/measured course.
Thanks. Looking forward to it.

Thought I saw somewhere that it was Athletics Ireland approved which would suggest the distance is correct. I've entered and am looking forward to it. My best races are over longer distances although I haven't tackled anything over 10 miles.

You could check the event website to confirm the finer details.

blockic

Anyone know where the start and finish to this is?

Is it in the town? ans where would be the best spot to park on the morning of the race?

tang1

blockic wrote: »

Anyone know where the start and finish to this is?

Is it in the town? ans where would be the best spot to park on the morning of the race?

Start & finish at St Aloysius College which is on the Roscommon side of the town. Parking is being provided in the grounds of the school as far as i know.

blockic

More info for next Saturday...

http://www.athlonehalfmarathon.com/training/flatline_race_briefing.pdf

iarmhi1975

Hello All,

I see the questions coming in and for some reason did not get a notification. Sorry for delayed response. Let me address some of the questions now.

Question Start & finish at St Aloysius College which is on the Roscommon side of the town. Parking is being provided in the grounds of the school as far as i know.

Answer: Correct, start and finish will be in the college, we have parking in the college also for race participants and should be able to accomodate overflow in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel who are a sponsor. There is also parking available just of Connacht Street.

Question: This looks likes a good race and I think I'll do it. I wonder tho could someone confirm if it has been certified/measured course.
Thanks. Looking forward to it.

Answer: We are delighted to announce that it is a certified and measured course and we have a permit from AAI.

General: We are providing constant updates on Facebook and we realise that not everyone is on Facebook so also updating the Website.

WE ARE BLOWN AWAY BY THE RESPONSE TO THIS FIRST TIME EVENT AND BELIEVE ME WHEN WE TELL YOU WE ARE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK ON IT. THE REGISTRATIONS WE BELIVE ARE SENDING OUT A MESSAGE AND AS RUNNERS OURSELVES WE ARE DELIGHTED. ON THE DAY WE WILL BE VISIBLE AS ORGANISERS. WE WANT TO DO THE BEST WE CAN FOR YOU SO PLEASE DONT BE SHY IN LETTING US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP. THIS IS NOT OUR EVENT IT IS THE RUNNERS EVENT WE ARE JUST TAKING OUR TURN TO ORGANISE.;)

blockic

Spotted on the FB page that they could hit the 500 entrants mark come Saturday.

A great achievement for the first running of the event. Should lead to a good atmosphere around. Organisation to date has been great in fairness. Hopefully it will all go off with out a hitch!

Starting to look forward to it now!

iarmhi1975

Thanks Blockic, we are certainly not looking for any hitchs:D

tang1

For those running i see from there Facebook page the start time has been pushed back till 11.30am. Registration is still closed at 10.30am.

Lostnfound

Looking forward to it, seems to have taken off as an event. The Erdinger Non Alcolohol beer at the finish is a nice touch.

I have a soft spot for community run events like this so will burn off a bit of diesel to get there, I know it'll be worth it.

It's my first half marathon and I'm ready as I'll ever be.

blockic

Best of luck to everyone tomorrow. Weather looking good. Slight breeze into us on the first half of the marathon but with us for the push in the end!

Shouldnt be much of a factor. Just think of the beer at the end!

ManFromAtlantis

ah fek it. i was sure last day for online reg was today friday.
dont necessarily mind the extra 5er but was hoping to get the tshirt and avoid reg q's.
still going to do it tho and really looking forward to it. its 11:30 start right?

blockic

Yep, its 11.30 now with registration closing at 10.30 i believe.

trowel

Have decided to keep my first marathon plans on track and enter this race - will make the trip from Dublin in the morning. 11.30 start means i can get a nice big bowl of oats into me beforehand too
Looks like it will be a great debut entry from the Athlone organisers who have had to work round the clock to keep up with the entrants! Well done folks!
Good luck to everyone taking part tomorrow.

goalie2

Race was a great success, must have been over 600, great route and ideal for setting PB's which I did at 1:34. Credit to the organisers for a very successful event. Now to Maguire's for post race party !

Lostnfound

Great race, I finished just over 1:49 so I was delighted to have a sub 1:50 for my first half marathon.

The race was very well organised with over 700 entries, arrived to lots of car parking and race crew directing people to car space, registration was well organised and technical tops are top class.

The start was somewhat congested and the chip was I think only for finish from gun time but the route was a good run through the local countryside. I admired plenty of bog and the next time I'm burning turf I'll know where it came from.

The finish was great with Erdinger non alc beer, fruit and water. I look forward to this next year.:)

village runner

Lostnfound wrote: »

Great race, I finished just over 1:49 so I was delighted to have a sub 1:50 for my first half marathon.

The race was very well organised with over 700 entries, arrived to lots of car parking and race crew directing people to car space, registration was well organised and technical tops are top class.

The start was somewhat congested and the chip was I think only for finish from gun time but the route was a good run through the local countryside. I admired plenty of bog and the next time I'm burning turf I'll know where it came from.

The finish was great with Erdinger non alc beer, fruit and water. I look forward to this next year.:)

I am a huge race critic but for a first year event this was top class. Yes start was congested but so is Ballycotton so no biggie. Plenty of water in bottles and good race support. Great finish too with plenty of fruit(not my thing) water and erdinger. 2 PBS out of car from the 2 that raced it so it's a good pb course. Def be back nxt yr. 20 euro inc a tshirt. Was a blessing in disguise kk half was cancelled.

daithieoghan

Delighted with how this went. Really well organised and good feel about the place.
Crushed my pb by 7 mins so Athlone looks very pretty to me now.
I am certain to return next year. Thank You

dizzymom

Athlone you got it RIGHT !

Well signposted
Excellent Parking
Fast Registration
Xsmall tshirts kept aside
Great organisation
Mile markers and Kilometre markers (bang on!)
Fabulous flat course
Actually trying to find a fault but scratching my head - nope, gets the thumbs up, other races should take note and learn from you guys !
Will be back

ekevosu

That was a brilliantly organised half marathon and great fun. I did the longford half a few weeks before and would probably put Athlone above it in terms of enjoyment. Great course, great weather, great non alcoholic beer and well marked out and marshalled. I liked the finish as well.

The start was the only thing that needs changing for next year as it was a bit chaotic and I ended up near enough to the start with a friend even though we had thought we were at the back from the way people were facing and from where we came in but then the organiser told everyone to turn around. Cue the push from people trying to change positions before the gun went. There was no way for people coming in later than the others from the college to get to the back or near the back unless they had come in first as it was too tightly packed.

A great race and a great day. Well done everyone involved.

Art of Noise

Lostnfound wrote: »

The start was somewhat congested and the chip was I think only for finish from gun time but the route was a good run through the local countryside.

On the point of the chip, I see the results on precision timing only have race times. However after the race myself and a few others checked our times from an organiser with a computer and she gave us chip times. In my case my chip time was over 30 seconds quicker than my race time although it only took me 6 seconds to cross the start line according to my watch.

The race itself was fantastic, great organisation, course and weather. Five stars in every way.

DigiJem

Really well organised event, especially for its first year. Nice rural route, well marked and marshaled. Great value for €20. For me, the start was the only part that could be improved.

Al0502

Great race - well done to the organisers.

iarmhi1975

Thank you all for the balanced feedback and thanks for deciding to come to a first time race.

We are meeting this week as an organising team to tidy up on the T-Shirts and Medals that we have to re-order. We will also be outlining the improvements we feel can be made based on our own experience and the comments received on the day and through boards.ie and our Facebook page.

We will improve the start for next year and already have a plan for that.

On timing, it was a gun start so the chip time you receive is from the gun start. Based on the numbers we will have to review this for next year.

If you hav etiming questions please email us and we will review it with our timing partner Precision Timing.

In the meantime we want to congratulate all those who completed the distance for the first time and all those who achieved Personal Bests(and there are quite a few)

Keep an eye on the Fit magazine in the Irish Independent on Thursday you might see a photo of yourself.;)

Regards,

"the flatline" team

ManFromAtlantis

organisers , take a bow. well done for a first race.

good parking, loads of crew, super course and a great name for the race.

blockic

I can't give enough praise for how well this was organised. A great effort especially for its first go.

Only improvement needs to be the start. Possibly advise sub 2hr runners to be at the front and the over 2hr runners to place themselves a bit further back. As I found the first mile to be very congested with faster runners trying to pass out people in front of them.

But again this can be easily fixed.

Well done to all involved.

dingonerd

For a first attempt at organising a race this was exceptional.

Even before race day the amount of info being sent out thru the facebook page,website, and email was beyond anything i experienced before.

Plenty of parking beside start/finish area.
Very well organised and friendly registration area
Good quality tech shirt
The course was about as flat as you'd get, a few wee drags but nothing major.
Well marshalled, signposted and water stations

All mile markers bang on the money.

Water, fruit, and "isotonic" beer after..

Just a couple of small issues:

If the race is to grow in numbers, and it no doubt will, you'll need to change the start area, as 2 sharpish bends in the first 400m is too tight. But I think you've already got that in hand.

If you want to grow the race numbers I think you need to have age categories. The size of the prize is not that important its just nice to know how you compare with guys in your category.

And one last thing...please try not to stick a microphone in my gob when i finish, as at that stage I dont know my own name never mind talk about the race...not unless you fancy a bit of heavy breathing and the odd swear word:D

And all for €20

marchino

Well done to Mick Murphy and all his crew on an excellently run event.
Easy to see it was a runner who organized this.
Only a couple of suggestive critisismes: 1) Maybe a few more prizes and 2) a few sambos and soup/coffee laid out inside with the video on big screen, might be a winner.
Start could even stay where it was, if you had differnt starting zones/pens.

A big thumbs up on the way we were informed of all latest updates.
A special touch and made you feel secure about the race running smoothly.

Used this as a nice marathon tempo.
Lovely course and race crew.
Nice 33 min video on facebook now aswel :-)
Well done to all.