Boom to bust??

brutes1

Is the running and adventure events boom drawing to a close, or at its peak.. I just have a sinking feeling... or maybe its that there is too much on the calendar and some of the more established races numbers/entries are being squeezed ? -
In particular am looking at drops v last year in the numbers in 5 mile race Dublin, Gaelforce, some local Galway club races .
Or maybe its just a summer lull and everyone has gone looking for some sunshine..??
I know from the Galway/West scene that there is virtually a full calendar all year of permitted races , great to see, but can they all survive , unlikely ?..It would be a shame to see the club races in particular be hit .

TRR

Was talking about this to a club mate a while back and he said the exact same thing happened back in the 1980s and a lot of races did go boom.

average_runner

People are starting to stick with the best value races out there.

The techincal t-shirts dont sell a race anymore.

Alot of races advertise a goody bag to justify their price, but they get most of their goody bag stuff for free.

Some of the best races i have done are Dondea 10k, dunboyne 4 miler, alot of bhaa races, Santry series. I think these races will keep going strong.

I think the reason the 5 miler dropped in numbers is due to its a good race for people starting off but for people looking for a time, its too packed.

I believe their 10 mile race numbers should be ok as we lack that kind of race. Not sure about the half.

Be very interesting to see the finishing numbers of the Dublin marathon this year, that will give us an idea.

BobMac104

+1 about the prices. you can race regularly for 5-8€ , people are so wary of money that they more expensive ones will fall away a bit.

what really annoys me is the typical price difference between a 10mile race and a half marathon.

rovers_runner

I would agree there is far too much in the calendar.
The race series is fine but the staple races in Dublin should always be the classics Raheny/Clonliffe/Donore/DDSD/Sportsworld/MSB.
I would worry if the numbers fell in these races but they seem to be steady.
I am about 5 years at it now and have not dabbled in triathlon or adventure races and I personally prefer the smaller fields where everyone is there for the bigger picture and not just ticking a box.
The 5 miler in the park had 4000 + finishers but the lowest since 2008, though at 2900 that year 2012 is still a decent number.


Also as an example, I assume that the docklands runs are going to be a thing of the past after 2012 since the DDA was wound up?
Races like the samsung night run are a novelty and don't really have a place as they are only money making exercises.

With regard to companies, can't speak for the Irishfit crowd but they have had many bad reviews.
The commercial organisation of running is a pretty harsh market so only be best of them will still be here come 2014.

thirstywork2

Also as an example, I assume that the docklands runs are going to be a thing of the past after 2012 since the DDA was wound up?


Sorry what is the DDA?I thought the Docklands had big numbers this year.
Donore had to cancel their Summer 5k race this year due to expenses to run an event in the park.


Agree with you on supporting the club races

average_runner

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Also as an example, I assume that the docklands runs are going to be a thing of the past after 2012 since the DDA was wound up?


Sorry what is the DDA?I thought the Docklands had big numbers this year.
Donore had to cancel their Summer 5k race this year due to expenses to run an event in the park.


Agree with you on supporting the club races

Thats another thing that could kill races. Was talking to members in our club about our race and they said the costs are getting very high as state bodies charging extra!!

What u could see happening is spur of the moment races

belcarra

Any chance the Race Series was hit due to the fact the main sponsor pulled out this year and therefore possibly less publicity to entice those on the margins of the racing World?
Personally speaking I have done the race series a few times now and whilst it's great value for money I just felt I could do without it this year and get a chance to do races elsewhere, especially as I train so often in the Park.
Also, those races really are towards the higher end possible for the routes they take.

RacoonQueen

average_runner wrote: »

Thats another thing that could kill races. Was talking to members in our club about our race and they said the costs are getting very high as state bodies charging extra!!

What u could see happening is spur of the moment races

Yep guards and opw killed the Donore race. Well the opw did by insisting that guards were needed and other things that were wholly unecessary for a 5k race.

Ultimately that could damage the clubs as these races are massive fundraisers for clubs.

I registered the race series every year since 2007, last year ended up not doing the 10 mile and the half because those races have just lost their attraction for me. Race series has been a victim of its own success unfortunately.

average_runner

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Yep guards and opw killed the Donore race. Well the opw did by insisting that guards were needed and other things that were wholly unecessary for a 5k race.

Ultimately that could damage the clubs as these races are massive fundraisers for clubs.

I registered the race series every year since 2007, last year ended up not doing the 10 mile and the half because those races have just lost their attraction for me. Race series has been a victim of its own success unfortunately.

I am doing the 10 miler and 13 miler only because it fits into my schedule this time around and dont want to travel at the moment as too much on!
Usually i avoid the half at all costs.

Be great if they revamp these races somehow.

sconhome

average_runner wrote: »

What u could see happening is spur of the moment races

Flash mob road races. What would the motorists think of that?

claralara

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Also as an example, I assume that the docklands runs are going to be a thing of the past after 2012 since the DDA was wound up?


Sorry what is the DDA?I thought the Docklands had big numbers this year.
Donore had to cancel their Summer 5k race this year due to expenses to run an event in the park.


Agree with you on supporting the club races

The DDDA is the Dublin Docklands Development Authority which literally hasn't got a bean left.

That said, if rumors were to be believed, we wouldn't have expected any of the annual events (Oktoberfest, Christmas Market, Tall Ships festival etc) to have taken place in the last 12 months. There may be funding somewhere or the races may be taken over by another interested party - they are great races and attract really good numbers because of the lack of opportunities to run in the city centre.

Btw - I'm a big convert to the local club races in the last 6 months - cheap and cheerful with a good feed afterwards!

Boards Flashmob...can see it now - the first hit should start at Ballymount and head down onto the M50!

average_runner

claralara wrote: »

The DDDA is the Dublin Docklands Development Authority which literally hasn't got a bean left.

That said, if rumors were to be believed, we wouldn't have expected any of the annual events (Oktoberfest, Christmas Market, Tall Ships festival etc) to have taken place in the last 12 months. There may be funding somewhere or the races may be taken over by another interested party - they are great races and attract really good numbers because of the lack of opportunities to run in the city centre.

Btw - I'm a big convert to the local club races in the last 6 months - cheap and cheerful with a good feed afterwards!

Boards Flashmob...can see it now - the first hit should start at Ballymount and head down onto the M50!

At 5.30 on Friday evening

Might be hard to tell from just the runs, as weather this summer has been so unrelentingly bad. But in terms of interest, pretty sure I saw numbers for people
logging on to Munster Running and seems to just keep going up, and more than last summer. Is this forum busier?

nerraw1111

The Docklands run and Samsung were hugely successful. They'll be back for sure.

The race series can be repetitive due to the location.

There was an interesting article in outside magazine about the slowing down of the marathon boom in the US. Numbers are not growing as quick but still growing.

http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/fitness-coach/Is-the-Marathon-Boom-Over.html


I can't see it coming to an end anytime soon. DCM could have record numbers again this year.

That said, I do see some races disappearing from the calendar in 2013

2012. Will we see the appearance of the boards beer mile?

Gambas

amphkingwest wrote: »

Flash mob road races. What would the motorists think of that?

like this?

grimbergen

If the numbers doing the couch to 5k programmes are anything to go by, there's still some enthusiasm out there - the question is what % follows through. Agree with whoever said value is the key - 25 or 30 euro for a 10k is outrageous and these races deserve to go bust.