Charleville Half Marathon Sept 22nd 2013

Redtop

Mark your diaries for Sun Sept 22nd : Charleville's Half Marathon.

Feedback from the last 2 events was very positive.
We are trying to improve it again this year.
Applications have been submitted to Limerick & Cork County Councils for Road Closures. If there are not too many objections, then hopefully we will be successful in having a traffic-free course this year.

We are actively looking for sponsors, so if you know of anyone who is interested in being part of this great event, please let us know. Thanks.

Redtop

Entries Open for Charleville Half Marathon.
The perfect course for a PB.
Register Here : http://www.charlevillehalf.com/registration/

belcarra

Conflicting info on their website vs reg page.
Site says €25 but reg page says €35!
If it's actually €25 I'll be entering but if it's €35 then I'll give it a miss.

opus

belcarra wrote: »

Conflicting info on their website vs reg page.
Site says €25 but reg page says €35!
If it's actually €25 I'll be entering but if it's €35 then I'll give it a miss.

I've just emailed them for a registration form so will report back on what it says on that.

ger664

belcarra wrote: »

Conflicting info on their website vs reg page.
Site says €25 but reg page says €35!
If it's actually €25 I'll be entering but if it's €35 then I'll give it a miss.

Even if its €35 its still value for money. Have done this the last 2 years and its one of the best halves out there.

belcarra

ger664 wrote: »

Even if its €35 its still value for money. Have done this the last 2 years and its one of the best halves out there.

Ya Ger I've heard good things about it but factoring in travel from Dublin and back and the fact that there are other good cheaper races (Athlone HM, ECO Run, etc.) around the same time means price could be the deciding factor for me anyways!

mr.wiggle

Cant imagine it being 35e. Think the club pride themselves on staging a rip-off free event. Ran it last year, had a great time afterwards, good buzz, good cause.

Edit...35e it is...boo...

opus

opus wrote: »

I've just emailed them for a registration form so will report back on what it says on that.

Just had confirmation, it's €35 this year. They'll be changing the website shortly as it's still showing the info from last year.

belcarra

opus wrote: »

Just had confirmation, it's €35 this year. They'll be changing the website shortly as it's still showing the info from last year.

Disappointing. Raising the price at all in this environment is not very welcome but to go from €25 to €35 is a huge (40%) jump in the space of a year.
I guess that weekend has just re-opened up on my calendar!:cool:

Pronator

€35 euro is too expensive especially if your driving down from Dublin. Have heard good reports about the Athlone HM which is the week before or there is the Dublin half in the park the day before (21st).

Pity about the price as its one I would possibly have looked at :rolleyes: but I'm sure the organisers have their reasons for the price hike???

mr.wiggle

i think last year there was the option of a cheaper entry fee if you didn't want a medal or t-shirt? Why is that not the case this year?
( I'm not, i repeat NOT, going to start an entry fee rant....yet!!:( )

Sosa

I have heard great things about this race from the last 2 years buts its a 1.45 trek from my place,petrol etc and entry puts a squeeze on my finances....same day there is a 10m in stoneyford kilkenny that is 30 mins tops...might be going there now....pity

nellocono

That's a big jump in price to be fair, especially given the fact that its not exactly particularly close to most people and petrol and other costs will have to be factored in. Also, it doesn't mention anything about a goody bag with t-shirt this year so not sure there is one included.

For those of based in Cork, you can get an entry to the Blarney half marathon on the 8th Sept for 20 euro and Cork to Cobh 15 mile race is on 4 weeks after and is only 10 euro - Entry to both races is still less than one entry to Charleville

charleville Intl Half

Just to correct some misinformation and provide some balance to the overall attitude I thought it was important to post as race organiser.

Last year we charged 25 euro plus 5 euro for t-shirt, plus 5 for an excellent medal if you wanted it. We got heavily criticised for this even though it is the norm in US and Europe to break up the cost for people. Even though it was intended to help those not able to afford the rip-off commercial half-marathons, there was little appreciation for this fact. We made a net loss in taking this approach.

Therefore since we are giving a quality long sleeve t-shirt in our goody bag this year, it is essentially only a 5 euro entry fee increase which is due to having to pay for road closures and all other costs associated with this. Compare that on a piece by piece basis to other half-marathons and you will find its very good value.

Doing the price structure that we did last year, we only broke even on the day before the race which is very risky for a small club with no major sponsor. I dare any other club to take such a risk!

We are not a big club or commercial race therefore in order to ensure the long term survival of the race and the quality of the event we had to make the decision to make the increase in price so that we do not expose ourselves to such risk of losses.

Our price is half way between the poorer quality club races and the poorer quality commercial event with all the bells and whistles.

Basically if you want the best quality Half-marathon in the country which has the friendly feel of a club race, then the price we charge is reasonable and well worth the extra 5 euro. There is no other race in the country which provides as good an opportunity for a personal best time on the best quality course and which offers such a feed afterwards along with top quality race t-shirt.

Maybe it is not important for some of the posters here to have a course which is measured to International standards and which has road closures which gives you a great chance to run flat out for a time which will be recognised internationally? Maybe it is not important to them that there is an overall quality in this event which has been proven to exist in the past 2 years through the overwhelming positive reviews the event has gotten?
This race stands for quality in as many aspects of its organisation as possible. No other stand-alone Half-marathon has AIMS certification so your time is going to be recognised if you wish to enter a race abroad or if you want a truly accurate time. We have spent 1500 Euro to ensure this quality of measurement of the course.

People are welcome to email charlevillehalf@gmail.com to ask for the race budget. We welcome any input from financial wizards who can suggest where we can trim any aspect of our costs to make it more affordable. As a voluntary athletics club we welcome any help.

However, please do not imply that as a club we are being unethical when any proceeds which MAY come from this event go back into a charity for people with special needs and the very inclusive local athletics club who organise this unique event voluntarily.

We are not a half-marathon which advertises itself as a scenic race or a race which gives all the bells and whistles. We are a race which wants runners to get a running event which is of similar quality to those offered in Europe which actually allows them to run fast! Runners who want to get a true reflection of their running abilities... We will have a very competitive race for you with pacers and road closures, with a flat and extremely accurately measured course if you want to come and try to run a personal best time. Our race is for you who train hard to improve themselves and their times. We know that there will be those who will find our price too much if they do not appreciate the quality of the event we are offering but we are sticking to our guns for the sake of runners who can appreciate quality when they see it.

Please do not compare our event to those poorer quality events who do not put anything back into the sport and who do not offer the quality that we do with road closures etc. Unfortunately there is no other race who has gone to the lengths that our race has to reinvest in the sport that we do and invest in quality. Any criticisms made of our event, please qualify them with facts rather than unqualified remarks based on incorrect assumptions or lack of knowledge.

Our race was created as a reaction to the lack of real quality events for runners of all standards who wanted to just basically get a true reflection of their ability over this distance. Anyone who really cares about quality in our sport will understand what we stand for and not really flinch at a few extra euro for this quality. Its just disappointing that a forum of runners should not see this quality and instead default to this kind of knee-jerk reaction. For more about the race's quality, see our history and stats section and then maybe you might appreciate what we are offering a bit more - http://www.charlevillehalf.com/race-history/

FutureGuy

charleville Intl Half wrote: »

Just to correct some misinformation and provide some balance to the overall attitude I thought it was important to post as race organiser.

Last year we charged 25 euro plus 5 euro for t-shirt, plus 5 for an excellent medal if you wanted it. We got heavily criticised for this even though it is the norm in US and Europe to break up the cost for people. Even though it was intended to help those not able to afford the rip-off commercial half-marathons, there was little appreciation for this fact. We made a net loss in taking this approach.

Therefore since we are giving a quality long sleeve t-shirt in our goody bag this year, it is essentially only a 5 euro entry fee increase which is due to having to pay for road closures and all other costs associated with this. Compare that on a piece by piece basis to other half-marathons and you will find its very good value.

Doing the price structure that we did last year, we only broke even on the day before the race which is very risky for a small club with no major sponsor. I dare any other club to take such a risk!

We are not a big club or commercial race therefore in order to ensure the long term survival of the race and the quality of the event we had to make the decision to make the increase in price so that we do not expose ourselves to such risk of losses.

Our price is half way between the poorer quality club races and the poorer quality commercial event with all the bells and whistles.

Basically if you want the best quality Half-marathon in the country which has the friendly feel of a club race, then the price we charge is reasonable and well worth the extra 5 euro. There is no other race in the country which provides as good an opportunity for a personal best time on the best quality course and which offers such a feed afterwards along with top quality race t-shirt.

Maybe it is not important for some of the posters here to have a course which is measured to International standards and which has road closures which gives you a great chance to run flat out for a time which will be recognised internationally? Maybe it is not important to them that there is an overall quality in this event which has been proven to exist in the past 2 years through the overwhelming positive reviews the event has gotten?
This race stands for quality in as many aspects of its organisation as possible. No other stand-alone Half-marathon has AIMS certification so your time is going to be recognised if you wish to enter a race abroad or if you want a truly accurate time. We have spent 1500 Euro to ensure this quality of measurement of the course.

People are welcome to email charlevillehalf@gmail.com to ask for the race budget. We welcome any input from financial wizards who can suggest where we can trim any aspect of our costs to make it more affordable. As a voluntary athletics club we welcome any help.

However, please do not imply that as a club we are being unethical when any proceeds which MAY come from this event go back into a charity for people with special needs and the very inclusive local athletics club who organise this unique event voluntarily.

We are not a half-marathon which advertises itself as a scenic race or a race which gives all the bells and whistles. We are a race which wants runners to get a running event which is of similar quality to those offered in Europe which actually allows them to run fast! Runners who want to get a true reflection of their running abilities... We will have a very competitive race for you with pacers and road closures, with a flat and extremely accurately measured course if you want to come and try to run a personal best time. Our race is for you who train hard to improve themselves and their times. We know that there will be those who will find our price too much if they do not appreciate the quality of the event we are offering but we are sticking to our guns for the sake of runners who can appreciate quality when they see it.

Please do not compare our event to those poorer quality events who do not put anything back into the sport and who do not offer the quality that we do with road closures etc. Unfortunately there is no other race who has gone to the lengths that our race has to reinvest in the sport that we do and invest in quality. Any criticisms made of our event, please qualify them with facts rather than unqualified remarks based on incorrect assumptions or lack of knowledge.

Our race was created as a reaction to the lack of real quality events for runners of all standards who wanted to just basically get a true reflection of their ability over this distance. Anyone who really cares about quality in our sport will understand what we stand for and not really flinch at a few extra euro for this quality. Its just disappointing that a forum of runners should not see this quality and instead default to this kind of knee-jerk reaction. For more about the race's quality, see our history and stats section and then maybe you might appreciate what we are offering a bit more - http://www.charlevillehalf.com/race-history/

After paying 55 euro for a half marathon that couldn't even provide adequate water on one of the hottest days of the year (despite about 2 weeks warning), I think it's great to see an event such as yours that provides so much for such a small entry fee. Will be signing up soon.

kerrylad1

Lads in all fairness 35e is far from a ripoff,considering the amount of work that it takes to running such an event.I've heard nothing but raving reports from previous runner's about this run and I for one will save 4e a week for the next few weeks in order to run this.

tunguska

charleville Intl Half wrote: »

Last year we charged 25 euro plus 5 euro for t-shirt, plus 5 for an excellent medal if you wanted it. We got heavily criticised for this even though it is the norm in US and Europe to break up the cost for people. Even though it was intended to help those not able to afford the rip-off commercial half-marathons, there was little appreciation for this fact. We made a net loss in taking this approach.

I cant believe you recieved criticism for that. Unless I came top 3 I wouldnt be bothered with a medal and sometimes you just dont want a T-shirt, so giving people that option as opposed to blindly assuming everybody would want a medal & T-shirt is a very fair way to run things.

Fair play for the response aswell, I think 35quid is pretty decent for what is by all reports, a top race. Just look at the national half and what thats turned into. 49quid for that race(if you didnt sign up before a certain date)which is a bit of a joke. From talking to a lot of others, they'll be doing charleville instead, not just because of the price difference but because of the way its run and the fact that the AAI seemed to have sold their soul to the highest bidder. 30 pieces of silver and all that........

Sosa

Great response from the organiser, to clarify, when i said i may not head up it was the total package that it will cost me to travel and not the entry fee that was turning my head towards a 10 miler that is on the same day very close by.
I too organise a road race every year and i understand the difficulties and costs involved, we dont get roads closed or pay AIMS for accreditation but i know the hurdles that have to be jumped,i had earmarked this race to do this year after reading al the positive reports from last years event and as the quality of runners will be high, that will help me in my quest for a pb, so with that i will be travelling to charleville in late september....looking forward to it.

jfh

i have done this twice & it's been the my favourite race on both years.
there's not many halfs that provide a 1:20 pacer & a good feed afterwards. as said already the national half is 49(non AAI) & it has sponsers.

Sosa

jfh wrote: »

i have done this twice & it's been the my favourite race on both years.
there's not many halfs that provide a 1:20 pacer & a good feed afterwards. as said already the national half is 49(non AAI) & it has sponsers.

1:20 pacer ! very good...i didnt know that...
Dungarvan had 60 minute pacers last year also...great addition to an already great race

belcarra

Sosa wrote: »

Great response from the organiser, to clarify, when i said i may not head up it was the total package that it will cost me to travel and not the entry fee that was turning my head towards a 10 miler that is on the same day very close by.
I too organise a road race every year and i understand the difficulties and costs involved, we dont get roads closed or pay AIMS for accreditation but i know the hurdles that have to be jumped,i had earmarked this race to do this year after reading al the positive reports from last years event and as the quality of runners will be high, that will help me in my quest for a pb, so with that i will be travelling to charleville in late september....looking forward to it.

Spot on there Sosa, I was also looking at the overall costs combined with the price hike, more than the price itself. The organisers have outlined their reasons for the increase and I'm quite happy to accept them as such.
However, I'll still not be able to make the journey but all the best to them regardless.

EauRouge79

Ive heard only good things about this race and will therefore enter. Im sick to death of poorly organised races and inaccurately measured courses. €35 isnt cheap but im happy to pay it if things are done properly.
Looking forward to it as part of my training for Dublin.
Best of luck to the organisers.

opus

I've signed up for it anyway as not too far away and all reports have been good. Attached is the entry form which would save you a small amount on the online booking fee in case it's of use to anyone.

vinny1313

I'd just like to say I'm a bit surprised at the criticism here. I ran last year and have only positive things to say about it. I thought the split price was a good idea, I took the t-shirt but passed on the medal.

belcarra

vinny1313 wrote: »

I'd just like to say I'm a bit surprised at the criticism here. I ran last year and have only positive things to say about it. I thought the split price was a good idea, I took the t-shirt but passed on the medal.

The split price from last year was lost on a few of us that commented earlier. I think everyone agrees that the race has a good reputation/is well organised and I don't think that was ever being criticised.

Sosa

thumbs up for charleville from sergui

http://www.therunningreview.com/2013...ergiu-ciobanu/

rom

49/635 under 80 mins 2012.
59/6314 under 80 mins in the race series half around the same time.

mr.wiggle

Just signed up this evening before it becomes a bigger rip off..:pac:

/quietly gets coat and leaves

Redtop

I'm surprised to still hear the words "r!p off" after reading the organiser's detailed response. There are so many Half Marathons out there costing more than €50 that do not provide the quality that the Charleville Half does and do not contribute as much to charity & the development of Athletics. Yes, there are cheaper ones, but Quality comes at a small Premium. The good news for us runners is that there is more of a choice.

career_move

I'm in

chavezychavez

OK I'm in as well

mr.wiggle

Redtop wrote: »

I'm surprised to still hear the words "r!p off" after reading the organiser's detailed response. There are so many Half Marathons out there costing more than €50 that do not provide the quality that the Charleville Half does and do not contribute as much to charity & the development of Athletics. Yes, there are cheaper ones, but Quality comes at a small Premium. The good news for us runners is that there is more of a choice.

:pac: = do not take comment too seriously Redtop !! :pac:

I would say everyone agrees with most of the points in the reponse , and wasn't it actually nice & refreshing to get a detailed post from an event organiser ? ( Even if it was provoked )
Maybe more might do the same when they see what potential participants
think about event prices and price rises?
And isn't that what an open forum is about really, people expressing
their opinions?
I for one feel this event thread is a good example of what should be
for all events.

Mr.W

Sosa

just registered
race # 1137
Thats alot of registered runners 7 weeks out...bring it
Is there a limit on this race does anyone know?

Sosa

Sosa wrote: »

just registered
race # 1137
Thats alot of registered runners 7 weeks out...bring it
Is there a limit on this race does anyone know?

just had a look at last years results...49 under 80 minutes...and 635 in total
so either they have the guts of double last years total with 7 weeks remaining to register or they are messing with the numbers!

Beef

I panicked and registered now - Race number 1138. There hasn't been a mad rush since you signed up Sosa.

Oops69

Very impressive , informative and to be honest , charming website , will definitely try my best to jiggle things about to enter this simply based on the website, very refreshing after all the bells and whistles of 'taytogate'/ the great swag bag scandal ' of the recent rock and roll event, where people were getting very hot under the collar ( including me),

Cartman78

Does anyone know when registration closes?

(Had a very quick look on the website and can't see a date, apols in advance if it's very obvious).

Would like to give this a go but won't be sure of my availability for another few weeks

opus

Spotted this on the printed entry form so guess the online entry would be similar.

Late Individual Entry: 45 Euro (Sept 9th – 21st)

Corkie100

Re. Closing date, Found this on website:
The entry fees are as follows…
€35 Early Bird Individual Entry Fee until August 1st
€40 Individual Entry Fee after August 1st @ 1pm until September 9th @ 1pm
€45 Late Entry Fee from Sept 9th @ 1pm until Sept. 21st @ 3pm online

So currently €40 to enter and entries open right up until the weekend of the race. Not sure if there is a limit on numbers though?

chavezychavez

Corkie100 wrote: »

Re. Closing date, Found this on website:
The entry fees are as follows…
€35 Early Bird Individual Entry Fee until August 1st
€40 Individual Entry Fee after August 1st @ 1pm until September 9th @ 1pm
€45 Late Entry Fee from Sept 9th @ 1pm until Sept. 21st @ 3pm online

So currently €40 to enter and entries open right up until the weekend of the race. Not sure if there is a limit on numbers though?

Its still €35 to enter until 15th Aug as per their facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/CharlevilleInternationalHalfMarathon?ref=stream

ncmc

I'm so in two minds whether to do this or not! I'm sure it's a great event and the flat course is a massive incentive, but it is on the dearer end of things and the Cork-Cobh two weeks later is only €10 for bhaa members (albeit with no timing chips, medal or technical t shirt) Better decide today as I really don't want to pay €40!

eliwallach

ncmc wrote: »

Cork-Cobh two weeks later is only €10 for bhaa members (albeit with no timing chips, medal or technical t shirt)

and €10 for the great unwashed non-members too!
you do get a cotton t- shirt, which I personally prefer.

ncmc

eliwallach wrote: »

and €10 for the great unwashed non-members too!
you do get a cotton t- shirt, which I personally prefer.

You're right. I registered on the day last year so I paid €15, but I do remember it was cheaper to pre register. It's superb value it has to be said.

opus

eliwallach wrote: »

and €10 for the great unwashed non-members too!
you do get a cotton t- shirt, which I personally prefer.

A great run for sure, wish it wasn't the same day as the Athlone 3/4 marathon though

pico84

Registered for this the other day.
How fast is this course from what I've read on the Cork running blog its being made out to be a very fast course.
Anyone on here ran it before? any thoughts on it?

Beef

pico84 wrote: »

Registered for this the other day.
How fast is this course from what I've read on the Cork running blog its being made out to be a very fast course.
Anyone on here ran it before? any thoughts on it?

I ran it last year - good fast course alright. Flat for large sections and any climbs are mirrored with equal downhills. Good t-shirt too from what I can remember. I'm signed up again for it this year and it will be one of my must-do races each year, unless they drastically change things.

Redtop

Judging by all the PBs posted last year, it's fast all right. There's a hump back bridge over the Cork-Dublin railway line at about mile 2.5 & 10.5 (on the return). There's a very slight pull up from mile 12 at Kerry Group factory but you'd hardly notice if you've done any sort of hill training.

Tipp man running

From what I can remember from last year is how flat and especially straight it was...some of the straights went on for quiet a bit but with a good decent running surface.

One hump back bridge after a couple of miles which you crossed over again on the way back.....a bit of a pull back up through the town in the last 1/2 mile but nothing of too much note.

Very well organised start, roped off along the sides so you walked down the sides and nipped into your starting slot..none of this trying to wade though hundreds of runners to get near the front, aka ballycotton, or runners that just arrived having to join the front, aka clonakility.

Great spread afterwards.

mr.wiggle

Thought the immediate start was a bit tight myself . I hope they have the start planned out well if there is a larger number, as it seems likely, than last year. Maybe use the whole width of the road would be a good idea?
Really looking forward to this.

Corkie100

Apologies if this has been asked and answered already, or if it is on website, but are there pacers in the race this year? If yes, which time slots will be paced?
Thanks

plumber77

Weather looking very favourable for this Sunday. Is there anything they can't organise for this race