Hardman 2013

trainerman

Anyone done / doing this race? Planning on doing it in August but won't get down before race weekend to see the bike course. I know its the Ring of Kerry but can anyone give me any views / advice on it? Everyone I mention it to just say "tough course!"
How do the 2 big climbs compare to say the climb at the Humbert Challenge or teh Tri an Mhi half? Or the climb to the Long Womans Grave in the Cooleys?

Thanks

Plastic Sheeting

is it not just an ironman?

rodneyr1981

Plastic Sheeting wrote: »

is it not just an ironman?

Just an ironman....???? Is there such a thing as just an IM!

Plastic Sheeting

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

Just an ironman....???? Is there such a thing as just an IM!

Why not call it an ironman after the people who created the event? You can't just change the name like that, sounds like copyright infringment

dquirke1

Plastic Sheeting wrote: »

You can't just change the name like that, sounds like copyright infringment

Emmm, "Ironman" is a trademark of WTC and they're pretty strict in enforcing it...

Lots of unofficial races use -man in the name. Eireman, Shadowman, Norseman, etc...

dquirke1

BTW, the hardman bike course isn't that bad...
It is the ROK, but in the opposite direction so you get the hills out of the way early...

The two main climbs are Molls gap, right at the start and is 5k at around 4% and Coomakista is around 6k at 3%.

A lot of the roads have been resurfaced lately as well and are in pretty good condition all the way round :-)

trainerman

dquirke1 wrote: »

BTW, the hardman bike course isn't that bad...
It is the ROK, but in the opposite direction so you get the hills out of the way early...

The two main climbs are Molls gap, right at the start and is 5k at around 4% and Coomakista is around 6k at 3%.

A lot of the roads have been resurfaced lately as well and are in pretty good condition all the way round :-)

Cheers - good news on the roads - had heard some parts were pretty bad!

BennyMul

did it last year,
The road surface is fine can’t recall any bad sections.
the route is not that hard as mentioned above a few hills at the start the rest is rolling road.
Can be windy in spots especially on the costal parts.
As the day went on you come across more traffic which in the towns can slow you down a wee bit.

I reckon the hardest part of the day was the lack of bodies, the road was lonely in places.

here is the garmin link to the route
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/215357254

trainerman

Cheers Benny - thanks for the link - good looking bike split - if you were lonely with that split then I'm in trouble!!

griffin100

trainerman wrote: »

Cheers Benny - thanks for the link - good looking bike split - if you were lonely with that split then I'm in trouble!!

It took me almost an hr longer than Benny and I was lonely on the bike too - thats the nature of a small field on a one lap route with lots of twists and turns.

A great race, I've done it twice and love it. I can't do it this year but I suspect I'll be back at some stage.

trainerman

griffin100 wrote: »

It took me almost an hr longer than Benny and I was lonely on the bike too - thats the nature of a small field on a one lap route with lots of twists and turns.

A great race, I've done it twice and love it. I can't do it this year but I suspect I'll be back at some stage.

I do all my training on my own so used to just me and my garmin trying to psych each other out!!:D

Shedite27

Is there a separate thread for the Olympic version of this race? Been trying to find some info on the Olympic but any googles of "hardman" seems to just bring back IM distance chatter. Is the Olympic a different name or something?

OR, anyone doing the Olympic?

Muhozol

Hi there I'm doing Olympic for the first time ever. Killarney it's my home town so I'm quite familiar with them routes so let me know if you've any questions. This is my first season so should be happy just crossing the finish line. The bike course is nice and flat but can be windy on certain occasions. Hope to see you in August

The Davestator

Bump

Anybody doing this who has more 'street cred' in this forum than me want to start a 2014 thread!

trainerman

I did it last year and couldn't recommend it highly enough. Will be back - just not this year!

Trig1

Sorry to dig up an old thread but might be interested in giving this a lash next year..can anyone tell me is the run 1x 42k loop or 4x 10k loops...

trainerman

Trig1 wrote: »

Sorry to dig up an old thread but might be interested in giving this a lash next year..can anyone tell me is the run 1x 42k loop or 4x 10k loops...

It was 3 x 14km last year. Nice loop - all flat. Through transition / finish each time.

trainerman

Trig1 wrote: »

Sorry to dig up an old thread but might be interested in giving this a lash next year..can anyone tell me is the run 1x 42k loop or 4x 10k loops...

It was 3 x 14km last year. Nice loop - all flat. Through transition / finish each time.

griffin100

It was also a 3 x 14km lap this year.

There was no mention of a 2015 race on the day and there's nothing on the website about a 2015 race. Would be interested to see if one is planned. Would be a shame if not as it's a race I like.

Podge83

griffin100 wrote: »

It was also a 3 x 14km lap this year.

There was no mention of a 2015 race on the day and there's nothing on the website about a 2015 race. Would be interested to see if one is planned. Would be a shame if not as it's a race I like.

Rumour is that its going ahead but the Olympic Distance race may be scrapped.

I cant add any more than that only that I have my eye on it myself as a possible target for 2015.

Brick Session

Was recently in chat with Alan Ryan of Hardman about 2015 and at that stage he was confident it was happening in 2015.

catweazle

This should have been where Ironman/Challenge went for. Dealing with all the councils in Dublin must be an impossible task

griffin100

catweazle wrote: »

This should have been where Ironman/Challenge went for. Dealing with all the councils in Dublin must be an impossible task

You'd need to make major changes to the swim and run course to make this a mass entry race I think. The run especially would get very congested. This year was the first year I've done this race when I actually started to worry on the bike what with the congestion in some of the towns, especially Caharciveen when I had to stop fully in a long traffic jam. I'd still go back and do it again though

Podge83

Alan Ryan Has just announced that the 2015 event opens tomorrow:

Entries for the Hardman 2015 will open tomorrow morning the 1st of October. The race will take place on Saturday August the 22nd at 6.30am. We have a big increase in the prize fund which will be posted shortly on this page and on the website. We also have some very special deals on entries, particularly for the early entries. fees will be as follows:
Until 31st of October: 150 euros for individuals and ALSO for teams.
Until the 31st of December: 160 euros for individuals, 180 for teams.
Until the 31st of March: 180 euros for individuals, 210 for teams.
Until 31st of July: 200 for individuals, 240 for teams.
So there you have it, a full distance tri in the best location in the world at unbeatable prices.
The entry link will be posted here first thing tomorrow morning.
Alan Ryan

Seriously tempted to give it a shot!!

Brick Session

Was toying with the idea of doing the Shadowman in 2015 but as I have unfinished business in Kerry its hard to turn it down at €150

slayer91

Hi,

Is the run on a grass surface or road??

Regards

Brick Session

slayer91 wrote: »

Hi,

Is the run on a grass surface or road??

Regards

Twas all on road in 2012 IIRC, well the pathways in the National Park mostly

griffin100

This year the run was on a mix of compacted trail and tar paths in the national park. There was a couple of kms per lap on concrete paths.

Trig1

There actually seems to be a lot of interest ( on this forum anyway ) in the hardman! Is there any reason why there is only an average of 50 racing each year? Distance? Not an IM branded race? Location?

Podge83

How many did Shadow man full distance? - It compares favorably with that. This race (I haven't done the full but have done the Olympic distance in the past) seems to get good reviews and repeat entrants.

Trig1

I suppose if I was to ask another way. I don't suppose there is anyone out there that has done the 3 Irish long distance races... ? Eireman hardman and shadowman? Or .... Which race would people reccomend for a first long distance race? Leaning towards Hardman but haven't heard much about shadowman! Are the run and cycle flat or hilly etc?

griffin100

The Hardman numbers are low because it's a low key event. It doesn't have the cache that a big branded event like IM or Challenge has. It's very hard to compare the two. A few people have asked me whether or not it would make a good first IM and that depends on what you want. If you want a big event with large crowds, good road surfaces, lots of spectators, pace lines, closed roads, etc., then no, I wouldn't recommend this event. If you're not bothered by that sort of thing then yes, I would recommend this event. I've done it 3 times and a few people have done all 4 iterations and for me the main driver is cost and ease of access. I can enter the race, travel to Kerry and be home the day after the race for a fraction of what a big continental race costs, and whilst I'd love to do a big European IM I can't justify the costs. The race does have it's issues, but I'll go back.

coppinger

Did the hardman in 2012 and shadowman 2013 and 2014. Went back to athlone purely for logistics (living in dublin) drove home 1 hour from the race the same day, had to stay an extra night in kerry. The bike course in kerry is way more interesting - awesome atlantic views and only one lap, both had similar brown lake swims and 3 or 4 lap runs. As for racing in ireland - the one big advantage is the cost, racing abroad is better otherwise.

After athlone this year I had a strange urge to do all three irish ironman races in august 2015, one week after another - might still happen - anyone out there brave/crazy/stupid enough for this?