Athlone ¾ Marathon, Sunday 6th Oct 2013 at 11am

jfh

Great morning here in Glasson so far

pansophelia

Well that was hard!

Great race, really well organised from start to finish, weather was just right, just having a post race feed now. Race report to follow, but thanks to all involved for their hard work!

RacoonQueen

Anyone know who did the timing for this?

average_runner

Had a ball doing this. Never enjoyed a race so much.
Did a steady run of 8:05 in a time of 2:39:11. Enjoyed the hills at the end and the crowd.

3:35 is possible in new York.

randomCluster

A little hillier and wetter than what I expected, but it's a good, interesting course with plenty of little hills and drags to get over. The start was a bit sudden but this is a well organised event and I'd happily recommend it. Not sure what you can do about cars entering/exiting the hotel and runners finishing. Overall a nice run to get under the belt and wash away my half-marathon melt down. Finished in 2:29. Ran by feel and monitoring my heart rate - though I later learned that this isn't the most advisable thing to do, see here. Finally, hello taper!!

Black_Knight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5WR7yQDwmQ

Spot yourselves! Ive stills if anyone wants

Fraggle00

That was tough. A bit of rain was welcome but that was a bit much. Some clown of a local parked his van right in the way of the water table at the 12 mile mark as I was arriving but there's not much you can do about that. The course was a bit hillier than the roads I'm used to running on so it was very welcome prep for the DCM. Now I can kick back and let my sore limbs recover for the next 3 weeks.

martyboy48

Really enjoyable... Loved every minute of it...

Special word of thanks to the organisers and to all the marshals who stood out in the pi$$ing rain for the few hours, can't have been easy.

ronnie085

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Anyone know who did the timing for this?

Just got a text off red tag, no results as yet though

thebestone

Results??

martyboy48

Provisional results up now... http://athlone3quarter.com/

average_runner

Hi Bazman;

Just thought I would pass on some comments about the race.

Good Points:
1) The water stations were great, it was like a little party at each station, wondering what will be at the next one.
2) hHaving bottles and cups was great, New York uses cups so was great to get a trail with these.
3) The bins after the water stations were located really well, made it easy for us runners to dispose of them.
4) Marshall's were very good on the course.
5) The course was tough but nice, plenty of rolling hills and a tough finish for the last 4 miles.
6) What you advertised, is what we got, unlike some races I have done this year.

Bad Points:
1) The mile markers were off. The course itself was dead on when we finished it, but when came across the last km sign, it was more than a km to the finish. This is easily fixed though.
2) This is the one I have concern about. The overflow car park doesn't work where it is. While it didn't effect me, but on the last 800m there was traffic on the road, going both ways and blocking the roads, causing some runners to walk. Also had runners walking back towards the over flow car park. I think on a safety front and not to stop runners from running, you might need to address this, not sure how though.

Overall it was very good event and if i was to do another marathon in Oct/Nov, I would do this again.

Thanks

Bugsy2000

average_runner wrote: »

Hi Bazman;

Just thought I would pass on some comments about the race.

Good Points:
1) The water stations were great, it was like a little party at each station, wondering what will be at the next one.
2) Having bottles and cups was great, New York uses cups so was great to get a trail with these.
3) The bins after the water stations were located really well, made it easy for us runners to dispose of them.
4) Marshall's were very good on the course.
5) The course was tough but nice, plenty of rolling hills and a tough finish for the last 4 miles.
6) What you advertised, is what we got, unlike some races I have done this year.

Bad Points:
1) The mile markers were off. The course itself was dead on when we finished it, but when came across the last km sign, it was more than a km to the finish. This is easily fixed though.
2) This is the one I have concern about. The overflow car park doesn't work where it is. While it didn't effect me, but on the last 800m there was traffic on the road, going both ways and blocking the roads, causing some runners to walk. Also had runners walking back towards the over flow car park. I think on a safety front and not to stop runners from running, you might need to address this, not sure how though.

Overall it was very good event and if i was to do another marathon in Oct/Nov, I would do this again.

Thanks

I'd agree with most of the above. My first time running this race & I enjoyed it. Have to say the course caught me by surprise, a lot of rolling hills with a nice few kickers thrown in too. I had looked over the course profile beforehand so I reckoned I knew where the tough hills would be - but they seemed never ending. Lovely part of the country though & it's nice to be running a long race in a rural setting.

Aid stations were great, watermelon is just the job on a muggy day like yesterday.

Distance markers....it has to be the only thing that was wrong for me on the day. The first timing mat seemed to be spot on & the final distance was perfect but in between just seemed to be pot luck. The 5m & 8k markers on the road were about 1 meter apart.

Finish area was nice too. It's good to be able to finish, walk inside, have a shower, have a feed & be able to relax & watch the football / have a pint if you want.

I didn't have an issue with the traffic towards the last kilometer. There were marshalls there directing traffic & letting the runners through, but maybe it was busier when you were there.

Overall it was a great race & it's one I'd recommend.

quinlivan

The traffic for the last km was a disaster. Cars were going in and out of the hotel while I was coming in which resulted in cars pulling in to the runners lane. I had to climb the fence to get around one car. Not exactly ideal.

opus

Thanks a lot to Peterx for the pacing gig, ran with the group 'til around the 22k mark & then pushed on a bit. Scariest part was when the 2h pacer (the runaway house!) galloped past early on but thankfully a quick thinking runner directed it into an open gate so disaster was averted.

I was in one of the cars stuck in the jam leaving the hotel so saw how ugly it turned out later on, possibly because the people at the gate allowed cars to turn in when there was already a line waiting to get out so they had no where to go. Certainly wasn't a pleasant finish for the runners at that stage.

Great race though, more than likely will be back again next year.

10 Toe Runner

Not much point repeated most of the points already made. Very hilly & wet, but a really great organised race, definitely recommend.

What got to me, and there's also a few, was people dropping rubbish. I know it's regularly commented on, but I would have thought that given the race brief a few minutes before the start where they said "the only threat to this race is people throwing bottles over ditches, into farms, etc......that we can't clean up" that everyone would help out a little.

Bins in great spots, and every marshal standing in the rain with black bags, gratefully accepting rubbish. Yet a guy in front of me thought it best to throw his bottle into someones driveway and countless gel wrappers. If you can carry a full gel packet, you can definitely carry the empty to the finish.

It'd be good if there was a way to fine people who litter during the race. The vast majority of runners around me really did their bit, but it's the small few who give the rest a bad name. Rant over!

Most important, great race, highly recommended.

AlsoRan

10 Toe Runner wrote: »

Not much point repeated most of the points already made. Very hilly & wet, but a really great organised race, definitely recommend.

What got to me, and there's also a few, was people dropping rubbish. I know it's regularly commented on, but I would have thought that given the race brief a few minutes before the start where they said "the only threat to this race is people throwing bottles over ditches, into farms, etc......that we can't clean up" that everyone would help out a little.

Bins in great spots, and every marshal standing in the rain with black bags, gratefully accepting rubbish. Yet a guy in front of me thought it best to throw his bottle into someones driveway and countless gel wrappers. If you can carry a full gel packet, you can definitely carry the empty to the finish.

It'd be good if there was a way to fine people who litter during the race. The vast majority of runners around me really did their bit, but it's the small few who give the rest a bad name. Rant over!

Most important, great race, highly recommended.

I totally agree Toe Runner, most runners followed the briefing instructions bar one group of four ladies in front of me who seemed to be almost enjoying firing their rubbish into different areas of the route. However, more worrying was one of the marshals who didn't have a bag handy and when I asked them about the bin and would they take my wrapper was very reluctant, encouraging me before I almost pushed the wrapper into their hands to just "drop it on the ground":eek:

jfh

average_runner wrote: »

Hi Bazman;

Just thought I would pass on some comments about the race.

Good Points:
1) The water stations were great, it was like a little party at each station, wondering what will be at the next one.
2) hHaving bottles and cups was great, New York uses cups so was great to get a trail with these.
3) The bins after the water stations were located really well, made it easy for us runners to dispose of them.
4) Marshall's were very good on the course.
5) The course was tough but nice, plenty of rolling hills and a tough finish for the last 4 miles.
6) What you advertised, is what we got, unlike some races I have done this year.

Bad Points:
1) The mile markers were off. The course itself was dead on when we finished it, but when came across the last km sign, it was more than a km to the finish. This is easily fixed though.
2) This is the one I have concern about. The overflow car park doesn't work where it is. While it didn't effect me, but on the last 800m there was traffic on the road, going both ways and blocking the roads, causing some runners to walk. Also had runners walking back towards the over flow car park. I think on a safety front and not to stop runners from running, you might need to address this, not sure how though.

Overall it was very good event and if i was to do another marathon in Oct/Nov, I would do this again.

Thanks

i would agree with most of these points.
bins were very well placed, i didn't see too many stray bottles.
the marshalls did a great job too, altough the rain was welcoming for us runners, i'd imagine they had a long dreary day.
good spread at the finish, i stayed on for dinner, so was well recovered for the drive home.
the mile markers were well off but most runners wear GPS watches now.
i did make the mistake off following others to the start, would have been better off, if i walked out the main entrance as i'd be near the start. it's very congested for the first mile, no oppurtunity to pass either as the road is quiet narrow, but it wasn't really a race for most people.
all in all, i'd do it again

menoscemo

I paced the 3:30 group and really enjoyed it. I thought the whole organisation was excellent.
As others have mentioned the only complaint was the mile markers. It would have been a big issue if we had to pace to an exact time but since our pacing brief was quite flexible it wasn't a problem really. Basically each mile marker came 0.1 mile short....we assumed the course was going to be 0.1mile short but instead the course was exact; the last 0.66 mile was actually 0.76!! As I say if we had a brief of coming in at an exact time then we probably would have ended up a little late to the finish line.

boccy23

It became a bit of a competition in my head to see whether the next Mile or Km mark would be more "wrong". Anything to make 20 miles seem shorter.

There was 1 or 2 which were completely out though. I think the 6mile or 10Km marker was off by a wide margin.

Muppet Man

Loved the race... I will be back next year, but please fix the "1 km to go" sign... Dont know the exact distance, but way more than 1 km It makes a difference if like me you decided to open up the taps on the last Kilometer...

Well done though, cant really fault it other than that.

Muppet Man.

Peterx

opus wrote: »

Scariest part was when the 2h pacer (the runaway house!) galloped past early on but thankfully a quick thinking runner directed it into an open gate so disaster was averted.


Great race though, more than likely will be back again next year.

A runaway house would have been cool

It's a great prep event for Dublin, plenty of rolling hills and plenty of scenery, with showers and hot food available afterwards.

bazman

Bugsy2000 wrote: »

I'd agree with most of the above. My first time running this race & I enjoyed it. Have to say the course caught me by surprise, a lot of rolling hills with a nice few kickers thrown in too. I had looked over the course profile beforehand so I reckoned I knew where the tough hills would be - but they seemed never ending. Lovely part of the country though & it's nice to be running a long race in a rural setting.

Aid stations were great, watermelon is just the job on a muggy day like yesterday.

Distance markers....it has to be the only thing that was wrong for me on the day. The first timing mat seemed to be spot on & the final distance was perfect but in between just seemed to be pot luck. The 5m & 8k markers on the road were about 1 meter apart.

Finish area was nice too. It's good to be able to finish, walk inside, have a shower, have a feed & be able to relax & watch the football / have a pint if you want.

I didn't have an issue with the traffic towards the last kilometer. There were marshalls there directing traffic & letting the runners through, but maybe it was busier when you were there.

Overall it was a great race & it's one I'd recommend.

Thanks for the feedback on the distance markers in particular. The overall course distance is certified. In terms of putting out the mile & KM markers, I literally used my garmin for the mile markers and car odometer for KMs. The mile markers should have been 99% - I'm surprised with feedback here. The KM markers were more subject to error as car odometer isn't ideal. I'll put more effort into markers next year.

Edit: On researching this Garmins can be error prone particularly over the first mile, so I'll do a warm-up mile first next year to ensure watch calibrated. Also will ensure to have 2 garmins to mark Miles & KMs accurately. All devices - watches/cars/bikes - are subject to error. Very few races (if any) have individual mile/km markers certified. That said, if there were some obvious mistakes and we'll improve for next year.

bazman

10 Toe Runner wrote: »

Not much point repeated most of the points already made. Very hilly & wet, but a really great organised race, definitely recommend.

What got to me, and there's also a few, was people dropping rubbish. I know it's regularly commented on, but I would have thought that given the race brief a few minutes before the start where they said "the only threat to this race is people throwing bottles over ditches, into farms, etc......that we can't clean up" that everyone would help out a little.

Bins in great spots, and every marshal standing in the rain with black bags, gratefully accepting rubbish. Yet a guy in front of me thought it best to throw his bottle into someones driveway and countless gel wrappers. If you can carry a full gel packet, you can definitely carry the empty to the finish.

It'd be good if there was a way to fine people who litter during the race. The vast majority of runners around me really did their bit, but it's the small few who give the rest a bad name. Rant over!

Most important, great race, highly recommended.

Thanks for this as it is really important. If rubbish is visible at least we can clean it up. The real problem is when people throw rubbish into ditches and driveways - it makes it impossible for us to clean up afterward. It is a serious risk to this and any race as all races are dependent on local support.

average_runner

Whats great bazman is that you acknowledged these comments. Alot of events in the pass even fail to that. Your event will go from strength to strength because u listen.

Congrats again on a good event.

TakeaBowSon

Great race and excellent organisation. Water stations were brilliant and the rolling hills were a nice test before Dublin.

Would definitely recommend and will be back next year.

Well done to all concerned and a particular thanks to the marshals who stood out in the rain for hours.

bazman

I was witness to the problems over the last km during peak traffic. We do need Gardai in this area as some drivers do not listen to marshals. Once Gardai were involved the problem was solved quickly. This problem wasn't noticeable in previous years - primarily as it was dry and folk stayed around to enjoy the fab hotel & surrondings. In the wet conditions there were several people trying to leave quickly, leading to a wee traffic jam.

Marthastew

I was the other 3.30 pacer (the politically correct one;))
I'd echo the above comments re. mile markers but as meno said we weren't under huge pressure pacing so it wasn't a worry.

We had a fantastic bunch of pacees, great company along the way and we sent many of them on they were running so strong.
Huge thanks to all the marshals and volunteers, they did a superb job in very unpleasant conditions.

Super organisation, nice challenging course; ideal prep for DCM. Congrats to all who ran, happy tapering:D

Bugsy2000

Marthastew wrote: »

I was the other 3.30 pacer (the politically correct one;))
I'd echo the above comments re. mile markers but as meno said we weren't under huge pressure pacing so it wasn't a worry.

We had a fantastic bunch of pacees, great company along the way and we sent many of them on they were running so strong.
Huge thanks to all the marshals and volunteers, they did a superb job in very unpleasant conditions.

Super organisation, nice challenging course; ideal prep for DCM. Congrats to all who ran, happy tapering:D

I was pacing the 4hr group with Breffni Blue & I lost track of the amount of times I turned to have a chat with the group of runners around us only to find everyone wearing headphones & in their own little world. I thought I might be able to get a bit of banter going but it wasn't until after the first aid station when it thinned out a bit that we could get a bit of chat going.

We saw a big split in our group around the halfway point. One group kicked on strongly, one group dropped off the pace & we were left with a small group around us. It all just seemed to happed all of a sudden & it was strange to see to the group break up in all directions. We kept this small group with us until the last hill when we lost another one or two (If I hadn't been expecting it I would have struggled myself). We finished with a small group but there were plenty gone ahead.

_

Thanks for the replies Baz, there's nothing that was wrong on Sunday that couldn't be sorted easily in the future.

digger2d2

I wish people would stop wearing headphones during races... It's unsociable, unfair on fellow competitors and marshalls and as evidenced in the recent Dublin Series Half, downright dangerous when emergency vehicles are required.

Please find other ways to plot your run... Buy a Garmin/Polar.... Please leave music listening to training runs..... We need to find ways of reducing the numbers of headphone wearers without expecting the race organisers to ban their use altogether.