Valentia Island Half Marathon - 12 Oct 2013

TFBubendorfer

Not the one in Spain

Anyone else doing it? I really enjoyed it when I ran it 2 years ago, fabulous scenery.

I heard there were a few problems last year when they tried to run it in September as part of the Valentia island festival, but they have moved the date back to October again.

antomagoo

Yeah wouldn't mind popping down for this.

Might do, did first road race in over a year last weekend, and it's not too far from me and in a wonderful part of the country. Did it 2 years back, subsequently dropped half marathon times by a good bit before injury last year and just IMRA runs this year so would like to see how I fare.

mossym

how hilly is this one?

TFBubendorfer

mossym wrote: »

how hilly is this one?

Pay attention, I did mention it was scenic. That's just another word for hilly

You're climbing 400 feet up to the quarry in 3 miles, and there's a few smaller climbs after that as well.

On the plus side, the final 3 miles are dead flat.

Elevation profile from 2011, and according to the web site it's the same course again in 2013:

mossym

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Pay attention, I did mention it was scenic. That's just another word for hilly

cheers for that, i really should have spotted the "scenic" bit

Posts here linking profiles...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=80752610

huber

A really nice half marathon, goes all the way around the island of Valentia. Yes quite a gradual climb for the first bit but evens out after that. Apparently any problems that occurred last year have been sorted as it is not clashing with music festival this year.

mylifetoday

Hi, I was thinking about doing this but when I went to register it seems only 12 people have registered. Is this race still on ??? as I need to arrange accommodation etc ???

aholahan72

This thread is great! Thanks for the info. I'll be in from Boston and will be running this race as I've got 13.1 for marathon training that week anyway. We are planning a B&B in the area the night before... any suggetions? Thanks!

huber

Hi, There are approximately 100 people registered with more to register on the day.

huber

aholahan72 wrote: »

This thread is great! Thanks for the info. I'll be in from Boston and will be running this race as I've got 13.1 for marathon training that week anyway. We are planning a B&B in the area the night before... any suggetions? Thanks!

Hi, if you ring the Valentia Island Tourist Office 0669476985, they should be able to sort you with accommodation.

super_freddie

Hi,

I'm probably being a little optimistic but is there any place to have a shower afterwards?

Thanks,
super_freddie.

deniseve

Well organised race on Saturday. Perfect weather. Really enjoyed the race. The organisers, Valentia Tri Club did a great job organising the event. I think 110-120 participated in the race.

mylifetoday

Ran this on Sat. Weather just perfect... Registration excellent.... Marshalling on course excellent... water stations(cups)..... good. Mile/km markers poor.... Island support excellent. Atmosphere great. Course itself.... okay it is hilly, but absolutely fabulous. I'd recommend it to all. Absolutely beautiful scenery. And for the record, even though it is considered a hilly course I ran it over4 mins faster than Charleville which is considered to be the flattest half in Munster. Guess it's all on the day. Also, it was only €20 and a good t-shirt included. I'll be recommending it to all, just tell'em to bring their 'Garmins'. Well done overall to Valentiatriathalonclub.

super_freddie

mylifetoday wrote: »

Ran this on Sat. Weather just perfect... Registration excellent.... Marshalling on course excellent... water stations(cups)..... good. Mile/km markers poor.... Island support excellent. Atmosphere great. Course itself.... okay it is hilly, but absolutely fabulous. I'd recommend it to all. Absolutely beautiful scenery. And for the record, even though it is considered a hilly course I ran it over4 mins faster than Charleville which is considered to be the flattest half in Munster. Guess it's all on the day. Also, it was only €20 and a good t-shirt included. I'll be recommending it to all, just tell'em to bring their 'Garmins'. Well done overall to Valentiatriathalonclub.

I also ran both Charleville and Valentia and my time improved by over 12 minutes in Valentia ... but comparison of Charleville 2013 with any other half marathon has to be considered in the context of the heat and humidity of Charleville this year - runners falling like flies and I was a pretty extreme case. But back to Valentia and it was real PB territory. The uphill for the first 5km removed the temptation to go off too hard, some lovely downhills around the middle gave a nice rest and left lots of fuel in the tank for a few drags towards the end. Weather was perfect and there was a lovely relaxed atmosphere to the whole thing, while still being well run. I'll be recommending this race to anybody who's looking for a PB opportunity in a lovely location for a decent price.

super_freddie.

mr.wiggle

Sounds like a great race super_freddie, but there is one thing I think we all want to know....

Did you manage to get a shower afterwards??:P

Mr.W

super_freddie

mr.wiggle wrote: »

Sounds like a great race super_freddie, but there is one thing I think we all want to know....

Did you manage to get a shower afterwards??:P

Mr.W

I can put everybody's mind at ease and confirm that I did get a shower. The circumstances were a little unconventional, let's just say it wasn't on the island but I think it was all legal

super_freddie.