Athlone Flatline Half Marathon 13th Sept 2014

tang1

The Athlone Flatline Half Marathon takes place on the 13th September this year, online entries open on the 1st of March starting at €20.

blockic

Also just to give some information on entry prices from the organisers:


"We will open entry for the race of March 1st until March 31st for €20.

The cost of entry will then rise to €25 from April 1st until May 31st. From June 1st until July 31st it will be €30 and from August first until entry closes on August 17th it will be €40.

There is a simple moral to this story. Get in early. We can only advice based on last years race that it may sell out quite quickly. We had hundreds of people who we could not accommodate on our waiting list."

donnacha

Registration opened yesterday for this:
http://precisiontiming.primo-solutions.co.uk/ps/event/AthloneFlatlineHalfMarathon2014

Looking forward to running it this year as I had to miss it last year due to injury.

RossyR

Many Boardsies planning on doing the Flatline this year?

Muppet Man

Yes, had my pb there last year... One of the flattest and fastest Half marathons in the country... you couldnt hope for better on a public road.

kat2171

Muppet Man wrote: »

Yes, had my pb there last year... One of the flattest and fastest Half marathons in the country... you couldnt hope for better on a public road.

Going to do the Flatline this year.
Was a good one last year by all accounts..

dublin runner

Excellent race and I race I highly recommend. Very well organised on a flat enough course (as flat as you can get in Ireland!) The only small thing I remember to be conscious of is the condition of the rural road in parts. Really looking forward to it.

barryoneill50

Just finished reading last year's thread. Great read. Anyone fancy getting the ball rolling on a similar competition?

kat2171

Price goin up on Fri so this week is a good week to enter.

Also planning on entering Dublin full this week.... hope I stay injury free!!

barryoneill50

Anyone else having trouble completing registration for this?

rob w

barryoneill50 wrote: »

Anyone else having trouble completing registration for this?

Just signed up on Sunday myself and had no issues. This is the link I used...

http://precisiontiming.primo-solutions.co.uk/ps/event/AthloneFlatlineHalfMarathon2014/EntryForm?id=5952

Bulmers74

barryoneill50 wrote: »

Anyone else having trouble completing registration for this?

Registered yesterday - no bother.

rob w

Saw this on their Facebook this morning...

We’re sorry to hear that some people have had some problems trying to register online.
The problem seems to be that Precision Timing have had to add a layer of security now for payment as requested by their payment gateway and sometimes previously downloaded cookies can interfere with the payment process.
If you go to your browser settings and delete your cookies, making sure your Precision Timing basket is empty and try again, it should work. If anyone continues to experience issues please contact us on info@athlonehalfmarathon.com or send us a PM on facebook.
We apologize for any inconvenience

barryoneill50

Completed entry today. I have to say thanks to the people involved, very efficient and prompt dealing with the small issue i had. Looking forward to the race now....

kat2171

I see on the Facebook page that the July entry price has been extended til Tue due to some technical issues with the entry system over the last couple of days..

KingMambo26

Just signed up. For once thank gods for the technical difficulties that allowed to get the July price!

Tom Joad

Signed up and looking forward to it.. Really enjoyed it last year.

RossyR

Just a reminder to all that you have till 12
tonite to register before the price goes up..

barryoneill50

As per the FB page, no more entries been accepted for the race, quota reached!

webpal

Anyone know about the water stations? Can't find any info on their website

jake1970

webpal wrote: »

Anyone know about the water stations? Can't find any info on their website

according to Facebook the water stations are at miles 3, 6 and 9.

Skidrow

Anyone know who is pacing 1:45 and 1:50 ?

tang1

Skidrow wrote: »

Anyone know who is pacing 1:45 and 1:50 ?

I stand corrected on this but i think the Flatline boys provide there own pacers, maybe ask them on the event Facebook page. Sure they would point you in the right direction.

RossyR

Hi all. I am one of the guys involved in organising the Flatline.
Just to answer a couple of points.

Yes there will be water stations at mile 3, 6 and 9.
You will also be glad to hear that as before we will be using the small water bottles.
So no cups.... there are enough people half drowning themselves these days with the ice bucket challenge :-)

There will be pacers for the following finishing times: 1:25, 1:30, 1:35, 1:45, 1:50 and 2hrs.
I'm not sure of who they are at the moment - or if they are boardsies for that matter (one of the other guys has it organised).
But they will be doing their job on the day and encouraging as many as possible along with them.

Finally as was mentioned/predicted in #2 post back in Feb it has fully sold out.
We have received lots of emails since the closing date but unfortunately they are a waste of time as the race is full.
All we can say is Enter Early Next Year!!

Hope everyones training going well.
See ye on the 13th..

barryoneill50

No 1:31:30 pacers then:rolleyes::)

belcarra

Just to note that I was following the 1:30 pacers last year and there was quite a substantial gang of us (approx 50). The narrow country roads over the first few miles meant it got very congested and I remember at least one person stumbling in amongst that crowd.
So, be prepared for that and if it's an issue for you then I'd advise running just in front of the pacers for the first few miles at least. At least there should be a bit more room there.

ultraman1

belcarra wrote: »

Just to note that I was following the 1:30 pacers .

By about 10 mins..

HelgaWard

I'm a bit disappointed, was hoping for a sub 1:40 pacer in this. 1:35 will be too fast, and 1:45 too slow. I thought there was a 1:37 min pacer last year? Was hoping to benefit and practice running in a group with a pacer, as hope to do that in DCM. Anyway, I know it is not possible to have pacers for everyones personal preference, but if ye do happen to get an extra volunteer pacer, maybe ye would consider sub 1:40?
Thanks!

RossyR

Race Brief document is now up on athlonehalfmarathon website.

Fingers crossed the weather will stay nice for the weekend!
Good luck to everyone taking part..

tang1

Best of luck to all the Boardsies running this Saturday, i know theres quiet a few.

opus

RossyR wrote: »

Race Brief document is now up on athlonehalfmarathon website.

Impressive document, haven't run it before but feel I know everything there is to know now

TooMuchIronMan

Really looking forward to this race, weather looking good too!

From reading the race pack it looks like there's no bag drop, could someone confirm this? Would anyone know if there are still lockers in the bus station I could use to stash a small bag for the race?

blockic

First time missing this event. Love this race, route, set-up, the whole lot.

Best of luck to all!

Skidrow

RossyR wrote: »

Race Brief document is now up on athlonehalfmarathon website.

Fingers crossed the weather will stay nice for the weekend!
Good luck to everyone taking part..

Hi RossyR,

Well done on the excellent race brief document.

This is my first time doing the Flatline, really looking forward to it although feeling incredibly nervous. I thought the nerves were due to the build up of tension at home before my son's Junior Cert results!! but it's the flipping race has me quaking!

My only concern is getting to Athlone from Dublin - is the fog causing any major delays for traffic?
Can anyone give advice on travel time from M50 Red Cow?

Thanks, best of luck to everyone.

RossyR

Don't know a huge lot about the fog.
Hasn't been a prob down here so far anyway.

Normal travel time from Red Cow to Athlone wud be 1.5 hrs I'd say.
Especially on a Sat morn.
Maybe allow a little more for fog??

Best of luck with race!

yaboya1

Good luck to all racing tomorrow.

PauloMN

Looking forward to this one, first time on this course.

FBOT01

yaboya1 wrote: »

Good luck to all racing tomorrow.

+1.....and as always enjoy !

Emer911

What a morning!
Great course, really nice long sleeve top, nice medal, bottled water at 3,6 &9 miles, Loo's a plenty, well organised start, lots of stuff at the finish including water, coke, bananas, orange segments, mammoth muffins (not even exaggerating!) and bottles of erdinger non-al.
The only thing the organisers didn't manage to get right was the weather! Who ordered the bloody sunshine?! ;-) Though the spectators didn't seem to mind it...

Thanks to the Flatline crew for putting on easily one of the best races in the country. I had a ball today (marathon pace run, so thankfully the heat didn't get to me too much)
And huge thanks to the registration guys that sorted out the number swap for me too. Never knew I had a name double in the same age category!? Very weird.

Congrats guys. Looking forward to next year already 😀

dukeraoul

Emer911 wrote: »

What a morning!
Great course, really nice long sleeve top, nice medal, bottled water at 3,6 &9 miles, Loo's a plenty, well organised start, lots of stuff at the finish including water, coke, bananas, orange segments, mammoth muffins (not even exaggerating!) and bottles of erdinger non-al.
The only thing the organisers didn't manage to get right was the weather! Who ordered the bloody sunshine?! ;-) Though the spectators didn't seem to mind it...

Thanks to the Flatline crew for putting on easily one of the best races in the country. I had a ball today (marathon pace run, so thankfully the heat didn't get to me too much)
And huge thanks to the registration guys that sorted out the number swap for me too. Never knew I had a name double in the same age category!? Very weird.

Congrats guys. Looking forward to next year already 😀

Agree with it as a great event. Do think however having a HM at 11am is too late in early Sept... 2 years in a row weather has been pretty warm - maybe move to 9 or 10 in future?

Caprica

Agree with the previous posters. This was an extremely well organised race, great course, helpful & friendly volunteers, nice top and medal with tonnes of food at the finish. It was a great idea to have the pacers walk down to the start line with runners chasing that time, I didn't think there was an issue with people starting in the wrong section. I wonder would a 10am start be a possibility? I found it tough out there at the end, although the weather is always hard to predict.

I ran with the 85mins pacers and got in just under the time. Was feeling good entering the last 5k so pushed before the mile mark but stuggled in the last two miles. Thanks to the pacers for a job well done.

Ososlo

Course record! Not a bad day for everyone!

dukeraoul

Ososlo wrote: »

Course record! Not a bad day for everyone!

Thanks for that ! GOH still well off his pb tho... Cheers for the words of wisdom...

Marthastew

So glad to hear you are ok now DRQ, I looked for you at the end and I assumed you had done your cool-down and headed home. I'm sure the last thing you expected today was a DNF and a trip in the ambulance, I'm hoping you are well on the mend now?

I think the reason for the 11am start is to allow people to travel on the morning? But the heat certainly seemed to affect a lot of people today and an earlier start might have made things a little easier.


Like Emer911 I was lucky enough to be taking it easy with a PMP run and I would also echo all her positive comments; it really is an outstanding race and caters for all levels of runners with everyone being made to feel welcome. Seamless organisation, marvellous support along the route from marshals and locals, a fabulous finish line spread and the top is one I will definitely get great use out of.
Did anyone else spot the little girl supporting with her family on the side of the road at about 800M to go? she was calling out everyone's names and even managed to pronounce my name, so cute.
Congrats to all who ran today.

opus

Caprica wrote: »

I ran with the 85mins pacers and got in just under the time. Was feeling good entering the last 5k so pushed before the mile mark but stuggled in the last two miles. Thanks to the pacers for a job well done.

Nice one, I did similar although I ended up running in front of them from ~8k onwards. Guessing we finished pretty close together anyway.

Would echo what everyone else was saying, apart form the maze that was the school grounds (had to ask someone how to get back to the hall for a shower afterwards ) organisation was spot on. I actually like the bit of sunshine, we had similar in the GNR last weekend.

Charleville HM next week now to complete my trio of runs.

neilc

Brilliant race today, superbly organised and great to have such a spread right at the finish line. Made even better by the fact that it was free, the good folks at the flatline had allowed me to defer my entry from last year!! Will definitely be back at some stage!!
Sorry to hear so many had such a tough day out there. From my own point of view it couldn't have gone much better, probably my most satisfying race to date. I didn't have any major plan worked out beforehand except to try and get as close to 1:30 as possible. I came up behind the 1:30 pacer after half a mile or so and just decided to stay with him as long as I could. Had a little wobble at 8 miles and the group pulled around 50 meters ahead leaving me pretty stranded. Luckily over the course of the next couple of miles I managed to claw them back. By mile 11 I was working out how much I could slow down and still make 1:30, my only real disappointment today. In the end it was a girl from crusaders that kept me pushing, she attempted to pass around three times but each time I upped a little and managed to hold her off till the end.
Finished in 1:29:14, a PB of 4:29 on Bohermeen a couple of years ago!!
Athlone Flatline 2014

PauloMN

What a nightmare!! Still in Ballinasloe A+E with my better half. Heat got to her and she collapsed around mile 11. Long day, won't forget in a hurry. Well on the mend now thank God.

So many people to thank for helping us, so grateful for those who stopped for her and helped her. Have some names of people who helped but not all. My sincerest and heartfelt thanks to you all who did.

dukeraoul

PauloMN wrote: »

What a nightmare!! Still in Ballinasloe A+E with my better half. Heat got to her and she collapsed around mile 11. Long day, won't forget in a hurry. Well on the mend now thank God.

So many people to thank for helping us, so grateful for those who stopped for her and helped her. Have some names of people who helped but not all. My sincerest and heartfelt thanks to you all who did.

Ah man that puts my day in perspective... Speedy recovery to her - all the best!

snailsong

neilc wrote: »

Brilliant race today, superbly organised and great to have such a spread right at the finish line. Made even better by the fact that it was free, the good folks at the flatline had allowed me to defer my entry from last year!! Will definitely be back at some stage!!
Sorry to hear so many had such a tough day out there. From my own point of view it couldn't have gone much better, probably my most satisfying race to date. I didn't have any major plan worked out beforehand except to try and get as close to 1:30 as possible. I came up behind the 1:30 pacer after half a mile or so and just decided to stay with him as long as I could. Had a little wobble at 8 miles and the group pulled around 50 meters ahead leaving me pretty stranded. Luckily over the course of the next couple of miles I managed to claw them back. By mile 11 I was working out how much I could slow down and still make 1:30, my only real disappointment today. In the end it was a girl from crusaders that kept me pushing, she attempted to pass around three times but each time I upped a little and managed to hold her off till the end.
Finished in 1:29:14, a PB of 4:29 on Bohermeen a couple of years ago!!
Athlone Flatline 2014

Well done on the pb.
I must have been beside you most of the race. I was wearing the green and red Mayo AC top. There's a slight drag from miles 7 to 9 where the group thinned out a bit. Ideally I would have liked to push on down the 'hill' but didn't have a lot in reserve. I think a few got back on here.
I thought the 1:30 pacer was excellent. All the splits were within 2 or 3 seconds. And all without the benefit of a second pacer for backup. Anyone know if he's on Boards?
I tried to push on at 12 miles on his advice. Crossed in 1:29:03 for a 16 second pb. I found the heat and lack of a breeze pretty difficult.

Full marks again to the organisers, couldn't fault it.

Marthastew, nice to meet you again. You'll nail it in Berlin.

Muppet Man

Well done to the race organisers... a pretty flawless day. Heat was pretty tough, but you couldnt blame the organisers for that

Only minor complaint was no XL tshirt on the morning of the race, and I reckon I was one of the first in the door on Saturday morning for number collection (around 8:15 AM). Not to worry.... not a big deal.

Oh... and I couldnt find the muffins afterwards ... But seriously, really fantastic day.

Paulo... hope the OH gets well soon.

Muppet Man

Pacing Mule

PauloMN wrote: »

What a nightmare!! Still in Ballinasloe A+E with my better half. Heat got to her and she collapsed around mile 11. Long day, won't forget in a hurry. Well on the mend now thank God.

So many people to thank for helping us, so grateful for those who stopped for her and helped her. Have some names of people who helped but not all. My sincerest and heartfelt thanks to you all who did.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=92181633&postcount=3217

Small world ??

Hope she is doing better today.