Athlone Flatline Half Marathon 13th Sept 2014

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.

neilc

snailsong wrote: »

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.

Well done on the PB too, I remember seeing you out there alright.
Have to agree our pacer was excellent, very consistent. He did give me a fright just before the three mile marker when he seemed to sprint off. He was only grabbing a few water bottles for people who missed the table though .

xElDeeX

This was a really well organised event and if you got in early then registration was only 20 euro. You can't beat that!
I also ran the half at the Great Limerick Run this year (think that was 45 euro) and I found Athlone to be far better organised and they fed you properly after. I don't think we were offered anything to eat after Limerick at all.....or maybe there were bananas but that was it.

One issue with this race is the surface on the bog roads as you did have to watch your footing a bit especially when running with a pace group. Oh and an earlier start time would make the weather less of a problem. Although I did get a 4 minute PB so I can't really complain too much

The pacer I ran with (1:45) wasn't the chattiest but then neither was I by mile 10 and he got me in under my goal so job done!

PauloMN

Pacing Mule wrote: »

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

Small world ??

Hope she is doing better today.

Thanks, she's a whole lot better today. That's a day I'll not wish to repeat!! :eek:

Sounds like Alan30 was one of many who helped my wife, sincere thanks. It shows the camaraderie between runners when people are willing to sacrifice their own race - which they may have been planning for months - for the sake of another person in need.

Anyway it seems lots of people helped out and I don't have all the names, but special thanks to Catch (Tullamore), Ollie (Mullingar), Barry (NE Runners) as well as the Order of Malta volunteers who were all fantastic on the day. Hope I have the names and clubs correct, apologies if not. And thanks to Nick from the Flatline committee for the call earlier to check how she was doing. Sorry I'm missing the names of others who helped, I know there were other also.

We thought about how best we could put our appreciation of you all to the best practical use and decided on a donation to the Order of Malta. We hope you'll all accept that as a token of our appreciation. We take these guys for granted when they are there at races and we don't need their help, but when we do it's brilliant to have them.

Thanks,
Paul.

Mos Eisley

Hi

I foolishly picked up an X small top when registering on Friday night, I tried it on last night and its waaaay too tight! If anyone has a small they would like to swap please send me a PM

Thanks

Toblerone1978

Hi all. I went off with the 85mins pacer too. I was only the only with them for the last few miles, it was like they were providing a personal escort!! But they were brilliant, full of encouragement and really brought it to the wire, excellent pacing. The first few miles were very comfortable, I got into a nice rhythm and it got tough at the 1/2 way mark. However 85min wasn't to be, I came in at 85m 10s - still it's a 1m50s of my PB, even though I ran 55 miles in the 7 days leading up to it (I was using it a training race for DCM) so I'm very pleased with this. I think it was Caprica's back I was looking at for the last 4 miles!

With possibly the exception of DCM, this is simply the best race out there (that I know of!). I really, really enjoyed this event. Leading up to the race, the organisation was top class - hassle free registration, load of parking, clear instructions. The course itself is a beauty, very flat and despite the fact I was banjaxed at the end, I really enjoyed the first 10 miles - from experience of running on Irish roads, I was waiting for a hill that never came! The mile markings and 5km were very clear. As mentioned above, top marks to the 85mins pacers. I really enjoyed the weather, it was just nice to run in hear that wasn't OTT - a change from the wind!! The feast at the end was brilliant - I didn't bother with the muffin but the Coke at the end was a godsend, great idea. And the beer was a great tonic - evern if it was alcohol free. A really nice t-shirt and medal to top it off too. With a reasonable entry fee, I'm definitely marking this race for coming years. Massive well done to all involved.

Glad to hear PauloMH's OH has got better and is on the road to recovery.

Firedance

even though I had an awful race I would echo the sentiments about the organisation, the pre race info, the marshalls on the day, the Order of Malta who had a very busy day and food afterwards were second to none. I will go back next year and run based on all the (valuable!) lessons I learned on Saturday - would agree an earlier start, maybe 10am to still allow people to travel, and possibly waved start to help with the congestion for those of us behind the 2 hour pacers would make a big difference. Well done to all of us who ran in that heat!

PauloMN

Toblerone1978 wrote: »

but the Coke at the end was a godsend, great idea.

+1, I found it to be a super recovery drink. Water, sugar and caffeine all in one go... perfect!

Agree also on the t-shirt and medal, both really nice. Don't get long sleeve tops very often but they are great for the cooler days training.

Now that the dust has settled, I can say it was a really well organised event, from start to finish. Fair play to the lady at 10 miles with the water station outside her house. Great to have bottles also at the official stations and designated drop zones for the empties. Still saw some people firing them into the ditches for some reason, which I'll never understand. If you are going to drop them, at least drop them on the side of the road where the cleanup volunteers will easily see them afterwards, rather than hidden in a ditch.

Have wanted a sub-1:50 for a while now and Saturday I came within 34 seconds of it which was frustrating but still a big improvement to my PB. Normally struggle after 10 miles but was right in the game up to almost 12 miles, when the tiredness just caught up with me, as did the need for a pit-stop lol. Was delighted that two of my fastest km splits were on 16 and 17km. Bohermeen next HM up for me, so plenty of time to get the training in to nail that time.

rob w

Big thanks to the organisers, great event and will be definitely be back next year! Would have been nice to have another water station towards the end though, or else the last one pushed on a little further....but thats mainly due to the weather that day....on a cooler day it would have been fine!

Great t-shirt too, looking forward to getting out for a run in it!

marchino

Caprica wrote: »

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.

Your welcome Caprica.
I enjoyed pacing the 1.25 group.
My left hamstring didnt enjoy it but got through it anyways.
Tried keeping the miles as even as possible.
My 1st time pacing a race.
Congrats on Your run.

Martin Lyons ;-)

opus

Toblerone1978 wrote: »

Hi all. I went off with the 85mins pacer too. I was only the only with them for the last few miles, it was like they were providing a personal escort!! But they were brilliant, full of encouragement and really brought it to the wire, excellent pacing. The first few miles were very comfortable, I got into a nice rhythm and it got tough at the 1/2 way mark. However 85min wasn't to be, I came in at 85m 10s - still it's a 1m50s of my PB, even though I ran 55 miles in the 7 days leading up to it (I was using it a training race for DCM) so I'm very pleased with this. I think it was Caprica's back I was looking at for the last 4 miles!

So there were at least three of us on this thread in that pace group! Should really have worn a badge with my boards nickname

Just echoing the sentiment, it was a great job by the two pacers especially one of them who ran up to me to make sure I hadn't missed getting some water at the first water stop. Where would you get such service!!