Graded Meets 2014

RayCun

The programme has been released
http://www.dublinathletics.com/2014-Fixtures/dublin-athletic-board-graded-track-field-programme-2014.html

ecoli

Alot less 3ks this year seems to be more gearing towards 800/1500 mostly for distance runners

Krusty_Clown

No 400m Grade D. I think they're trying to kill off the '10 round numbers challenge'!

Sacksian

This is like doing a Christmas list...

So far, I'm planning 3 x 800m, 3 x 1,500m, mile, 3k, 5k and, if I can afford to compromise the final 800m, a 400m on August 20th!

Was very impressed with it last year - although one of the 800s was short according to my Garmin, so missed out on a PB.



I don't wear a garmin.

Chivito550

There's 4 weeks that have 400m races and on 3 of those there is an 800m the same evening. This is crazy and discourages the 400/800 runner from doing both events. Don't see why the 800 can't be paired with the 200, and have the 400 and 1500 together on alternative weeks, instead of having the 200 and 1500 together, and 400 and 800 side by side.

One would think that the likely double events (100-200, 200-400, 400-800, 800-1500) should never be on the same evening.

Also the long jump clashes with sprint events most weeks, which is not really logical scheduling.

pconn062

Awesome, can't friggin wait to start racing track. Fricking Tallaght though, bloody miles away!

Lock

Summer is officially upon us when the graded meets schedule goes online.

The British Milers Club also posted their summer fixtures. The Irish Milers Club have said they're going to have a race at the new track in Leixlip at the end of June which would be cool to run on. All these new tracks, and no races or track meets organised to go with them.

Beautiful new track in Drogheda now too so I hope to see some initiative from County boards like Kildare and Louth, in organising some open meets similar to the graded meets outside of Dublin. Then again, the attraction at the graded meets are the guaranteed numbers. Athletes need competition!

KielyUnusual

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

No 400m Grade D. I think they're trying to kill off the '10 round numbers challenge'!

If I ran a grade 'B' last year, then we can give the 'C' a go . The C is for the Chancers.

Really looking forward to this. Loved the races last year and there were some interesting experiences over the different distances. Agree with PConn about Tallaght. Do really like the track, if only it wasn't so God damn awkward for me to get to. Good to see my home track back in action again this year. I'm sure the extra support will give me that extra second I need over the 400.

RedRunner

Only joined a club last year and have been doing mostly longer distances but would love a crack at some track stuff during the summer. Could anyone explain to me how the grades work, what kind of standards compete etc or point me to where I could read up on it on Athletics ireland site?

RayCun

The meets are run by Dublin Athletics, not AAI
have a look at some results from last year, eg
http://www.dublinathletics.com/2013-Results/results-of-dublin-athletic-board-graded-meeting-one-2013.html
There are no set times for the grades afaik, runners select the appropriate grade for themselves

RedRunner

RayCun wrote: »

The meets are run by Dublin Athletics, not AAI
have a look at some results from last year, eg
http://www.dublinathletics.com/2013-Results/results-of-dublin-athletic-board-graded-meeting-one-2013.html
There are no set times for the grades afaik, runners select the appropriate grade for themselves

Thanks Ray.

pconn062

RedRunner wrote: »

Only joined a club last year and have been doing mostly longer distances but would love a crack at some track stuff during the summer. Could anyone explain to me how the grades work, what kind of standards compete etc or point me to where I could read up on it on Athletics ireland site?

Please don't be put off doing them, it doesn't matter if you've never run on a track in your life, just go along and give it a go. The standards usually run from A-D with D being the slowest, and you decide yourself when you're signing in what grade you want to run in. The standard is usually mixed but there is a good spread. For example two years ago I ran in the D grade for a 3000m race and came 2nd last, however last year I ran in the D grade 1500m race and came 4th out of 18. So if you pick the right grade you won't be blown out of it.

Stazza

RayCun wrote: »

The meets are run by Dublin Athletics, not AAI
have a look at some results from last year, eg
http://www.dublinathletics.com/2013-Results/results-of-dublin-athletic-board-graded-meeting-one-2013.html
There are no set times for the grades afaik, runners select the appropriate grade for themselves

These might be daft questions and apologies if they are, but do they do these sort of meets anywhere else - striking distance of Kerry? And if so, do you have to be a member of a club? And on top of those questions, are there club leagues and all that sort of stuff?

RayCun

Leevale track and field meet?
http://www.leevale.org/2014/leevale-2014-satsun-56-april/

Seems to be open to anyone

Krusty_Clown

Stazza wrote: »

These might be daft questions and apologies if they are, but do they do these sort of meets anywhere else - striking distance of Kerry? And if so, do you have to be a member of a club? And on top of those questions, are there club leagues and all that sort of stuff?

For the Dublin graded meets, you have to be a member of an AAI club (but not necessarily a Dublin-based club) and have to wear your club singlet when participating in a race.

Timmaay

RayCun wrote: »

There are no set times for the grades afaik, runners select the appropriate grade for themselves

The more common distances like 800/15 do have fairly set times, however for the c and d races, alot of the time I've noticed people tend to jump in a race ahead of their actual time, esp early in the season when their aren't in as good a shape as they thought. But there is zero penalty etc for running out of your grade ha!

Timmaay

Stazza, there is a cork graded series afaik!

Stazza

Timmaay wrote: »

Stazza, there is a cork graded series afaik!

Thanks Ray, Krusty, and Timmaay.

Timmaay - I'm trying to plan out my races and they might be just what I'm after...

pa4

Stazza wrote: »

Thanks Ray, Krusty, and Timmaay.

Timmaay - I'm trying to plan out my races and they might be just what I'm after...

The Cork graded meets are ideal for people living too far away from Dublin. There's not as much meets but they still have all the same distances and a decent standard.

CorkRunning

The dates and fixtures for the graded track & field league in Cork were announced today. Various competitions will be held on six evenings running from mid-May to late July.

You can find the info here...

Stazza

CorkRunning wrote: »

The dates and fixtures for the graded track & field league in Cork were announced today. Various competitions will be held on six evenings running from mid-May to late July.

You can find the info here...

That's great - thank you very much indeed.

YFlyer

The University of Limerick are holding the Thomond Games on Tuesday 1st April at 6 pm

ATTENTION RUNNERS, JUMPERS AND THROWERS

UL Athletics Club are hosting an evening of Track Athletics at the University of Limerick outdoor track.
This is our main fundraiser for the year and we would love for this event to become an annual event!
This is open to all public interested in competing.

Track Events on the night include: Junior mile, Senior mile, 600m, distance medley relay and a 1 hour race.

Field Events include: Long jump, high jump, shot put and possibly Javelin & weight for distance (TBC).

Registration via email or on the night.

For further details, or if you have any questions please contact thomondgames@gmail.com

pconn062

Does anyone know what the story is with the Dublin Championships? Do they have a few open races in each event and then one Championship race in each event? That's what it looks like from reading it but I'm not sure.

HelenAnne

Has anyone ever done these? what's the standard like? It's been suggested to me that I give the one in Santry a go, but I've never run an 800m race, and I've only ever done two beginners sessions on the track (this week & last week!) so I've no idea what I'd be letting myself in for. I don't mind being last, but I don't want to be spectacularly, minutes behind last. Just wondering if it's all serious track speedsters?

http://www.dublinathletics.com/2014-Fixtures/dublin-athletic-board-graded-track-field-programme-2014.html

Krusty_Clown

Hi HelenAnne, there's already a Dublin Graded Meets thread, though it's back a few pages at this stage. With the season starting up, there should be a lot more discussion coming up.

I have found it very useful to look back through previous results, to get an idea of where I'd fit in. Looking at graded meet 1 last year, the women's times for the 800m ranged between 2:18 and 2:57, so a decent spread of results. There will always be a few speedsters, but equally as many people giving it a pop for the first time. At least with the 800m, you don't have to battle with a set of starting blocks! Give it a pop. You won't regret it. Your first race can be a little daunting (if like me you've never done track stuff before), but after that.... it doesn't get any easier.

ecoli

Mod: Threads merged

HelenAnne

Thanks for merging the threads and for the info. Yes, I looked up the results. I think I definitely will be last, but maybe not half a lap behind ... hmm. I'll think about it. I wish there were more grades for the women -- I'd definitely be a D-grade runner, but there's only A & B!

Sacksian

They're a lot of fun, there's a really good atmosphere and, depending on who turns up, you can see some very high-quality athletics at them. If nothing else, it's a chance to try something very different.

I did them for the first time last year and, through the divine grace of the rubberized surface, have now realised the error of my road-running ways.

HelenAnne

Sacksian wrote: »

They're a lot of fun, there's a really good atmosphere and, depending on who turns up, you can see some very high-quality athletics at them. If nothing else, it's a chance to try something very different.

I did them for the first time last year and, through the divine grace of the rubberized surface, have now realised the error of my road-running ways.

I do quite like the surface! As I said, I've only been on the track twice in my life (last night & last week) but I do like the feeling of gliding round the bends (well, that's how it feels, I'm sure it looks more like lurching and staggering to any onlookers).

happygoose

I may be blind - I can't find the option to register online for all of the races in the series for €50, just each of the individual meets, anyone else have the same problem, or am I blind?

http://www.dublinathletics.com/page-4?id=0&lang=en&limit=5

Sacksian

happygoose wrote: »

I may be blind - I can't find the option to register online for all of the races in the series for €50, just each of the individual meets, anyone else have the same problem, or am I blind?

http://www.dublinathletics.com/page-4?id=0&lang=en&limit=5

I had the same problem. I just registered and selected the "pay on the day" option. I'm still not sure what you should do online or how it works when you want to do the entire series but choose a variety of grades and distances over the series (e.g. 5k A, 3k B, 800m C). Hopefully, it'll be possible to sort it out on the day.

RedRunner

HelenAnne wrote: »

Thanks for merging the threads and for the info. Yes, I looked up the results. I think I definitely will be last, but maybe not half a lap behind ... hmm. I'll think about it. I wish there were more grades for the women -- I'd definitely be a D-grade runner, but there's only A & B!

Hey Helen. I might be tempted to try this for the experience. Did a bit of track stuff back in my school days. Would love to try 800 if even to see how bad I am!

HelenAnne

RedRunner wrote: »

Hey Helen. I might be tempted to try this for the experience. Did a bit of track stuff back in my school days. Would love to try 800 if even to see how bad I am!

Great!! I haven't decided yet, but I might give it a go.

Krusty_Clown

HelenAnne wrote: »

Great!! I haven't decided yet, but I might give it a go.

By the way, coming last isn't a big deal in the track races. There are lots of races and someone comes last in every one of them, so nobody pays any attention. Have been last in more than my fair share, and the only one bothered, was me!

ecoli

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

By the way, coming last isn't a big deal in the track races. There are lots of races and someone comes last in every one of them, so nobody pays any attention. Have been last in more than my fair share, and the only one bothered, was me!

Likewise I am the same and no one bats an eyelid, in fact usual the opposite in terms of people supporting you right to the line. Also you have the unique position on track of never being more than 200m from the race winner

HelenAnne

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

By the way, coming last isn't a big deal in the track races. There are lots of races and someone comes last in every one of them, so nobody pays any attention. Have been last in more than my fair share, and the only one bothered, was me!

I don't mind coming last (it won't be the first time!) Just wanted to check the sort of standard -- I didn't want to be passing the 400m mark still jogging along my way while everyone was tapping their watches at the finish and waiting to start the race for the next grade

Bungy Girl

HelenAnne wrote: »

I wish there were more grades for the women -- I'd definitely be a D-grade runner, but there's only A & B!

I'd love to do these (& definitely bag last place ) but am not a member of a club/AAI. Something to aim towards next year maybe. Just looking at the results there really are very few women taking part compared to the numbers of men, so not surprising there are only 2 grades.

RayCun

You don't need to aim for joining a club, most clubs will have other runners of your standard, whatever that is, and will be happy to have you.

yoyo

Sacksian wrote: »

I had the same problem. I just registered and selected the "pay on the day" option. I'm still not sure what you should do online or how it works when you want to do the entire series but choose a variety of grades and distances over the series (e.g. 5k A, 3k B, 800m C). Hopefully, it'll be possible to sort it out on the day.

Hopefully I'll be able to help solve the confusion here . User's wishing to pay for a series of events, they should choose "Pay on the night" for the initial event (i.e: Graded 2 coming up) and ask to pay for an event series when registering. For any subsequent events after the initial payment that night, the "pay on the night" option should be used (obviously payment in this case will not be necessary).
I am fairly certain there is flexibility when it comes to registering for a series but don't quote me on this!
The reason there is no upfront fee to pay online for a series is that events will vary depending on the meeting.
I think this was badly worded/explained in the booklet so I'll pass on the suggestions/feedback .
Disclaimer: As some of you may know, I have worked on this website.

Nick

Sacksian

yoyo wrote: »

Hopefully I'll be able to help solve the confusion here . User's wishing to pay for a series of events, they should choose "Pay on the night" for the initial event (i.e: Graded 2 coming up) and ask to pay for an event series when registering. For any subsequent events after the initial payment that night, the "pay on the night" option should be used (obviously payment in this case will not be necessary).
I am fairly certain there is flexibility when it comes to registering for a series but don't quote me on this!
The reason there is no upfront fee to pay online for a series is that events will vary depending on the meeting.
I think this was badly worded/explained in the booklet so I'll pass on the suggestions/feedback .
Disclaimer: As some of you may know, I have worked on this website.

Nick

Thanks Nick!

It was explained on the night, I paid the series fee and there was no hassle. They recorded me as paying for the series so, as you say, I just have to pick "pay on the night" for future meetings.

Chivito550

So who's running this evening?

menoscemo

Not running but I'll be down to watch.

digger2d2

Me... Sh1tting it, I had a dream last night that I caught my foot in the blocks (will be my first time ever) and fell over and meno laughed for an hour!!

RayCun

digger2d2 wrote: »

Me... Sh1tting it, I had a dream last night that I caught my foot in the blocks (will be my first time ever) and fell over and meno laughed for an hour!!

What are you running?

digger2d2

RayCun wrote: »

What are you running?

200 and 1500

TRR

digger2d2 wrote: »

Me... Sh1tting it, I had a dream last night that I caught my foot in the blocks (will be my first time ever) and fell over and meno laughed for an hour!!

digger2d2 wrote: »

200 and 1500

you'll be grand just don't use the blocks for the 1500

menoscemo

digger2d2 wrote: »

200 and 1500

Just like CL

I wouldn't miss you two doing the 200 for the world. Video cameras at the ready

menoscemo

digger2d2 wrote: »

Me... Sh1tting it, I had a dream last night that I caught my foot in the blocks (will be my first time ever) and fell over and meno laughed for an hour!!

Maybe Chivito can give yourself a CL a blocks lesson before the start?

pconn062

Missing this unfortunately. Would love to be running the 1500m. Although I've become quite attached to my car wheels, so if I'm going to miss one I'm glad it's the one in Tallaght! :pac:

claralara

menoscemo wrote: »

Just like CL

I wouldn't miss you two doing the 200 for the world. Video cameras at the ready

I actually burst out laughing as I was dozing off last night as I had this image of me falling out of the blocks... If yee thought last year's 800m attempt was entertaining, miss this performance at your peril!!

TRR

pconn062 wrote: »

Missing this unfortunately. Would love to be running the 1500m. Although I've become quite attached to my car wheels, so if I'm going to miss one I'm glad it's the one in Tallaght! :pac:

Don't worry I scoped out your car last year at the beer mile and it's a heap of $hite. We're only interested in decent cars in Tallafornia