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Longford Vs Limerick

  • 05-05-2014 10:50am
    #1
    kchsligo
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 75 ✭✭


    Has anyone here done both marathons? How do they compare?

    Reason I ask is that I did Limerick yesterday and was targeting 3.15. All was going well but suffered badly with cramps from just after 23 mile mark and lost about a minute a mile, came in at 3.17.37 (still a pb so happy) but want to take another crack at 3.15 and Longford timing suits.


Comments

  • #2
    frankeee
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 134 ✭✭frankeee


    kchsligo wrote: »
    Has anyone here done both marathons? How do they compare?

    Reason I ask is that I did Limerick on Sunday and was targeting 3.15. All was going well but suffered badly with cramps from just after 23 mile mark and lost about a minute a mile, came in at 3.17.37 (still a pb so happy) but want to take another crack at 3.15 and Longford timing suits.

    I too did Limerick yesterday and although I haven't done the full in Longford, I did do the half in a few years back. From what I recall it wasn't too Hilly and was mostly on very quiet country roads. If you feel you need moral support from the sidelines it may not be the best but I really liked it, well organised & pretty low key so no panic getting a nice starting position etc. I can't remember what the water stations etc were like.
    Sorry to hear about the cramps, hope you figure out the cause but well done on the PB!


  • #3
    kchsligo
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 75 ✭✭kchsligo


    frankeee wrote: »
    I too did Limerick yesterday and although I haven't done the full in Longford, I did do the half in a few years back. From what I recall it wasn't too Hilly and was mostly on very quiet country roads. If you feel you need moral support from the sidelines it may not be the best but I really liked it, well organised & pretty low key so no panic getting a nice starting position etc. I can't remember what the water stations etc were like.
    Sorry to hear about the cramps, hope you figure out the cause but well done on the PB!

    Thanks Frankee. Most of my running is done solo around the quiet country roads of Sligo so no issue with lack of support on the route... I'll be making a few tweaks to the training (more hill work particularly) so hopefully can achieve a new pb in Longford.


  • #4
    frankeee
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 134 ✭✭frankeee


    kchsligo wrote: »
    Thanks Frankee. Most of my running is done solo around the quiet country roads of Sligo so no issue with lack of support on the route... I'll be making a few tweaks to the training (more hill work particularly) so hopefully can achieve a new pb in Longford.

    Good Stuff! Hopefully someone with experience of the full will comment as well. I'm the same regarding support. Actually I find the well intentioned "you're nearly there" comments from about 23 miles on have the opposite effect!
    Best of luck with the training, the fact that you're still enthusiastic so soon after running Limerick says a lot!


  • #5
    Muppet Man
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,674 ✭✭✭Muppet Man


    I've run the Longford full twice now. Its a nice race - There are no pacers and the start is fairly relaxed. Its the flattest marathon I've run in Ireland. There is a railway bridge at 1 mile with an incline and its pretty much flat after that, barring the very odd rolling incline. There is a hump back bridge (over a rail tracks, I think) at about 20 miles where the half joins the full marathon, which knocks the wind out of you for a few seconds, but again you just keep going.

    The downsides to this race - you could get a headwind at the start between Longford and Tarmonbarry and there is ZERO shelter for those 6 miles or so (from memory). Heat/sun could also be an issue at this point with lack of shelter... so you need to watch hydration. As mentioned it is a lonely course with not many runners - and far fewer spectators. You'll get a few in Tarmonbarry and a few on the bridge in Rooskey. At 20 to 23 miles is down an extremely narrow booreen - one car wide and grass in the middle of the road and this has been reported as being partiuclarly challenging by a lot of runners (although its dead flat), some of the slower runners at the back of the field wondering if they were lost.... When I ran it, the Ultra pace car and lead Ultra runner passed me here, and I literally had to stand in to the side to let them past. Only lost a couple of seconsd and it didnt bother as I got to talk to the ultra leader at the time.

    It can be hard to measure Pace on the road to Tarmonbarry due to the straightness an width of the main road (N5).

    Plenty of water stations (varied between plastic cups and small capped bottles) and kids outside houses with Oranges / sweets etc. Well organised and good parking. I would recommend it. If you get your pacing right and weather is favourable, it is a PB course.

    Muppet Man


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