boards too negative about races ????

peter kern

3 races last week loads of negative comments ....
when i read kurt godels review i feel like he did a different race than most of the other people. I did the race we cant talk aobut last year and thought it was good race and i fact was looking forward to do it again this year as it is a great trainings race.

There is a few safty points meantioned in 2 races that happend last weekend and iam sure in those there is some truth and this needs to be changed.
but....
i mean the horn one athlete compaints about ..... why does this happen because in every fecking race we try to cheat at the start. so to be fair as a race organicer you dodnt really have any option . even if ther is a rope like in kilkee people will cheat at the start.

a 900 m swim jasus be happy you get more money for what you paid.( different thing if you did the try a tri)

roads that are rough..... the same for everybody and part of Ireland ( use less tyre pressure and you are grand ;-)

races pretty much always start late so one should be prepared for that. ( most often becasue some atheltes that will later complai about the late race start arrived late .... i mean more often than than not its not the race organicers fault )

getting cold in a race .... bring some hot tea and a jacket
pratice swimming in the open water and if you have issues with the cold DO NOT RACE IN IRELAND IN MAY >>>>>>

bike course to technical ......

I did not hear BMC complaining about the organistion or tough roads of the RAS becasue he hugged a bridge . its seems cyclist are much more aware about the fact that when they race there is risk involved.


I guess its good when people complain ( especially about saftey) but I think some people might be better suited to indoor triathlon in a ritz hotel than in an open field ????

just my 2 cents ( and nobody needs to agree with that)

miller82

peter kern wrote: »

i mean the horn one athlete compaints about ..... why does this happen because in every fecking race we try to cheat at the start. so to be fair as a race organicer you dodnt really have any option . even if ther is a rope like in kilkee people will cheat at the start................. so because other people cheat some athletes get stung at the start of a race and lose valuable time and get bunched at the back ? abandon the countdown, but dont say there will be one and then not have it


a 900 m swim jasus be happy you get more money for what you paid.( different thing if you did the try a tri) you are missing the point. its not about value for money, ............thats a ridiculous point. if a race is 750m on paper, it needs to be 750m in the race. longer swims suit me so i'm not complaining because i had to swim further, i'm complaining becasue it wasnt the correct distance. its very basic stuff.

roads that are rough..... the same for everybody and part of Ireland ( use less tyre pressure and you are grand ;-)...... fair point

races pretty much always start late so one should be prepared for that. ( most often becasue some atheltes that will later complai about the late race start arrived late .... i mean more often than than not its not the race organicers fault ) .......... again fair point

bike safety should be taken seriously. again i had no issues in the race i did, but i could see that it was dangerous. i'm not talking about just cycling in itself as a sport. having four lanes of traffic coming in to a very tight, blind corner, is just too dangerous especially with no marshals

peter kern

yes it should be taken seriously , I totally agree with that and i am sure your poits about safetey where fine.
but in the 3 races from last weekend i think there was much more compaints about problems that are not problems , or very minor issues. ( apart from the the saftey issues which i think are totally warranted )

Green&Red

I would say that the race yesterday in Galway was a little bit technical at the steep descent and S bend, other than that it was not technical at all, literally at all, there was one other S bend (around 7k) where you had to get out of the drops, everything else could be taken in the drops and at speed.
I would say peoples bike handling needs to improve and their awareness of what is going on around them (I was hoarse yesterday on the hills telling people to keep left). For that race I didnt see any bike safety issues (with the possible exception of an uphill mount start but that was pretty much unavoidable)


As for people being negative, its the way we are, we love giving out. Whether its about our own performance, other competitiors, the course or the organisers, we love it.

mossym

Green&Red wrote: »

I would say that the race yesterday in Galway was a little bit technical at the steep descent and S bend, other than that it was not technical at all, literally at all, there was one other S bend (around 7k) where you had to get out of the drops, everything else could be taken in the drops and at speed.
I would say peoples bike handling needs to improve and their awareness of what is going on around them (I was hoarse yesterday on the hills telling people to keep left). For that race I didnt see any bike safety issues (with the possible exception of an uphill mount start but that was pretty much unavoidable)


As for people being negative, its the way we are, we love giving out. Whether its about our own performance, other competitiors, the course or the organisers, we love it.

only issue i saw yesterday was that of having multiple waves of varying levels all coming out on to a 20k loop at different times, resulting in quite a bit of congestion. it made overtaking a bit harder. plus some of the people in the shorter races were not doing it per time, so were quite happy to saunter along weaving about. it's their race as well though, so not a lot you can do about it.

i see peters point about rough roads being a part of racing in ireland, and that's true. i think there are two different ways of looking at it though, if you;re saying the roads were unsafe because they were rough, then they weren't, so people need to get better on the bikes. if, however, people are just saying it was tough to get going on them, then it is the same for everyone, and i think people are just vocalising what was difficult about the course.

i don;t think all things stated as negatives mean people shouldn't be racing. this is meant to be tough right? People saying things were cold, hard, is because, well they were. doesn't mean people want them changed. i found cutra water cold yesterday, i found the run course tough. do i want them changed? nope. Boru tri run course kicked my ass last year, did i hope they'd change it for this year? no, i wanted to go back and nail the SOB. (they did end up actually cancelling the race for this year though..:) )

i do think Peter's comments are well aimed at those that complain about something being cold/hard in the hopes that next year they'll make it easier. the only things that should be changed are safety or organizational issues

sconhome

Good points.

Sure if it was easy, everyone would be doing it

Interesting fact I heard yesterday is that Ireland has one of the biggest population per capita of registered (with TI) triathletes. Much bigger than UK.

Oldlegs

peter kern wrote: »

3 races last week loads of negative comments ....
when i read kurt godels review i feel like he did a different race than most of the other people.

Likewise when I read Miller82's comments re. Dun Laoghaire Tri I thought he must have been at a different race.

1. Plenty of Marshals all along the bike route. Definitely one Marshal at the end of the top pier and another at the end of the bottom pier (for 1st Wave anyway).
Some people not sure where they were going when out & back on the run - but the details were clear in the pre-race info and at the race briefing. A little more clarity would have helped, but not a show-stopper IMO.

2. 900m swim - that explains why I was so knackered ! It was explained at the race briefing that the 3rd bouy was just for general direction and NOT the exit. Sure they could/should have had it in the correct location but it had been clearly explained beforehand. But looks like they did move it for the later waves (http://irishtriathlon.zenfolio.com/p356707434/h2d4a9647#h2d4a9647)

3. Draft-busting. Organiser(s) (at the Seapoint entrance) were clearly telling people to keep the minimum space. From the various threads here on boards Drafting appears is a major issue in a lot of races, not just this one.

4. Marshals at the railway bridge and footbridge were VERY vocal in trying to keep spectators and finishers from blocking the cycle in and run out. More thought from those people who had already finished might have helped.


Big Kudos to the guy who did the cycle despite having broken his saddle and having to do the full leg with a spike about 1 cm from his arse - that is motivation.

miller82

Oldlegs wrote: »

Likewise when I read Miller82's comments re. Dun Laoghaire Tri I thought he must have been at a different race.

1. Plenty of Marshals all along the bike route. Definitely one Marshal at the end of the top pier and another at the end of the bottom pier (for 1st Wave anyway).
Some people not sure where they were going when out & back on the run - but the details were clear in the pre-race info and at the race briefing. A little more clarity would have helped, but not a show-stopper IMO.

2. 900m swim - that explains why I was so knackered ! It was explained at the race briefing that the 3rd bouy was just for general direction and NOT the exit. Sure they could/should have had it in the correct location but it had been clearly explained beforehand. But looks like they did move it for the later waves (http://irishtriathlon.zenfolio.com/p356707434/h2d4a9647#h2d4a9647)

3. Draft-busting. Organiser(s) (at the Seapoint entrance) were clearly telling people to keep the minimum space. From the various threads here on boards Drafting appears is a major issue in a lot of races, not just this one.

4. Marshals at the railway bridge and footbridge were VERY vocal in trying to keep spectators and finishers from blocking the cycle in and run out. More thought from those people who had already finished might have helped.


Big Kudos to the guy who did the cycle despite having broken his saddle and having to do the full leg with a spike about 1 cm from his arse - that is motivation.

I was also in Wave 1 and it didnt have a massive bearing on my finishing place, but the issues i pointed out are standard points that should not be an issue in a race. everyone i spoke to felt the same. i wouldnt have raised it if i thought it was just me being precious. i've done a good few races and i'm guessing you have too, so we would have been a bit more clued up and worked it out, but the general standard of marshalling and course safety etc was the worst i've seen. everyone see's different things in a race, they are just the points i saw and the few people i spoke to.
For the record i dont make a habit of complaining about races, very rarely even notice any issues, but yesterday was different

also spotted that guy with the blade sticking agonisingly close to his hoop.
nigthmare scenario

Daz1214

Peterx

peter kern wrote: »

3 races last week loads of negative comments ....
when i read kurt godels review i feel like he did a different race than most of the other people.

"Respondents who suffered a bad interaction were 50% more likely to share it on social media than those who had good experiences (45% vs. 30%)"

from - http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/online/bad-customer-service-interactions-more-likely-to-be-shared-than-good-ones-28628/

tl/dr - people like to complain. mostly.

Kurt Godel

I can see why you asked the question Peter: sometimes people tend to magnify a fault in a race when posting. But I don't think that generally typifies their experience. People can sometimes take the good points for granted, and leave them out of their report in favour of more "noteworthy" points.

On your general question- is boards too negative?- I really don't think so. I've found this forum to be hugely useful and welcoming as a novice triathlete. There has been loads of people who are willing to give their time to answer newbie questions, or help with swim tips, or give gear advice, etc. As a direct result of this forum, I've found a swim coach to help our club, got a great deal on a second hand bike and wheels, sold some unwanted gear, and gotten to know a whole bunch of cool and friendly folk. To say nothing about having a whole bunch of anonymous usernames as rivals which push you on in races etc;)

Its a pretty positive forum, if you ask me!

peter kern

i would agree outside talking about races prety positive forum

and title should have been too negative about races. (which i was refering too)

Kurt Godel wrote: »

I can see why you asked the question Peter: sometimes people tend to magnify a fault in a race when posting. But I don't think that generally typifies their experience. People can sometimes take the good points for granted, and leave them out of their report in favour of more "noteworthy" points.

On your general question- is boards too negative?- I really don't think so. I've found this forum to be hugely useful and welcoming as a novice triathlete. There has been loads of people who are willing to give their time to answer newbie questions, or help with swim tips, or give gear advice, etc. As a direct result of this forum, I've found a swim coach to help our club, got a great deal on a second hand bike and wheels, sold some unwanted gear, and gotten to know a whole bunch of cool and friendly folk. To say nothing about having a whole bunch of anonymous usernames as rivals which push you on in races etc;)

Its a pretty positive forum, if you ask me!

pgibbo

peter kern wrote: »

i would agree outside talking about races prety positive forum

and title should have been too negative about races. (which i was refering too)

Do you want me to change the title for you?

tunney

Ah ye are all a pack of fvcking &**s and $%^ers

(negative enough?)

Oryx

tunney wrote: »

Ah ye are all a pack of fvcking &**s and $%^ers

(negative enough?)

Tunney, you little raincloud, don't ever change.

With races people will mention problems. If organisers listen, that can be a good thing - constructive criticism.

Are we too fussy here? I don't think so. I could go and find twice as many positive race reports as negative ones. I think comments are usually fair. Races should be accurate and well marshalled, anything else leads to anarchy and messing

MD1983

I raced this (Dun Laoghaire tri) and had a different take on it:

i thought there was a countdown in wave 1? if your at the back at a swim start its your fault as i recall being ready to start when he blew the horn

900m swim, i get the point about race courses being the stated distance but i wouldnt get too worked up about it, loads of races mess the swim distance up

the course was marked out, its up to the athlete to know how to get from swim exit to T1, it was only 30 yards

late start - a few minutes maybe for wave 1 but it was as prompt as most tris

he said mount on the road not the grass not that big a deal really, there was a dismount line but the marshalls made a mess of that one

i didnt think the bike course was dangerous at all really, no more than the risks you have with most triathlons, you can pick danger points from most triathlons

overall i think the review was a bit negative

peter kern

pgibbo wrote: »

Do you want me to change the title for you?

yes please

ta

bredward

@miller82

Just wanted to add that my experience of Dun Laoghaire tri was also a shambles. I did the try-a-tri along with many other newbies to triathlon.

Problems:
-Not one mention of the try-a-tri in the morning race brief.
-The original run route on the race brief was different to the actual run route (Actual route on the upper deck where as the online brief said it was on the lower deck)
-My times/results weren't even on the results page until I kicked up a fuss about it and finally got it done. (I won't even go down the road of how unprofessionally I was treated when trying to rectify this).
-I witnessed several individuals being sent the wrong way during the bike and run leg throughout different waves.


To be honest maybe I just expected a higher standard for the race fee that was charged. I am wrong in thinking this?

Mr. Flibble

I took part in the Dun Laoghaire sprint tri too. It was my first triathlon and I enjoyed it a lot but there were issues.

I didn't think that the info on the website / briefing doc was very good. I read and re-read all the info available before the event and still had lots of unanswered questions. It either was aimed at people who weren't first timers or was just plainly ill thought out. No need to go into it all, but the one thing that affected me most was that there was no mention anywhere that we were meant to wear the chips on our ankles. This is probably 101 stuff, but unless we are told no first timer is going to know that this is necessary. I wasn't the only one who put it on the wrist. Not one martial mentioned this to me during the whole race - until the one at the finish line who told me that probably none of my splits will have been timed. He was right
A guy who entered with me is down as a DNF - the martial didn't even bother to tell him at the finish line that the chip didn't register.

Other than that unfortunate outcome, it was great fun. I'd prefer a badly run tri than no tri, so thanks for putting it on.


ps. my Garmin shows my swim at 820m and the run at 5.5k. Cycle was near 20k, and there's no way I would have been able to keep count of the laps without the Garmin telling me how far I'd gone. Looking at the splits I think a fair few people had that problem.

and still ricky villa

Dun Laoghaire was my first tri too. Let's not talk about the swim as it was personally a disaster but found a lot of first timers in transition who didn't know what to do and marshalls who were equally clueless. People starting at 10am getting into wetsuits and standing outside transition at 8am is a bit turn off. Coming from a running background where the race briefing is very detailed, I could have skipped this and kept warm for a bit longer. Generally found Brian to be a one man show though so can't fault the guy for missing a few points as he ran from swim start to transition and back again over the morning.

Glad to hear the swim was long though. Might have actually covered the distance between entry and exit as I spent the middle part in a boat.

Found the bike a bit confusing and traffic (spectators and runners) on the entry and exit to be a small problem but I ploughed on. The route itself seemed fine for a first timer. Zero draft checks but I tried to follow the rules as best I could. Garmin helped with counting laps and found the bike to be bang on 20k

The run, as mentioned above, was well over 5km. Not at all what was in the pre race material but found cones and directions everywhere I went. Considering I was in the last wave and technically one of the last out of the water I can't fault the marshalling here. No water stops as advertised though?

Would I do it again. Yes, but would be more clued in this time.
Would I recommend it to another first timer. Probably not unless they got a briefing from someone else well in advance

kal7

Hi all,

I raced lough cutra olympic, although bike road surface was bit ropey the rest of day was well organised. Loved swim and trail nature of run was well documented before the day.

I think we should comment on negatives on this forum but try to remember how great the race days are, I love the atmosphere, camaraderie and personal achievements for all.

Keep it up all those race organisers lurking on boards, thanks.

Oldlegs

and still ricky villa wrote: »

Would I do it again. Yes, but would be more clued in this time.
Would I recommend it to another first timer. Probably not unless they got a briefing from someone else well in advance

Prob have to agree with most of the points.

I enjoyed the race - but it was not at the same level of professionalism as others, despite the similar price point.

It could/should be an ideal race for 1st timers - but clearly more consideration should be given to a) 1st Timers and b) the minor issues which wouldn't cost much to fix but do disappoint.

Would I do it again. Yes.
Should it be more professional, with better Marshal support. Yes.
Would this require a lot of effort. No.

Hopefully they will work on making this better for next year - as I definitely enjoyed it and the combination of the cycle and run laps were great for the supporters too.

miller82

Oldlegs wrote: »

the combination of the cycle and run laps were great for the supporters too.

its a great race for spectators. with the bridges and laps etc . There was no MC at the finish line to build hype or to get supporters over, if they get this in place there might be more of a buzz at it.
thought there would be more out, but certainly one for the spectators.