Is AR dying?

stevire

Is AR in Ireland dying? A number of them were cancelled last year and doesn't look like they're advertising for 2015. To name a few: HHAR (Headless Horseman), Rás Na Ríoctha, Eireman.

From doing a few last year it seemed numbers were down too on some of the more popular races like Killarney, MOD Snip and Achill Roar.

Rockhard in Tramore is the only new race I've seen come up for this year.

tunney

stevire wrote: »

Wow, did not know that, big loss.

MOD Snip

And now the conversation stops. Discussion on those races or that site is banned and this thread will probably now be deleted.

sconhome

stevire wrote: »

Is AR in Ireland dying? A number of them were cancelled last year and doesn't look like they're advertising for 2015. To name a few: HHAR (Headless Horseman), Rás Na Ríoctha, Eireman.

From doing a few last year it seemed numbers were down too on some of the more popular races like Killarney, and Achill Roar.

Rockhard in Tramore is the only new race I've seen come up for this year.

Would have thought this is a natural reaction to oversupply in a fixed market.

The same can be said of falling numbers at local road races and triathlon too. Some operations are in it for the money, some are to raise funds for local clubs; when the money falls and price rises are not supported it it natural for an event or product to be cut.

Enduro

Just to be pedantic.... None of those are real adventure races. Real AR is kept going by the passion of the organisers, as there's damn all money to be made in it. As it happens real adventure racing in Ireland is doing pretty well at the moment. The short one day races are getting pretty good entires. As well as the the European championships are being hosted in Ireland this year, and it looks like there'll be great international field taking part.

Those events are all commercial multi-sport races. Once there is no money in it for the organisers, or its not worth the effort for the cash generated, those races will be gone. I'm surprised so many of them have lasted for so long to be honest. Those races don't have the fun and variety of real adventure races on one hand, and don't have the structure and organisation of Triathalon on the other.

BTH

tunney wrote: »

And now the conversation stops. Discussion on those races or that site is banned and this thread will probably now be deleted.

Not deleting the thread, reasonable discussion to be had, just no mention of that site or associated races. I have amended the thread to remove mention of those races, don't bring them up again or I will delete the thread.

stevire

Enduro wrote: »

Just to be pedantic.... None of those are real adventure races. Real AR is kept going by the passion of the organisers, as there's damn all money to be made in it. As it happens real adventure racing in Ireland is doing pretty well at the moment. The short one day races are getting pretty good entires. As well as the the European championships are being hosted in Ireland this year, and it looks like there'll be great international field taking part.

Those events are all commercial multi-sport races. Once there is no money in it for the organisers, or its not worth the effort for the cash generated, those races will be gone. I'm surprised so many of them have lasted for so long to be honest. Those races don't have the fun and variety of real adventure races on one hand, and don't have the structure and organisation of Triathalon on the other.

Sorry, yes, take your point, should have called them multi-sport races for this topic. I personally like the one day multi-sport races, it takes less preparation than a full on AR, cost is less and I've often found them harder than sprint triathlons. Taking more than distance into account when comparing and including mountain-runs, rough surfaces etc.

Some of the above I mentioned had MTB routes which I think adds to it's uniqueness. Achill were accepting SUPs for the kayak section in 2013 (not sure about last year).

The #supbikerun races seem to be doing well in the UK, I'd love to see them setup this format over here. Yes another multi-sport type race but for me I love trail running over road running, mtb over road and sup over swim. I find them all more interesting than their road counterparts it becomes more about skill/technique and less about speed and chasing times as in Tri's. Not to mention it's more fun. All of this is my own opinion I'm sure some get the same buzz from Tri's but I've always found I'm chasing numbers and PBs with Tri's. Never feels like an achievement if I'm not hitting those numbers, with these multi-sport races it becomes less about times because 5km run is never the same when you take in the ground/elevation etc.

boysinblack

BTH wrote: »

Not deleting the thread, reasonable discussion to be had, just no mention of that site or associated races. I have amended the thread to remove mention of those races, don't bring them up again or I will delete the thread.

Any care to fill me in on why talking about the said site is banned?

griffin100

Whilst conscious of Enduro's correct comments on most of the AR's in Ireland, those AR's that offer the type of product punters want still seem to be doing ok i.e. are still on the calendar. The Hell and Back type sh!te seems to get more popular, me thinks because doing an 'adventure race' where all you need is a pair of runners rather than bike, safety kit, being able to swim, etc. appeals to a certain demographic. Other races like Blackstairs Adventure race which are well run also seem to be doing ok (I'm even tempted to do this race this year).

I marshaled at this 'race' on Saturday (my kids school get money from it so I was happy to help out). There were many hundreds of people doing it, including some lads from my tri club. There was a general amazement from them that an event like this could pull in numbers than most tri's in Ireland couldn't even dream of. Not my cup of tea though!

stevire

boysinblack wrote: »

Any care to fill me in on why talking about the said site is banned?

Would like this discussion to continue so won't comment specifically on it but here is some background on it:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=85222869

Enduro

Yeah, the Mud runs / obstacle races definitely seem to be where the money is now. They're getting some impressive numbers at some of the more established events here in Ireland. They're also massively successful in the UK and the US (from a numbers/commercial POV).

Stevire, it sounds to me like your totally suited to real AR if you're into proper mountain adventures, whether on foot or on bike (And you might find the technique required to kayak properly, as opposed to what you have to so in the multi-sports, a good challenge as well).

stevire

Enduro wrote: »

Stevire, it sounds to me like your totally suited to real AR if you're into proper mountain adventures, whether on foot or on bike (And you might find the technique required to kayak properly, as opposed to what you have to so in the multi-sports, a good challenge as well).

Are you looking for team members?

I have been tempted before and see DAR are doing 12 hour and 24 hour races this year. Although not sure of the details so don't know if they're still aimed at multi-sport or AR.

Where do you start with real AR? Do you literally join a team and dive head first into the likes of Beast of Ballyhoura or Coast2Coast?

tunney

stevire wrote: »

Would like this discussion to continue so won't comment specifically on it but here is some background on it:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=85222869

Not related to the reason for the ban

BeBetter

Would be interested to know why a particular race is banned from being discussed? I must have missed that whole debacle, doesn't sound very 'constitutional' But I don't want to start a war either I suppose. Anyone want to PM me a quick summary???

On another note I certainly wouldn't say that AR, or Multisport races, or One Day Adventure racing, or whatever you're having yourself, is dying out. I just think it's rationalising and the better races will stick around. A few years ago there were races popping up in every corner of the country, and I gave a fair few of them a go, and in reality a lot of them were poor. For most of them you'd get as much of a buzz going out for a good training day with a few friends and would save yourself the entry fee. The other reality is that a lot of them were poorly run. Often it was a small group of good people trying to raise money for decent causes but they didn't have the experience or the support to run the event properly and after a couple of years the event dies out. Some of the bigger races are costly to enter but for a lot of people the bigger experience is worth the expenditure. The participation levels you're seeing now I would say are more representative of normal levels for that particular type of activity. And the standard at the top level for the national series races is still very high. The mass participation has moved onto the mud runs where every farmer in the country is digging holes in his field hoping to make a few bob off it. That will pass as well. I'm seeing a lot of people going back to the basic 5k and 10k runs, people are trying to be more active and it's all good.

shotgunmcos

AR Dying out?

European Series AR Championship Final being hosted here this summer

World Series AR ITERA being hosted here next year featuring some of the top ranked teams in the world.

How many otehr sports can lay claim to that level of event on succesive years?

Swinefluproof

Would love to get into AR too but trying to find the time to train properly for all the events is the biggest obstacle, 2 of us taking the plunge this year and going to try the 12 hour DAR to see how it goes. How good do you have to be at navigation on these events? Both of us would be able to map read fairly well from our own experience hiking but have never done any real orienteering treks or courses

Enduro

stevire wrote: »

Are you looking for team members?

I have been tempted before and see DAR are doing 12 hour and 24 hour races this year. Although not sure of the details so don't know if they're still aimed at multi-sport or AR.

Where do you start with real AR? Do you literally join a team and dive head first into the likes of Beast of Ballyhoura or Coast2Coast?

The DAR races look interesting alright. Details are still sparse, but its a fantastic part of the country with plenty of scope for organising great courses. Most ARs are pretty beginner friendly. No doubt that these will be too.

Yeah, just find some teammates and dive straight in. My first race was a 5 day race (with a team of total novices). Just make sure that at least one person on the team can do basic navigation.

Enduro

Swinefluproof wrote: »

Would love to get into AR too but trying to find the time to train properly for all the events is the biggest obstacle, 2 of us taking the plunge this year and going to try the 12 hour DAR to see how it goes. How good do you have to be at navigation on these events? Both of us would be able to map read fairly well from our own experience hiking but have never done any real orienteering treks or courses

As above... taking the plunge and going for it is the way to go!

It's nearly impossible to be well trained for every component. Make sure to enjoy the training, as its a big part of the process (what's not to love about heading out and having the craic on mountain bikes!).

If you can navigate your way around hill walking then your navigation is probably good enough. It's actually better to have experience of hill walking style navigation (with compass work, bearings, and finding big features), than orpur orienteering (smaller maps, very fine feature detail etc). IF you get the opportunity its always worth having a go at orienteering events, but big days navigating around the hills are much more relevant to AR generally.

Peterx

stevire wrote: »

Is AR in Ireland dying? A number of them were cancelled last year and doesn't look like they're advertising for 2015. To name a few: HHAR (Headless Horseman), Rás Na Ríoctha, Eireman.

From doing a few last year it seemed numbers were down too on some of the more popular races like Killarney, MOD Snip and Achill Roar.

Rockhard in Tramore is the only new race I've seen come up for this year.

Survival of the fittest.
Good organisers much as Paul Mahon, Noel O'Leary, The Youngs and in fairness the MOD snip team know how to put on races.
Even then you need a good cash-cow such as Helly Hansen sponsorship, Bord Falite sponsorship, another big event such as Run-A-Muck that subsidises the AR events or the whole town getting behind the event - Dingle, Kiltamagh - to ensure repeated eventing.

Real AR, as Enduro knows, is a niche within a niche and has barriers to entry essentially boiling down to cost and time. If you can dedicate the time and the money the rewards are much greater than the one day multisport races but the one day races are a quick fix which have proved the more popular choice in Ireland.