Belfast Marathon 5th May 2019

ThePiedPiper

This race has traditionally been held on a course that was both uninspiring and tough. However, with much fanfare, the route for 2019 has been unveiled, keeping the race in the city, promising a faster and flatter course. Early bird entry at £38/£40 until the end of October, with the lower price for A.C. members.

Irish Warri0r

Has the course profile or route been revealed? I was going to do do Limerick that weekend but if the course is fast I might give this a go instead.

ThePiedPiper

Irish Warri0r wrote: »

Has the course profile or route been revealed? I was going to do do Limerick that weekend but if the course is fast I might give this a go instead.

New route on the website, but no elevation profile. It’s promised to be faster, but I couldn’t say more than that. Limerick is a fair enough course.

KJ

I'm thinking about doing this but I'm not sure I want to put myself through a marathon on my birthday.

sideshowbob321

£40 early bird finishes tonight.... think I might bail in

muloc

sideshowbob321 wrote: »

£40 early bird finishes tonight.... think I might bail in

Any codes going? I'd take that 40 now seeing Dublin's now 83

Van.Bosch

Race starts at Stormont outside the city - wonder will bags be transported to the finish or will there be shuttles to Stormont?

website is lacking a lot of detail.

Soulsun

Van.Bosch wrote: »

Race starts at Stormont outside the city - wonder will bags be transported to the finish or will there be shuttles to Stormont?

website is lacking a lot of detail.

Any update?

Van.Bosch

Soulsun wrote: »

Any update?

Got an email from them, there will be shuttles to the start and bags will be moved to finish line.

KJ

I bit the bullet and signed up for what will be my 3rd marathon.

munsterbear

Does anyone know what happens if you are running the relay? Basically I'm looking for fast marathon... Hoping for a pb for this Clydesdale, and my wife and friends will be hoping to do about 13.1 distance so this race caught our eye.

If they do relay would there be shuttle bus onto the final line?

The Davestator

Was looking for an elevation profile with no luck so emailed them. This was the reply...

Although we don’t have an official gradient map as such for release, I can tell you that the Elevation Gain / Loss is 351m / -377m, Max slope: 5.4% / -6.5% and average slope is 1.1% / -1.2% with highest peak coming at the Ardoyne Road area at 73m.

Dont know how to interpret that though!

Working class heroes

The Davestator wrote: »

Was looking for an elevation profile with no luck so emailed them. This was the reply...

Although we don’t have an official gradient map as such for release, I can tell you that the Elevation Gain / Loss is 351m / -377m, Max slope: 5.4% / -6.5% and average slope is 1.1% / -1.2% with highest peak coming at the Ardoyne Road area at 73m.

Dont know how to interpret that though!

You'd imagine if they have this info they have an elevation profile. Strange response indeed.

ThePiedPiper

I’d interpret that as pretty hilly, with a couple of sharp sections. 1,000 feet elevation gain over marathon distance is not flat and fast. However, it sounds like someone ran the distance with a gps watch on them and that’s the figures they got, hard to say how reliable that would be.

munsterbear

Shame it can't be mapped on mapmyrun, I think that would give the profile. Though not sure how accurate.

AhhHere

Thought I'd give this a bump as I'm training for BCM myself and wanted to see how other folks are getting on?

I've mapped out the route on Strava too but I wouldn't follow this blindly as I don't know the area too well and their map was a little different to the Route Builder. Check it out here: https://imgur.com/1tKqNH2

Gives a rough idea of where to expect hills. Mile 17 is the biggy

Dealerz2.0

AhhHere wrote: »

Thought I'd give this a bump as I'm training for BCM myself and wanted to see how other folks are getting on?

I've mapped out the route on Strava too but I wouldn't follow this blindly as I don't know the area too well and their map was a little different to the Route Builder. Check it out here: https://imgur.com/1tKqNH2

Gives a rough idea of where to expect hills. Mile 17 is the biggy

Thanks ahhhere
Training is going well, looking forward to it now. I still haven’t recieved my race pack yet- I think the organisers are sending them out in batches.

AhhHere

Dealerz2.0 wrote: »

Thanks ahhhere
Training is going well, looking forward to it now. I still haven’t recieved my race pack yet- I think the organisers are sending them out in batches.

Yeah they are. Seen a batch of them go out at the start of the month. They were retweeting people who posted about it. Haven't seen any more tweets since then so presuming they're doing once a month. I'd expect mine early march.

AhhHere

Got my number this week. 5 weeks, 3 days to go!

Kissyfer

I noticed that the only headphones permitted are those bone conduction open ear ones. They will hardly be too strict on this be hard to make sure thousands of people arent using normal headphones surely

munsterbear

Kissyfer wrote:

I noticed that the only headphones permitted are those bone conduction open ear ones. They will hardly be too strict on this be hard to make sure thousands of people arent using normal headphones surely

Pretty easy to marshal. Very easy to see the difference.

sideshowbob321

Giving this a bump. This Sunday so squeaky bum time for those of us in the final week of taper...... Fingers crossed the weather will be as mild as this weekend..... Who's taking part? And what are the targets ?? Seemingly 17,000 signed up so a big field

Zebra3

sideshowbob321 wrote: »

Giving this a bump. This Sunday so squeaky bum time for those of us in the final week of taper...... Fingers crossed the weather will be as mild as this weekend..... Who's taking part? And what are the targets ?? Seemingly 17,000 signed up so a big field

I assume that includes relay runners, and is not the full marathon runners figure!

ThePiedPiper

Looking forward to Sunday. Forecast looks mild enough. Training has gone alright for me, unfortunately lost a few weeks in February, but put together a few good weeks in March/April.

My goal is 2:59. I’m hopeful, but uncertain of hitting it. Last couple of long runs were very encouraging, hitting 14 miles PMP in last 20 miler. Hamstring has been a bit tight this last week, but don’t think it’ll be a major issue. I’ll certainly start in sub3 group, most likely still be there at 18-20 miles and hopefully be stubborn and strong enough to hold on. Race number is 769.

AhhHere

Best of luck everyone. I'm out of the race unfortunately. But I'll be heading up regardless to support. If anyone fancies a late marathon, they're welcome to my number free of charge. Will be in Belfast from Saturday.

Side note, Does anyone know good spots to view friends? I'd like to move around to a few spots if possible.

Dealerz2.0

AhhHere wrote: »

Best of luck everyone. I'm out of the race unfortunately. But I'll be heading up regardless to support. If anyone fancies a late marathon, they're welcome to my number free of charge. Will be in Belfast from Saturday.

Side note, Does anyone know good spots to view friends? I'd like to move around to a few spots if possible.

AhhHere, that's a shame, sorry to hear that.

Dealerz2.0

Training has gone really well, hopefully more of the same on Sunday!

Goal A: to finish!
Goal B: 3:59:59- I am heading out with the 4hr pacers and hopefully I stick with them till the finish!
Goal C: 4:10

AhhHere

Dealerz2.0 wrote: »

Training has gone really well, hopefully more of the same on Sunday!

Goal A: to finish!
Goal B: 3:59:59- I am heading out with the 4hr pacers and hopefully I stick with them till the finish!
Goal C: 4:10

You've got this. Best of luck

KJ

This is my 3rd marathon. My times were 5:08 and then 4:32 so this time I'm hoping to get down to around 4 hours but I'm not too pushed.

racersedge

Apparently the course was 0.4 miles longer than it should of been today, according to reports!

https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/48169540

racersedge

Apparently the course was 0.4 miles longer than it should of been today, according to reports!

https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/48169540

6run28

Pretty significant distance . How would that happen??

6run28

Dealerz2.0 wrote: »

I don’t know how it happened but I can tell you now....I can feel the extra 0.4!

On a Marathon race that’s nasty!

4.16 unofficially for me today, I got my arse handed to me on a plate by the Marathon....although 7mins quicker than the last one.

Congrats !! Great running. How was the route? I seem to remember organisers saying it would be much flatter this year

ThePiedPiper

The lead car and subsequently all runners were twice taken off the measured route. Very disappointing for this to happen. I ran 3:03 after spending the best part of 15 miles running faster than planned.
The route was fair enough, but a really long tough drag at 19 miles with some very sharp downhill ramps were tough on the legs. Human error can happen of course, but it shouldn’t on a city marathon with thousands of competitors. There were other issues with the finish area, not even a banana in sight, 30+ minutes waiting to collect bag, it was 2:10pm when I got back to my car in Stormont, over two hours after finishing the race. Atmosphere was good, support was good, camaraderie was top notch, but amateur organization of key issues a bit of a joke.

healy1835

ThePiedPiper wrote: »

The lead car and subsequently all runners were twice taken off the measured route. Very disappointing for this to happen. I ran 3:03 after spending the best part of 15 miles running faster than planned.
The route was fair enough, but a really long tough drag at 19 miles with some very sharp downhill ramps were tough on the legs. Human error can happen of course, but it shouldn’t on a city marathon with thousands of competitors. There were other issues with the finish area, not even a banana in sight, 30+ minutes waiting to collect bag, it was 2:10pm when I got back to my car in Stormont, over two hours after finishing the race. Atmosphere was good, support was good, camaraderie was top notch, but amateur organization of key issues a bit of a joke.

Good run though mate, gives you a great base to build off of.

highlandcow

ThePiedPiper wrote: »

The lead car and subsequently all runners were twice taken off the measured route. Very disappointing for this to happen. I ran 3:03 after spending the best part of 15 miles running faster than planned.
The route was fair enough, but a really long tough drag at 19 miles with some very sharp downhill ramps were tough on the legs. Human error can happen of course, but it shouldn’t on a city marathon with thousands of competitors. There were other issues with the finish area, not even a banana in sight, 30+ minutes waiting to collect bag, it was 2:10pm when I got back to my car in Stormont, over two hours after finishing the race. Atmosphere was good, support was good, camaraderie was top notch, but amateur organization of key issues a bit of a joke.

Good going. Well done. I'm sure they'll try and adjust your time down a bit. At least it wasn't short. Shame about the general organisation. The bar is set really high nowadays with so many top races all across the country.

TFBubendorfer

ThePiedPiper wrote: »

The lead car and subsequently all runners were twice taken off the measured route. Very disappointing for this to happen. I ran 3:03 after spending the best part of 15 miles running faster than planned.
The route was fair enough, but a really long tough drag at 19 miles with some very sharp downhill ramps were tough on the legs. Human error can happen of course, but it shouldn’t on a city marathon with thousands of competitors. There were other issues with the finish area, not even a banana in sight, 30+ minutes waiting to collect bag, it was 2:10pm when I got back to my car in Stormont, over two hours after finishing the race. Atmosphere was good, support was good, camaraderie was top notch, but amateur organization of key issues a bit of a joke.

At least it didn't cost you a sub-3, close as it was!

It's not the first time they've had organisational issues with that race, which is why I swore I'd never go back. I was actually tempted to break my vow this year, glad now I didn't.

philroche

Official (?) results are up now https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/belfast-marathon-results-2019-16223894

KJ

I got a new PB yesterday. My finish time was 4:18 but my Garmin clocked my actual marathon time as 4.13 so that extra distance cost me 5 minutes. The finish area was horrible. There is no way the finish line should immediately lead into the general public. There were people going in all directions. The bag queue was huge. My wife had to queue for me for an hour because I couldn't stand in line that long. I was freezing cold and shivering until she got my bag with my coat in it. Horrible way to end a good (but long) run.

GeekyMaestro

New new new official times on the Belfast website now. The first batch on Belfast live seemed to have been 'gun time minus three minutes', the new batch seem to be 'chip time minus three minutes'.

Totally in keeping with the shambolic organisation of the race:

1) Our bus dropped us 1.5 miles away from Stormont, and we had to walk uphill rather than conserve energy - it was a 'glider' and the double deckers were all going straight up to the actual entrance.
2) The queue for bag drop was enormous, and the bags were all being put into 1 tiny van - in other marathons I've done (New York/Berlin/Dublin/Amsterdam etc), bag drop was quick and painless. Eventually, people just threw their bags on the ground as the race was starting.
3) There were too few toilets - I was supposed to be running with my wife, but got stuck in a huge queue and told me to go on without her - we didn't see each other until mile 15!
4) The relay run that was run at the same time as the marathon made it very difficult - the relay runners kept crowding the road and stepping out in front of people who were running the marathon - with very little consideration of tired legs unable to stop or change directly quickly. Being over taken by fresh runners repeatedly when you at the phase of the race where you normally start powering up is really demoralising. These should be run on separate days!
5) The exit area was absolutely packed with non-runners - there was not a race marshall anywhere to be seen - we joined some random queue outside a random tent that had no signs out side it and asked other runners if it was the bag drop - it turned out to be, thankfully, we then queued for 45 minutes - by the time I got my bag back, my teeth were chattering from the cold and I could barely speak.
6) We heard the race was half a mile longer than it was supposed to be, and logged on this evening to find out our official results - my watch said I did 26.2 miles in 4:18, and that I did the longer 26.78 miles in 4:23. Yet, somehow my first official time is 4:24 ? Why rush out an incorrect time?
7) Large sections of the race were too narrow, with too many non-runners - Ormeau park was particularly bad with buggies and bikes on the path that we were trying to run down - no wardens to be seen anywhere.
8) Water stations were a mess - often came to one to see two people frantically trying to cut open a pallet to get water out, you had to stop and dig out your own bottle. Some others were okay.
9) There were multiple pieces where the downhill piece was too steep, and that red bridge at around mile 23.5 was horrible - steep uphill, then steep downhill.

All in all, would not recommend Still, got a PB.

onrail

GeekyMaestro wrote: »

7) Large sections of the race were too narrow, with too many non-runners - Ormeau park was particularly bad with buggies and bikes on the path that we were trying to run down - no wardens to be seen anywhere.

All in all, would not recommend Still, got a PB.

Totally agree with (7). In addition to the relay, there was a 'fun-run' which completely crowded the towpath-Ormeau junction at mile 23. Elites had to dodge and dive between groups walking three and four abreast.

I doubt the relay will ever be moved from the day itself - it's needed to make the event viable. But the fun-run really has to be thought about.

On a positive note - the new route is a massive improvement. Few tweaks next year and it'll be a great event!

Pink11

GeekyMaestro wrote: »

Totally in keeping with the shambolic organisation of the race:

Agree with every single one of your points.

My two main gripes and I feel those of you considering it for next year should take into account:

Too many races going on at once:

Relay - the changeover points (except the first one) were shambolic. People waiting to take over their leg swarmed in around us. Those finishing up their leg would stop upright and turn to walking without even a glance to check who was behind them. By the time it came to the final stopover my weary legs were not quick enough to stop/go around them. Also had people walking in lines of 3/4 chatting completely blocking the route at points. I lost count of the amount of times I had to say 'excuse me please!' in the latter part of the race. It was mentally exhausting dodging around these people. And to have people constantly darting past you with fresh legs was as you said, demoralizing.

Finish area:

I was elated to finish but moments later I was crying in frustration as the hoards of spectators surged in towards us. It was overwhelming. Once we collected our medal the crowds engulfed us. I was mentally and physically exhausted from the race and then had to physically push and hold my personal space. I lined up for an hour to collect my bag. I had my friends waiting for me and was very conscious I was delaying them. I was pushed and shoved in the line, at one point a spectator on a bike pushed across the queue and the wheel of his bike knocked me over. No apology, just looked at me and pushed on. I also had to take off my shoe for some relief in the queue as I damaged a toenail -as I was taking it off I got shoved and pushed, absolutely no consideration for anyone. I totally understand you're excited to see your loved ones but please give us a chance.

I really hope they push the crowds back further. We should have an opportunity to collect our medal, goodie bag and bag before having to battle the crowds.

Applegirl26

*makes mental note to never run Belfast *

AhhHere

Was out supporting on Sunday so can only speak from what I saw. Good points were the people. Great spirits from the racers and super craic from stewards + supporters we met. We also got to see more of the city than planned by cycling around on bikes. Which was simple to do on the day. There was a lovely buzz from people we met the night before and the day of the race.


Now the bad, I can echo what's said above.

The meeting area where finishers joined the general public was horrible. I stood there in amazement as the stewards chatted away not managing the crowd. At other races, people are told to keep moving and keep that area clear. But here people were over the barriers meetings their loved ones. Which is great until they block everyone's way hugging and catching up. Lovely, but not for the benefit of everyone.

When racers got into the communal area there was no flow for them to move anywhere. People were shuffling around in every direction. You had to criss cross to get anywhere. The only way out was back to the main road which was along the race course and out a park gate. But this exit was the same used for supporters arriving and very narrow as a result. One way in and one way out. It meant lots of people kept arriving into a confined space. Filling up more and more while the small exit was not helping matters. Not ideal for people running for hours.

The bag queue didn't help. No fault of those queuing because there were no markers or system to organise effectively. This meant the queue snaked around and hindered any sort of flow in this area. Add in the queues's for for food. All the stalls faced into the main runner exit point. Meaning those queuing eventually backed into this melee. In turn, it blocked the meeting point even more. Nightmare! Tired finishers given no priority or consideration.

No nutrition given to those who finished. My friend told me he finished and was collecting his goody bag and had to request a bottle of water from the person at the station. They weren't there to take and this guy wasn't on the ball to hand out without being asked. Small thing but adds up.

The website is also awful. Looks fine at 1st glance but finding simple information is difficult. The layout made it really difficult to find simple information. The "race information" section for the marathon didn't include a start time but told you you're not allowed bring dogs on the course. wtf?

But I'm also gutted I didn't make it due to injury. I would have taken all of the above to make it to the start line fit and healthy. I had serious FOMO watching everyone.

Reflecting today, everything above is fixable, thankfully. Hopefully it improves.

KJ

Applegirl26 wrote: »

*makes mental note to never run Belfast *

I've already decided I won't be doing it again. I've done Dublin twice and the organisation was pretty flawless both times. I expect Berlin to be the same in September. There were too many issues with Belfast for me to want to do it again.

Applegirl26

KJ wrote: »

I've already decided I won't be doing it again. I've done Dublin twice and the organisation was pretty flawless both times. I expect Berlin to be the same in September. There were too many issues with Belfast for me to want to do it again.

I've only ran Dublin and Manchester, but Manchester was by far the best organised and well run out of the two. I only wish there was a Manchester thread so I could gush about how smooth the whole race went.

I'm running Berlin too. I've heard great things about it.

rainbow kirby

Applegirl26 wrote: »

I've only ran Dublin and Manchester, but Manchester was by far the best organised and well run out of the two. I only wish there was a Manchester thread so I could gush about how smooth the whole race went.

I'm running Berlin too. I've heard great things about it.

I did Manchester (and London) this year and surprised myself by how much I enjoyed Manchester. Took one of the early bird places for next year. Great support on the course and very easy to get around for spectators.

Applegirl26

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I did Manchester (and London) this year and surprised myself by how much I enjoyed Manchester. Took one of the early bird places for next year. Great support on the course and very easy to get around for spectators.

That's brilliant!! I'm thrilled to hear of someone signing up for Manchester next year as I'm seriously considering running it again next year.
Well done for running both. How did you find running two marathons a month apart?

rainbow kirby

Recovered relatively quickly from Manchester, but had a hip niggle from mile 7 in London. I'm slow - 4:51 in Manchester and 5:19 in London, I did spend 15 minutes in the SJA tent at 22k in London though getting a stretch and painkillers though. Enjoyed it but not sure if ideal!

I actually live in Manchester (3 tram stops from the start!) so it's very convenient, I'd run most of the route in training with my club and not having to worry about accommodation or travel was great.

Dealerz2.0

Another statement and results revision

https://www.belfastcitymarathon.com/news/STATEMENT-AROUND-ADDITIONAL-DISTANCE-OF-THE-2019-DEEP-RIVERROCK-BELFAST-CITY-MARATHON

onrail

Dealerz2.0 wrote: »

Another statement and results revision

https://www.belfastcitymarathon.com/news/STATEMENT-AROUND-ADDITIONAL-DISTANCE-OF-THE-2019-DEEP-RIVERROCK-BELFAST-CITY-MARATHON

A small bit farcical, but almost to be expected - the original measurements and amendments were released almost too quickly.

After all the dust has settled, it seems as if it's a fast course? There are a lot of PBs being talked about.