Clontarf Half Marathon Sat 6th July

colin32

Anyone else doing this on Saturday?

Weathers meant to be OK and hopefully breeze not to strong. 3rd time running this

jasonb

I did the Half today. Weather was almost perfect from my point of view, could have been cooler (it was very warm and humid; I was pouring cold water on my head and after a second or two I could feel very warm water running down my back!) but it being cloudy and the occasional drizzle was good, and only a light breeze.

Had been worried about running on sand but it wasn’t too bad. The sections getting on to and leaving the compacted sand were a little draining, but it wasn’t a killer. The smell didn’t help though!

I got very lucky on the way back, just as we reached Bull Island a small tail wind kicked up and some drizzle too, just what you want at around 15k of a half marathon!

It was my first time doing it and I thought the whole event was run pretty well, especially as I reckon there were 2-3 thousand there. No problem starting, maybe a little tight for space in the first few km but nothing unusual there. The pacers I ran with (for 2 hours) were great, kept everyone going and encouraged us to go ahead at the end if we had anything in our legs.

All in all I enjoyed it (or at least as much as you can enjoy a half marathon). I loved how flat it was, but of course wouldn’t have minded a downhill section somewhere! And I can imagine if the weather is worse (stronger wind, bright sunshine) it could be a very hard run.

bopperr

Sand was woeful. Dreaded it on return. Had to go single file to keep upright. Drained the legs and mind. Everything else was good and well organized. Hard to plan for Mother Nature.

colin32

Ran yesterday and the breeze wasn't as strong as it has been previously. Good conditions overall

However the beach is a disgrace, and Irish water have a lot to answer for. Running single file there and back

Finished in 1.58.11. Was hoping for quicker but after coming off beach first time round I'd have settled for it. Was ready to call it a day

As always well organised race

jasonb

colin32 wrote: »

However the beach is a disgrace, and Irish water have a lot to answer for. Running single file there and back

Pardon my ignorance, but how were Irish Water involved? I found the first section of the beach a little awkward due to the single file thing, but the second section was fine ‘cos it was wider. Of course, that was reversed on the way back.

colin32

jasonb wrote: »

Pardon my ignorance, but how were Irish Water involved? I found the first section of the beach a little awkward due to the single file thing, but the second section was fine ‘cos it was wider. Of course, that was reversed on the way back.

The sludge is down to the issue from the waste refinary. You're usually ablt to run 3-4 people wide, not single file

jasonb

colin32 wrote: »

The sludge is down to the issue from the waste refinary. You're usually ablt to run 3-4 people wide, not single file

Ah, thanks for explaining that. I'd heard something over the PA about the sludge but couldn't hear it loudly enough to understand it.

passinginterest

First time running this and enjoyed the experience. I ran with the 2hr group too and the pacers deserve all the praise. I pulled ahead before the 9th mile but they were excellent to that point. Really well organised, plenty of portaloos at the start, it’s a tight enough course in places but for the most part everyone was sensible and most people seemed to position themselves in around the right paces so there wasn’t loads of overtaking and jumping around people in the early stages. Beach was tough alright, the loose sand on and off and the very narrow racing line. I wouldn’t be mad about it if I was chasing a pb but it made for an interesting training run. Finished in 1.56.34. The donut was most welcome at the finish!

AlanPat

As always an enjoyable race. New PB for me, prefect conditions. Huge thank you to the two ladies (S&S) absolute fliers who I tried to keep pace with for the second half of the race. Dragged me from about 16km onwards. See you on the coast for further marathon training sometime!!!