A/R Awards 2021

OOnegative

Fcuk me this new Boards is pants!!!! T'was a time i could start a thread blindfolded on my mobile, it's that time of year where us men dust off the tuxedos and the ladies get the bikini line done!! The year 2020 was strange, but 2021, for me anyway was a whole other world running wise and not in a good way. Races returned which was brilliant for some ,but was still apprehensive and to nerve wracking for many others, and the way things are going they will be a thing of the past again soon!! The usual categories apply:

1. Poster of the Year.
2. Log of the Year.
3. Thread of the Year.
4. Newcomer of the Year.
5. Most Improved Runner of the Year.
6. Race Report of the Year(Real or Virtual).
7. Race of the Year(Real or Virtual).
8. Post of the Year.
9. Comeback Lady/Man of the Year.
10. Performance of the Year. (TbL your sexual conquests with Mrs TbL will not be counted this year!!!)

I propose an 11th award, a vote of posters past or present to be voted into the A/R Hall of Fame? Do some research folks and give me names for this one, if not i'll leave it be. Few to jog the memory, ecoli, Krusty_Clown, menoscemo, donothoponpop, sosa, RayCun, tHe vAGGABOND, Firedance.......etc. Posters such as ecoli who have had multiple user names, there other handles will be counted towards there original(i know them all). Votes close 12am 30.12.21 and i will announce winners on the 31st in between New Years IPA's. Vote via PM to me.

OOnegative

Forgot to add this, if you post here, please leave a comment on your running highlight of the year. Something that really stood out for you in regards your running life in 2021, it’s not an award category but it’s something I and many other people would like to read about, please.

Swashbuckler

Thanks for setting this up again B. I'm gonna need some refreshing on a couple of those.

As for my own running highlight...There's a few...

Starting out with a new coach was a new experience and was interesting to see a different approach.

My first official race in god knows how long when I ran Banna 10k. That was a joy to be back.

Finally...........new shoes.............so many deals....so many runners..........ah......bliss.

6run28

Despite the lack of events I had a good year in terms of miles, I broke 1000 miles for the year this month. I got one marathon in - Manchester and went sub 3.30. Did some good sprint work which had been lacking in previous years. Fingers crossed for more races next year.

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058220740/a-r-awards-2021

Would you not do your own mankini line while you’re at it? 😱

Jaypers, there are more nearly more awards than there are active boardsies at the moment, but I like the Hall of Fame idea. Might as well reward departed posters as well as the rest. 😉

OOnegative

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118269407#Comment_118269407

Not enough double sided sticky tape in the world to sort my mankini line out D!!!!

Murph_D

I’ll never be able to unsee that mental image. 🙈

OOnegative

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118269686#Comment_118269686

You shouldn’t have been thinking of my mankini line then!!! Well done today👍🏻.

Murph_D

Touché!

Ah, I didn’t have much of a race but certainly Donore H have put Jingle Bells in the frame for race of the year. Big success.

MY BAD

My running highlight of the year has been the past two months getting back to almost consistent training after over a year of injuries. In March I "won" my local 10km but it was only a virtual race and I ran it at tempo pace at 6am. Jingle bells should be a shout for race of the year

Annie get your Run

LOL on the Hall of Fame, I think we have more former than current posters?!! I vote for Firedance, she was full of effervescent exuberance, tenacious and achieved more than she ever expected thanks to all the support she got in here - her replacement is old, broken and uninspired 😄🤦‍♀️.

There are legends who had been and gone by the time I started posting, Claralara, Marthastew, Digger etc so I guess it depends how long you've been here.

Oh! How about a category for posters who are still posting with their original username??!! ☺️

ariana`

Love the hall of fame idea too. Thanks for getting this off the ground yet again Barry. I'll have to put the thinking cap on.

My own year has been good in terms of consistent training, I should get close to 2000 miles for the year but whether I actually hit it or not will be touch and go... I only raced outright once but it was a biggy for me when I broke 4hrs in Galway Bay (3:51) in October knocking circa 34 mins off my marathon PB. I also had my first foreign race/event (I didn't race this outright), doing Amsterdam half with some fellow 2017 novices, just under 2hrs but it was more about the, ahem, experience!! I'm hoping to attack my parkrun pb before the year is out but time is not in my favour so I'd want to pull the finger out on that one!

Now, off to try and come up with some nominations 🤔

Swashbuckler

I think it would be great if people could refresh memories - I need it to be honest! Especially with some of the categories like Post of the year, race reports, performances.

ariana`

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118276298#Comment_118276298

Same P. I don't remember much from the first half of the year. Were there races? I know Laineyfrecks recent Manchester was a helluva performance especially given the circumstances and another recent standout was Murph_D's HM PB.

Where are TBL and Shotgun both gone too by the way? Both were doing great stuff earlier in the year.

Swashbuckler

Not sure about TbL although he is definitely running (reached 400 consecutive days yesterday). I think the new format is the problem for him!

Shotgun had some injury woes and is up the walls with work, college, kids so I think he has less time for logging these days.

Some performances stand out for me too but i fear im missing some big ones;

Murphs HM, Laineys Manchester, AMK's 5k at the weekend, your marathon. I'm sure there were some TT's that have slipped my memory. I'm sure TbL had a big 5k performance at some point. I feel like i'm forgetting something from Lambay too.

For comebacks - I cant recall if TbL came back last year or this year!

Cant think of any big posts - healys post Manchester one stands out for me.

Race reports - AMK and laineyfrecks stand out but i know im missing ones here too.

Sadly - my thread of the year is probably the what shoes are you wearing!

ReeReeG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118276298#Comment_118276298

The thread about Jerry Kiernan at the beginning had some lovely tales, but djemba's post in particular was really touching

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/115998675#Comment_115998675

ariana`

TBL definitely did a crackin 5k at some stage during the Summer.

Singer is another possibility for come back artist.

Dubh Geannain

Personally, the first half of the year was my better half 😀

Just to echo on Djemba Djemba's post. It was very powerful and emotive and comes straight back to mind easily as the post of the year for me.

Poster of the year. Although he's gone quite this last while. Shotgun during the first 5 or so months put in serious effort to generate engagement with monthly challenges including some dubious Strava art. The thread of the year would probably be one of the challenges. The blind hour run, the elevation challenge or the 5 k TT again.

Not a come back but a step back of the year. OO bowing out of logging for a while was a little disappointing but fir play for posting about it. As well as a few other posters who came back to explain why their logs aren't being updated or are being parked.

Jebuz maybe for comeback of the year.

AMK the most improved, simply for throwing out a 5k PB while marathon focussed. I'd say without the race day traffic he's even quicker than that.

Lainey for log of the year, as she kept running and posting throughout a tough year.

AuldManKing

Throwing out a few things to revive some memories;

Scott's 5k recently in Tallaght (sub 17) for Most improved.

Djembas post on JK was amazing.

Healys log for the training - the consistency and then facing into the abyss when it went awry.

Lainey - for her enthusiasm and training.

TBL's 5k - comeback of the year??

Murphs training was fantastic and very eloquently elucidated on here - as was his results.

Arianas 34min PB is another standout.

Jezbuz beating Mick C must also be up there for performance of the year.

Hall of Fame is a great idea - might even need anew thread for that one. Krusty / Dublin Runner / Meno / KielyUnusual /

My own year was good for training, poor for Racing but it did hammer home the mental side of racing for me and how important this is. Taking ownership and responsibility for my pwn training again and going back to the principles that work for me is my 'main thing' this year. The Jingle Bells 5k is a validation of that.

Swashbuckler

Just for the Hall of Fame I know it'll probably go to a legendary poster but for me it has to be Enduro...I cant think of anyone else of that standard participating on this thread. Also he ran the Barkleys...................nuff said.

Murph_D

Poster of the Year

A lot of early candidates but not many have gone the distance this year. Swashbuckler has done more than most to post insightful stuff and comment on most of the logs, so he'll probably get my vote.

Log of the Year

A few candidates here - AMK; Lainey; Swashbuckler again (maybe a shoo-in if it had been started earlier); Dubh Geannain; ReeReeG - anyone who kept their log going through the 'software update' deserves credit for the perseverance

Thread of the Year

It would have to be one (or all) of Shotgun's challenge threads, which kept things moving during the most difficult part of the year.

Newcomer of the Year

I don't think anyone stands out yet. A lot of the early newcomers didn't make it through to the end of the year. With so little racing, few newcomer performances stand out. Marathon2022 is a possibility with great potential, but it's too early to tell!

Most Improved Runner of the Year

scotindublin? A great run in Tallaght is proof of the pudding.

Race Report of the Year(Real or Virtual)

Jebuz put together a formidable series of reports when racing resumed. Both Lainey and TbL put together memorable accounts of the Antrim Coast event. Ariana's Galway marathon account, as someone pointed out, had all the information you don't get from Strava. And of course AMK has tried harder than most to land the prize.😉 There are several more candidates despite the lack of racing action.

Race of the Year (Real or Virtual).

Jingle Bells felt almost like things were normal again. The Kilbeggan 10 was excellent too, but nowhere near the same scale.

Post of the Year

Yep, I agree with the above - djemba djemba for the eloquent tribute to Jerry Kiernan.

Comeback Lady/Man of the Year.

TbL ain't no lady, and his comeback, while it lasted, was thrilling to behold. A pity the aul luddite couldn't have stuck around to tell us about the descent back into the depths.

Performance of the Year

I'd agree with AMK that jebuz taking down MC was very notable, even if Mick was a bit crocked! There were a few more too. My clubmate MisterDrak had some great results. Scot's aforementioned Tallaght 5k.

Hall of Fame

A lot of candidates for this. All mentioned so far are worthy. I'd throw RayCun into the mix. A real authority on all aspects of the sport in Ireland. Full of insight on club politics, juvenile coaching, and lots more. A great man for deflating a controversial argument with common sense, rational contributions. Excellent runner too!

RacoonQueen

Thanks for taking this on again B. You're the BEST.

event

To reply to your second post, this year was a big year for me personally.

I struggled in 2020, only thing I did of note was that 4//4/48 challenge to keep me ticking over. So in 2021, with no races I decided to try and set some PBs on my own. So in April I ran a 10k and set a new PB, 42:33. Was from 2019 so delighted really. In that same TT, I set a 5k PB of 20:40, first time going sub 21. In September then I ran an actual 5k race and set a new PB again, 20:22. Over the moon. In November I had signed up to the Marathon Mind event, ran by Bressie. Set a new Marathon PB, 3:41. It was a 2 minute PB from 2015 which I had tried to break a few times. Not gonna lie, I was pretty emotional.

So this year was a great year for me, set PBs at the 5k, 10k and Marathon distance.

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118282767#Comment_118282767

Fantastic year...well done....might need to reconsider my vote for most improved athlete!

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118282767#Comment_118282767

That's some year all right, well done. It would be good to know more about these sort of performances, otherwise all the nominees tend to be the usual suspects. I'm not familiar with your log, if you have one (the search function in the new Boards is shyte), but really that's how most of us get to know the ins and outs of people's running histories.

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118284542#Comment_118284542

My go to tactic for that is to click on the user profile and see their post history...Usually their logs appear there. In this case however, I dont see one.

event

I do not have one lads. Ill be honest, I dont really post at all, I just read. Thats my bad though. And part of the reason the forum isnt as busy so if everyoe was as bad as more, it'd die. From next year I will try to do a bit more around posting.

I still dont feel like a 'runner' though and have it in my head I need to go sub 20, sub 40 and sub 3:30 before I can call myself a proper runner.

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118285040#Comment_118285040

Nope..........Read some of the logs.....you'll see there's a big mix. you'd also be surprised at how much you'd learn when people are chatting about your specific training. That being said, the past year or two have been very hit and miss and I know its often a case that log updates get a bunch of Thanks but not much commentary.

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118284996#Comment_118284996

That used to be my tactic too but it's far less effective on the 'new and disimproved' site, whether you're on a phone or laptop. Too much scrolling and clicking required!

Cleanman

So I've been dipping in here (reading only and not posting) every now and again mainly because I simply miss running. I'm probably not well enough read to vote but just to add to some of the comments above that the posts/logs/performances that caught my attention have been djemba djemba's post, Jezbuz performances, AMK's consistent log and writing. Posters that I've noticed with useful/consistent inputs are ariana, Murph, swashbuckler and OOnegative. Some were around here when I was last active (at least 5 years ago😮), others not. If the hall of fame is coming in, I'm putting in a solid vote for Krusty. His log got me into running over 10 years ago and I probably learned more about training by following his log than from any other scource.

I've really noticed a dip in enthusiasm for the A/R in the last 6-12 months and is that's probably my motivation for posting. Please keep it up. Contributions by everyone are great and help me a lot. I'm sure there are lots of lurkers in here, like myself for the last number of years, who take a lot from the advice and banter that fly around these parts. In that vein, I'm going to consciously be a bit more active in 2022. Finally, my own highlight of the year is very modest and simple - I've started lacing up the runners again, only once or sometimes twice a week but I loved every run. Ive ran every week, I think, in 2021 and although it probably won't amount to anymore than about 200 miles for the year, who cares! It comes to about 25-30 hours of enjoyment that I wouldn't have got if I stayed on the couch!

ReeReeG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118253460#Comment_118253460

I really struggled to think of a running highlight for 2021 considering so much time was spent injured or recovering or laziness! So it's not really my own highlight, more a collective, but the return of parkrun has been fantastic. I really missed it a lot since March 2020.