Half marathon time and first marathon goal time

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times

Damn tables... I broke boards trying to fix this one

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
ncmc|Clonmel '12|1:48|3:47|DCM '12|3:57|Went with four hour pacers and pushed on some time after Roebuck Road. Was tired when I finished, but not exhausted, probably could have pushed on a bit in hindsight. Actually was probably more wrecked after the HM than the marathon!

career_move wrote: »

A lot of people doing DCM for the first time have their HMs in Dublin/Charleville this weekend or else they did Athlone last Saturday. I know you should just go out and enjoy your first marathon and I agree with that but I think it helps if you have a realistic goal time to aim for and you pace the marathon accordingly. The Mcmillan calculator: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/calculator can be very optimistic when it comes to the marathon so I thought the table below might give the novices some useful information regarding what is a realistic goal time for a first marathon on the back of a HM

Great idea CM, it's a question that comes up time and time again with first time marathoners. I think it should be pointed out that for most people, McMillan is probably a bit optimistic when calculating the marathon time. That's a pattern that seems to be emerging from the table too.

Clever you for figuring out how to make a table! I can add myself to others, but creating my own one is beyond my limited skills!

No HM before DCM last year but McMillan was predicting 4:00:42 based on my Frank Duffy 10-mile time of 1:25:45. I was hopeful of a sub-4 but ended up with 4:02:26 and I think I'd have got it if I went with the pacers.

My basic error was pacing myself but calculating the pace on the exact marathon distance and not allowing for the extra few hundred meters that most of us tend to run on the day. In fact if you subtract the time taken to run that extra distance from my overall time, I ran the first 42.2k in something like 4:00:40, which is pretty close to McMillan.

Something to think about if you trust McMillan and you're going to be close to the wire.

PaulieC wrote: »

Were you running with WoundedKnee by any chance ? I ran with him and finished in 3:28:xx

Yep, sure did, himself and robinph. Although I was a straggler for the last few miles clinging on. Finished just as the pacers slowed up at the finish.

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
ncmc|Clonmel '12|1:48|3:47|DCM '12|3:57|Went with four hour pacers and pushed on some time after Roebuck Road. Was tired when I finished, but not exhausted, probably could have pushed on a bit in hindsight. Actually was probably more wrecked after the HM than the marathon!
RubyK| Kilkenny '10|1.49.20|3.50.06| DCM '10|3.59.19| Lined up a few rows back from the 4 hr pacers, and moved ahead of them before halfway mark. Had no watch as battery died before the start, so just concentrated on staying ahead of those balloons.

RunningKing wrote: »

Don't need to learn when 'helpful Kate' is around..............

:rolleyes: Cowboy!

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
pac_man|Dublin '11|1:37:48|3:25:xx|Dublin '11 |3:55:xx| I didn't really train for the marathon and am a prime example of someone who blew up from not doing long runs(longest run was the half marathon). I decided on the day that id be well able for 3:30 but but just after the KCR~ 15 miles, i had to start walking and struggled badly.I didn't get why people were carrying these belts around their waists,I was fairly naive and its quite funny when I think about it now.One thing I remember was how congested running with a pace group was especially up the Crumlin road, I had the same experience last weekend in a half marathon. If I was running my first marathon again, id wouldn't run for a time or with a pace group and u'll probably enjoy it a little bit more. Training for it would probably help as well.
wexford1996|Oilgate '12|1:37:34|3:25:20|Dublin '13 |3:27:20| Went with 3:30 pacers and managed to pick it up a bit from Milltown onwards. Had done five 20 mile runs in advance so was pretty strong at the end.
Clearlier|Sturminster Newton half 2010|1:38:39|3:27:37|Dublin '10 - positioned myself halfway between 3:15 and 3:30 pacers, kept to a certain heart rate to halfway, upped it to 20 miles and let fly from there|3:24:00|Felt very comfortable until just before halfway, picked up the effort without too much bother, ran out of energy at about 18 due to nutrition error but got my second wind within a mile or two, picked it up again at Nutley lane and was thinking about how close I could get to 3:20 before cramp hit at 24.5 miles. Just about held it together once I got going again.



My numbers paint a slightly different picture to most - my half (a bit undulating but not ridiculous) was 12 weeks out from Dublin (and the day before my second child was born). Training got messed about quite a lot with the new baby but once I added a few 20's to what was an undulating half I gained a lot more endurance and was able to go through halfway just shy of my half PB.

Doing longer runs was a new training stimulus for me so I gained a lot from it and I was aware coming up to the day that I'd be in about 3:25 shape. I think that CM's point is valid and most first timers won't convert very well. The other thing is that I probably could have run 1:35 for a half by the time I ran Dublin. 12 weeks is a fair amount of time to improve fitness.

Sorry for ruining the table
Seems like I need a tutorial!

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
rom|Cork '11|1:51:57|3:55:36|Dublin '11 - went with 4hr pacers|4:27:43|Had run my marathon in training 3 weeks earlier. Didn't take any of the advise that I read on here to take my long runs 45-75 secs slower than marathon pace. 25 mins positive split says it all.

Me thinks career_move's hands will be kept busy with this table!!

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
ncmc|Clonmel '12|1:48|3:47|DCM '12|3:57|Went with four hour pacers and pushed on some time after Roebuck Road. Was tired when I finished, but not exhausted, probably could have pushed on a bit in hindsight. Actually was probably more wrecked after the HM than the marathon!
murphd77|FrankDuffy 10m 2012|1:25:45|4:00:42|DCM '12|4:02:26|I was hopeful of a sub-4 and I think I'd have got it if I went with the pacers. My basic error was pacing myself but calculating the pace on the exact marathon distance and not allowing for the extra few hundred meters that most of us tend to run on the day. In fact if you subtract the time taken to run that extra distance from my overall time, I ran the first 42.2k in something like 4:00:40, which is pretty close to McMillan. Something to think about if you trust McMillan and you're going to be close to the wire.
RubyK| Kilkenny '10|1.49.20|3.50.06| DCM '10|3.59.19| Lined up a few rows back from the 4 hr pacers, and moved ahead of them before halfway mark. Had no watch as battery died before the start, so just concentrated on staying ahead of those balloons.
menoscemo|Dublin'09|1:48:xx|3:48:xx|DCM '09|4:15:xx|Went with 4hr pacers. Started a minute behind and caught up by 6 miles, comfortable to 15 miles than started to slip. Dropped completely off pace by 19 miles and started walking, only picked up a jog home from 22 miles
RunningKing|Dublin '11|1:40:42|3:31:56|DCM '11|4:05|Went out just behind 3:30 pacers. Cramp from mile 13. ITB for all Oct meant no real running for 1 month before hand. Didn't enjoy it. If doing it again (for 1st time) would try to enjoy the atmosphere
pac_man|Dublin '11|1:37:48|3:25:xx|Dublin '11 |3:55:xx| I didn't really train for the marathon and am a prime example of someone who blew up from not doing long runs(longest run was the half marathon). I decided on the day that id be well able for 3:30 but but just after the KCR~ 15 miles, i had to start walking and struggled badly.I didn't get why people were carrying these belts around their waists,I was fairly naive and its quite funny when I think about it now.One thing I remember was how congested running with a pace group was especially up the Crumlin road, I had the same experience last weekend in a half marathon. If I was running my first marathon again, id wouldn't run for a time or with a pace group and u'll probably enjoy it a little bit more. Training for it would probably help as well.
wexford1996|Oilgate '12|1:37:34|3:25:20|Dublin '12 |3:27:20| Went with 3:30 pacers and managed to pick it up a bit from Milltown onwards. Had done five 20 mile runs in advance so was pretty strong at the end.
Clearlier|Sturminster Newton half 2010|1:38:39|3:27:37|Dublin '10 - positioned myself halfway between 3:15 and 3:30 pacers, kept to a certain heart rate to halfway, upped it to 20 miles and let fly from there|3:24:00|Felt very comfortable until just before halfway, picked up the effort without too much bother, ran out of energy at about 18 due to nutrition error but got my second wind within a mile or two, picked it up again at Nutley lane and was thinking about how close I could get to 3:20 before cramp hit at 24.5 miles. Just about held it together once I got going again.
kkcatlou|Athlone '12|01:47:52|03:47:01|DCM '12|03:56:07|Did a steady 9 min pace throughout although my last 6 miles were my fastest. Felt great throughout. Really took in the atmosphere and stayed "present" throughout. Didn't run with pacers, but did chat to a few people along the way
yaboya1|Dublin '10|1:47:53|3:47:03|DCM '10|3:39:36|Felt I could do better than the calculator, but injured my hamstring three weeks out meaning I did relatively nothing in the lead up to the race. Still went out with the 3:30 pacers and stuck with them comfortably until Terenure (17 miles). Hamstring started to hurt again badly at that stage. Once I knew 3:30 was gone I set my sights on getting under 3:40 (which I just about did). The last nine miles were very difficult
rom|Cork '11|1:51:57|3:55:36|Dublin '11 - went with 4hr pacers|4:27:43|Had run my marathon in training 3 weeks earlier. Didn't take any of the advise that I read on here to take my long runs 45-75 secs slower than marathon pace. 25 mins positive split says it all.
Mr.Wiggle|Mallow10 '12|1:11:30|3:18:02|Cork '12|3:23:00|started with 3.30 pacers but left them after mile 5 feeling the pace was that bit too slow for me. In hindsight I shoulda stayed with them and realy enjoyed my first marathon as it turned into a slog around the 20 mile mark for me and I wasn't able to enjoy the finishing straight on Patricks St.
AlanM|Dublin '12|1:38:58|3:28:17|Dublin '12|3:44:22|Started off thinking I could get close to 3:30 even though I hadn't really be training for that time. First 20 miles were ok, last 6 hurt, a lot. If I'd gone with the 3:45 pacers I probably wouldn't have had the same problems


Edit - race name mistake fixed

this is brilliant lads, a mine of information, the main one seeming to be get your long runs done..
i did a reasonably easy 1.45 in athlone at the weekend and was curious whether to go with 4 pacers or a bit in front of them, il be going with the 4 hr guys for sure now....

[=mr.wiggle;86594548]Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
ncmc|Clonmel '12|1:48|3:47|DCM '12|3:57|Went with four hour pacers and pushed on some time after Roebuck Road. Was tired when I finished, but not exhausted, probably could have pushed on a bit in hindsight. Actually was probably more wrecked after the HM than the marathon!
murphd77|FrankDuffy 10m 2012|1:25:45|4:00:42|DCM '12|4:02:26|I was hopeful of a sub-4 and I think I'd have got it if I went with the pacers. My basic error was pacing myself but calculating the pace on the exact marathon distance and not allowing for the extra few hundred meters that most of us tend to run on the day. In fact if you subtract the time taken to run that extra distance from my overall time, I ran the first 42.2k in something like 4:00:40, which is pretty close to McMillan. Something to think about if you trust McMillan and you're going to be close to the wire.
RubyK| Kilkenny '10|1.49.20|3.50.06| DCM '10|3.59.19| Lined up a few rows back from the 4 hr pacers, and moved ahead of them before halfway mark. Had no watch as battery died before the start, so just concentrated on staying ahead of those balloons.
menoscemo|Dublin'09|1:48:xx|3:48:xx|DCM '09|4:15:xx|Went with 4hr pacers. Started a minute behind and caught up by 6 miles, comfortable to 15 miles than started to slip. Dropped completely off pace by 19 miles and started walking, only picked up a jog home from 22 miles
RunningKing|Dublin '11|1:40:42|3:31:56|DCM '11|4:05|Went out just behind 3:30 pacers. Cramp from mile 13. ITB for all Oct meant no real running for 1 month before hand. Didn't enjoy it. If doing it again (for 1st time) would try to enjoy the atmosphere
pac_man|Dublin '11|1:37:48|3:25:xx|Dublin '11 |3:55:xx| I didn't really train for the marathon and am a prime example of someone who blew up from not doing long runs(longest run was the half marathon). I decided on the day that id be well able for 3:30 but but just after the KCR~ 15 miles, i had to start walking and struggled badly.I didn't get why people were carrying these belts around their waists,I was fairly naive and its quite funny when I think about it now.One thing I remember was how congested running with a pace group was especially up the Crumlin road, I had the same experience last weekend in a half marathon. If I was running my first marathon again, id wouldn't run for a time or with a pace group and u'll probably enjoy it a little bit more. Training for it would probably help as well.
wexford1996|Oilgate '12|1:37:34|3:25:20|Dublin '12 |3:27:20| Went with 3:30 pacers and managed to pick it up a bit from Milltown onwards. Had done five 20 mile runs in advance so was pretty strong at the end.
Clearlier|Sturminster Newton half 2010|1:38:39|3:27:37|Dublin '10 - positioned myself halfway between 3:15 and 3:30 pacers, kept to a certain heart rate to halfway, upped it to 20 miles and let fly from there|3:24:00|Felt very comfortable until just before halfway, picked up the effort without too much bother, ran out of energy at about 18 due to nutrition error but got my second wind within a mile or two, picked it up again at Nutley lane and was thinking about how close I could get to 3:20 before cramp hit at 24.5 miles. Just about held it together once I got going again.
kkcatlou|Athlone '12|01:47:52|03:47:01|DCM '12|03:56:07|Did a steady 9 min pace throughout although my last 6 miles were my fastest. Felt great throughout. Really took in the atmosphere and stayed "present" throughout. Didn't run with pacers, but did chat to a few people along the way
yaboya1|Dublin '10|1:47:53|3:47:03|DCM '10|3:39:36|Felt I could do better than the calculator, but injured my hamstring three weeks out meaning I did relatively nothing in the lead up to the race. Still went out with the 3:30 pacers and stuck with them comfortably until Terenure (17 miles). Hamstring started to hurt again badly at that stage. Once I knew 3:30 was gone I set my sights on getting under 3:40 (which I just about did). The last nine miles were very difficult
rom|Cork '11|1:51:57|3:55:36|Dublin '11 - went with 4hr pacers|4:27:43|Had run my marathon in training 3 weeks earlier. Didn't take any of the advise that I read on here to take my long runs 45-75 secs slower than marathon pace. 25 mins positive split says it all.
Mr.Wiggle|Mallow10 '12|1:11:30|3:18:02|Cork '12|3:23:00|started with 3.30 pacers but left them after mile 5 feeling the pace was that bit too slow for me. In hindsight I shoulda stayed with them and realy enjoyed my first marathon as it turned into a slog around the 20 mile mark for me and I wasn't able to enjoy the finishing straight on Patricks St.
AlanM|Dublin '12|1:38:58|3:28:17|Dublin '12|3:44:22|Started off thinking I could get close to 3:30 even though I hadn't really be training for that time. First 20 miles were ok, last 6 hurt, a lot. If I'd gone with the 3:45 pacers I probably wouldn't have had the same problems
snailsong|Achill '11|1:39:59|3:30:25|DCM '11|3:29:12|I went with the 3:30 pacers knowing that it was an ambitious target but Achill is hard and I figured I'd improved since then. Loved the first half, under pressure from 20 miles or so. Lost the pacers at 23 miles but made a big effort and caught them on Nassau street.

A really good idea. It does highlight how optimistic most runners/ not just new runners about goal times. There is such a massive difference in the half and the full . Even with the long runs done and all your training going well there is never a guarantee of a good run on the day. I've done 8 now and only in 1 of those did everything go my way. In all the others things like the weather, a niggle, etc all played their part in affecting the time on the day. That's what people need to realise. So much can affect your marathon time compared to the half . So this thread is good for opening people's mind to the dangers and possible dissapoinments of setting the bar and the goals too high. I much prefer marathons debutantes to just run and let it happen . If you feel good and it goes well happy days. If its a bad day then by just letting it happen without having a time goal you can still enjoy your run without that pressure of not hitting your goal. To all those who missed their times above , can you recall honestly , how you felt immediately after the race. It would be another further delve into the mind of the runners and a useful insight

PVincent wrote: »

. To all those who missed their times above , can you recall honestly , how you felt immediately after the race. It would be another further delve into the mind of the runners and a useful insight

Great post PVincent. I achieved my goal time above for my first marathon and did I feel elated after..no, not really. Simply due to the fact I had a painful 5 mile finish and didn't really finish strong and on my own terms. And I was conservative with the goal. I reckon I would have had much more satisfaction and since of achievement by finishing strong. So my advice is to just enjoy your first be pretty conservative with the aim to finish strong. Much more appetite to return for seconds that way.