So, how did everyone do in the marathon?

Blisterman

It was my first marathon, which I ran in about 4 hours 15 minutes, which I'm very happy with. My goal was under 5 hours, so I exceeded my expectations.
It was fun anyway. All the support was great, and the marathon ran right past my house, which was nice.
My legs are completely wrecked, but I'm glad I did it.

So, how did everyone else get on?

StaggerLee

I went around in 4:20 ish. I was hoping for closer to 4 hours but knew deep down that wasn't going to happen. I ran the first half in about 1:58, I was trying to pace myself at 9 minute miles all around. Was going fine up to 15-16 miles the started to slow. I struggled between mile 18 an 24, lost about 20 minutes.

I think I hit The Wall, if I didnt I'd hate to see the real thing. I felt like I was carrying a bloke on my back who had just taken a bat to my legs!.

Still I'm delighted, it was my first(and the way I feel now last!) Marathon.

Well done to everybody!

irlirishkev

Well done lads.. good times!

I did mine in 4hours 55minutes. I couldn't run the whole race, so I'm pretty happy with my time. I'd set myself a goal of 5.5hrs after I decided I'd combine walking and running. I'd say overall, I ran about 22miles, with the rest at a fast walk throughout the course. My knees, joints, back and feet are killing me now, and I shudder to think what I'll be like in the morning. It's not going to stop me going out for a celebratory pint tonight though!

Very sad about the runner who collapsed and passed away during the race. I passed as it happened, and was really hoping he'd be okay. Sadly it wasn't the case. My thoughts go out to his family and friends..

K.

Odysseus

Done it in 3.44, was hoping to beat 3.40 but it wasn't happening this year. Good run though, plently of support along the way.

TimG

Done it in 1.18!!!, pitty I only bothered doing 11miles though. Will be back next yr defo to give it a full shot.

tunney

Didn't go too well for me.

ITB packed it in at mile 20. Walked the last 6.2 miles in 66 minutes. Finished in 3:26

jd

Gf's brother did 3:42 after 4 months training (from scratch)- he was happy as he had targetted under 4 hours.
jd

quozl

I decided to try for sub 4 hours, which was a bit of a stretch Blew up around mile 18 (how so early i honestly don't know!) and limped home for 4:18

Still, happy I gave it a good shot and I'll go sub 4 in Paris in April. Or at least blow up a bit nearer to the bloody finishing line )

plodder

I was aiming for 3:45, but started out too fast, and really hit the wall badly aroun 19 miles. Had to stop several times. Managed 3:53 in the end.

netman

I managed to finish at 3:55, very happy with my first marathon, I was hoping I'd be able to do it under 4 hours and just made it

I'm glad I listened to all the advice I was given, had a look at my times when the results were posted and they're consistent from start to finish. Well actually the second half was a little bit quicker because I picked up the pace in the last two miles, but the point was I didn't start off too fast or follow other runners, I stuck with my own pace and it worked out great!

The atmosphere was great, weather served us well too, and people who came out to support the runners were fantastic. I brought in loads of food with me so I didn't take any along the route, but it was great to see whole families out there, bringing out jellys and sweets to help out the runners. It really shows how great the irish people are!

I felt sorry for the people who started dropping off towards the end, the closer I got to the finish line the more people I saw along the sides of the road, pulling out to stretch the muscles or get their breath back. There was a guy who stopped on nassau st, maybe a quater of a mile left to finish, with what looked like a bad cramp, you could almost see the finish line from there.

clarkwgriswold

Went around in 4:04 myself. Had to stop on the little bridge over the grand canal around mile 24 for a few mins to get over some cramp. Think I'll be back next year to try to break 4 hours.
Well done everyone!

mick kk

hi
i finished in 3 53 - was delighted - all was goin fine until i saw mile 21 and me legs decided to seize up - took so long to do last 5 miles as i had to keep walking parts of it. My first marathon and was very impressed with the organisation of it and the people along the route who were giving much needed words of encouragement. roll on next year

Myksyk

Hi guys. Great to see your stories. I had a good first half despite my ITB kicking in as early as the 4th mile. Neurofen masked that (until today when it is raging at me). I got tired at mile 16/17 and by mile 20 I was done for. Now I know what the wall is after hearing about it so much. My legs starting cramping unbelievably in almost every muscle. My stomach acted up and i felt really nauseous for the last 6 miles, even making me stop to try and make myself sick (think the gels may have had something to do with this). It was a miserable last 6 miles which I essentially walked/jogged, keeping the smidgen of energy I had left to run the last half mile in front of the crowds. I was almost crying for the last 200 yards with all the crowd shouting. I did it in 4'51". I thought for sure I'd do it in sub 4'30" and even harboured the hope that I might break 4 ... delusions of grandeur as it turned out! Learned a lot from it though. I think I was undertrained by about a month. I HAVE to do another to see can I get around without that awful feeling for the last six miles.

quozl

Myksyk, still 6000 places left for the Paris Marathon in April

And then you'll have a nice month break before you start training for Dublin again. This marathoning lark is a slippery slope for sure!

Thrasher

I was aiming for 3:45 and surprised myself with 3.28. It was my first Dublin marathon, but I had already done one (Berlin, 5 weeks ago), so I guess the muscles were ready for it again. It's funny - for the last 6 miles, you promise yourself that you'll never go through this again and now I'm looking up more marathons for spring.

Ah well, I don't need my legs, I guess...

jasonb

Have to say, my experiences pretty much matched Myksyk. Sorry for the long post...

Started fine, and reached 13 miles a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. The target was 4:30, but I was aiming for 10 min miles, which would add up to 4:22, so I'd 8 mins to play around with. My friend I was running with had to drop out at 14 miles though, she just felt terrible, and she insisted that I go on.

So I continued the rest on my own. Still felt ok, apart from the usual sore knees and legs. Found it a bit hard being on my own, but promised myself a stop and a stretch after Roebuck Rd. Got to the top of that hill, started stretching, and my left hamstring went into cramp. Got that stretched, and off I went.

From then on it got really tough. Not so much physically, but mentally I was drained. When I hit the 22 mile marker I had to stop, and I could barely walk. Was gutted, cos I'd been going so well, not too fast, but always just inside my target times. Started trying to think how I'd tell everyone I couldn't finish, which drained me mentally even more. Nearly hobbled up to an ambulance there and then.

But then a guy walked past me, and I decided to try to keep up with him, just walking. That walking got faster and faster, and after a couple of minutes I managed to get running again. It was so tough, and I had to walk every now and then for the last few miles, but I hung on and finished in 4hrs 25min. I was so drained and emotional that I nearly cried when I got my medal. After how low I felt when I first stopped running, I couldn't believe I'd finished.

So, thank god for those extra 8 minutes, as I still beat 4:30! But it was the toughest thing I've ever done, it took a lot out of me in lots of ways. Felt sick for most of the evening, and my body is very sore now, and will be for a couple of days I reckon. So glad I did it, I've always wanted to, and so proud of my medal. But, while I can see the attraction of improving your time, I really won't do that ever again. I had to dig so deep, I see no reason to deliberately put myself in that position again.

Well done to everyone who did it, whether they finished or not. It takes a lot to go out and train for months, and turn up on the day, and give your best. My knees will never forgive me, but I've got my medal, and I know that when the going got tough, I didn't give up. Special thanks, though, to that guy who walked past me, without even knowing he helped keep me going!

J.

billyhead

Hi Gang,

I was delighted with my run of 3hrs 2 mins and 57 seconds, especially as it was my first Marathon. I really felt it though around the 20 mile mark and my calf muscles began to tighten big time however with just over 6 miles left there was no way I was going to give in. The next one for me wont be until this time next year (the New York Marathon) which I plan to do with Sports International travel. in the mean time I going to start running cross country races and in the new year concentrate on the shorter road distance races i.e 5-10 milers. I am also thinking of joining a running club such as Clonliffe or Raheny Shamrocks. All the best

Andy27981

Hi ALL

WOW ! What an experience ! absolutley amazing. I think its finally starting to sink in now, that im home and back at work with time to think and reflect. But is all started as a nightmare......(this may be a long post!)

Friday evening I got home form work - with a slight tingle under my tooth - by friday night I was in complete agony - got about 2 hrs sleep both fri and sat night - log drive up to dublin and finally reached hotel (which was superb) registered and back to hotel to prepare - still in complete pain. A few neurophin later got into bed and got a reasonable nights sleep.

So to the start line - the nerves had kicked in bigtime, the tension the excitment.

did the first 10K in 1:04 which was very slow but I was taking it easy (Two knee injurys in 6 wks prior to marathon) once I hit the 15 mile mark i started to feel it a bit but not too bad - but by 18 I was suffering and 18/19 to 24 was a black hole of pain, pain and more pain. not knees or tooth or anything just exasution - but I kept running and running. The support from the spectators was something unbelievable - jellys, jaffa cakes, more jellys but the shouts of support were really what kept me going.

Looking around seeing the charaties on peoples shirts, messages like "for mum" on t-shirts etc etc really were moving. Once I hit the 24 mile mark I knew I could make it - there was a bend just after 25 mile mark and the vocal support was huge and i broke a smile - busted a gut to the finish line and crossed in a time of 4.37.58 - not the best time but given injuries before hand i was delighted to cross the line at all. I was to exausted to celebrate afterwards so will have to wait until I can hit the pub on friday

Cant wait to do another one and hammer that time. A fantastic thing to do - without the support of spectators I would not have finished - delighted that the knees held out - had an amzing time cant wait to do another one.

Still as stiff as a board today

Andy27981

oh and another point or two...

At the toughest points I held a thought - we were raising money for sick kids in our area and the organiser for our group gave us a bit of a team talk before hand - he said when the pain is bad think of the kids going through this pain every day - that drove me on

and another point neurophin is not good in the days leading up to marathon - very hard on the digestvie system which made it uncomfortable and going to the toilet a toilet stops is a nightmare - not enough toilets etc and eating into time. mustve been waiting for at least 10 mins at one of early the stops

bullrunner

i finished in 4.29.23...happy to beat 4.5 hrs (even though i had to sprint the last mile to do it....dont know how i had any energy left then!)....prob could have done better...but knees/hips just werent able for it. Ran with my friend until around mile 24 when he blew up and couldnt keep running. So had to do the last 2.2 miles on my own. Spent the last 10 miles questioning why I agreed to do something as crazy as run a marathon...and said I'd never do it again...now trying to find another one in the next few weeks to do!!!

Well done everybody

Clum

What a great feeling!

The first 9 miles were great, I'd a spring in my step and smiled as the crowd cheered. But after that short, steep climb approaching Inchicore things got serious! Felt comfortable enough until 23 miles when things almost caved in but the crowd helped and the sping returned to my step for the last mile thanks to them!

3.37. Happy enough with the time. Felt terrible after but looking forward to doing another one next year.

Fair play to those on the side lines cheering us on. I don't know what brings them out but their support was fantastic.

dasher

Got around in 3:44. It was my first marathon and I am delighted with the time.
I had set 3:45 as a realistic goal but thought I might get into the 3:30's. I now know that I underestimated the effort required to actually run the full 26.2, having only run 21 in training.
I really had to push the last two miles to ensure I got in under 3:45. Having to dig so deep so late in the race makes the achievment all the more sweet.
The sight of my wife and kids at the 25.5 mark helped a bit though.

Clonskeagh seems to be the area where most people began to hurt bad and it was the same here. I didn't really run out of steam a such but my legs caved in and required some major stretching to enable me to continue.

I can safely say that I will never run another marathon. If I had come in at 3:46 then maybe that would have been a different story but I feel I can close the book on this one.
The main thing I take from the experience is the knowledge that I can push myself to levels greater than I thought I was previously capable of. The goal for next year is to do an Olympic distance triathlon.

Good luck to anyone considering next year. I will defenitely be there with jellies and shouts of support on Roebuck Rd.

copacetic

dasher wrote:

Got around in 3:44. It was my first marathon and I am delighted with the time.
I had set 3:45 as a realistic goal but thought I might get into the 3:30's. I now know that I underestimated the effort required to actually run the full 26.2, having only run 21 in training.
I really had to push the last two miles to ensure I got in under 3:45. Having to dig so deep so late in the race makes the achievment all the more sweet.
The sight of my wife and kids at the 25.5 mark helped a bit though.

Clonskeagh seems to be the area where most people began to hurt bad and it was the same here. I didn't really run out of steam a such but my legs caved in and required some major stretching to enable me to continue.

I can safely say that I will never run another marathon. If I had come in at 3:46 then maybe that would have been a different story but I feel I can close the book on this one.
The main thing I take from the experience is the knowledge that I can push myself to levels greater than I thought I was previously capable of. The goal for next year is to do an Olympic distance triathlon.

Good luck to anyone considering next year. I will defenitely be there with jellies and shouts of support on Roebuck Rd.

well done, the oly tri will be a piece of piss compared to the marathon, you should be aiming for the ironman!!

thetrickykid

Well done everyone that took part, great to hear everyone else's tales of pain.
I started off at a nice slowish steady pace - 7.5 minute miles, until mile 6 when I had to stop at a portaloo for a bit of bowel maintenance! Not pretty.

I had planned to do a negative split and go faster for the second half, but when I reached mile 23/24 the legs had other ideas.

Hit halfway in 1.39 limped over the finish line in 3hrs16minutes. Just glad its over really. It was my third Dublin marathon and I have to say that the euphoria diminshes with the number of marathons you run. I think I'll stick to half's and 10k runs in future.

hunnymonster

as davey said the oly will be easy compared to a marathon. I usually find them about equivalent to a half marathon in terms of effort. Ironman is something really special. Take the emotions you felt crossing the line on monday and multiply them ten times......

Blisterman

Is the chip time, the true time, you ran the marathon in? Or is that the finish time? By true time, I mean the time, between running past the starting line to running past the finish line.

My finish time was 4:14, while my chip time was 4:06.

hunnymonster

yes chip time is the true time. Clock time is from when the gun went off. Depending one where you were it takes between 0 and 10ish minutes to actually cross the line. From looking at the splits it appears that they refer to clock time. You'll have to do your maths for the 10km and 21.1 splits.




3:30 for me. Not bad considering I hadn't actually trained for this race. Left knee gave me a few problems but apart from that I had a great day out. Congrats to everyone who finished, particularly the marathon virgins. Some of us oldies get quite cynical but remember you've just done something 99% of the population never will!

irlirishkev

hunnymonster wrote:

Some of us oldies get quite cynical but remember you've just done something 99% of the population never will!

That's one of the best things about it for me. I've now done something none of my friends have done, and probably never will do.

This was my first time, and after doing it, I thought that once was enough. But now I'm thinking maybe I'll give it another go next year, try and get a better time..

Personal challenges eh?

dasher

"well done, the oly tri will be a piece of piss compared to the marathon, you should be aiming for the ironman!!"

"as davey said the oly will be easy compared to a marathon. I usually find them about equivalent to a half marathon in terms of effort. Ironman is something really special. Take the emotions you felt crossing the line on monday and multiply them ten times......"


I agree guys but it will take time for me to even learn how to swim properly.
Once the Oly is completed I'm well aware that there is only one other place I'm headed.
Where do you stop?

tunney

A standard distance triathlon may seem easy if all you want to do is finish one. Much like getting around a marathon may also be easy if all you want to do is finish one.

The attitude of "oh I've done one now, time to move onto the next challenge" annoys me. What not think - "right, this is what I did the marathon in, I'm going to improve on it" rather than considering the challenge overcome and "moving on".

I did 3:26 on Monday and I take no sense of accomplishment from it. I will be back and I will do one again and I will keep doing them until I reach a point when I accept that I will never go any quicker.

dasher

I wouldn't argue with you on that one Tunny, each to their own. I have concentrated on disiplines in that manner in the past and enjoyed it. Personally I just don't get enough enjoyment out of marathon running to stick to it as an individual disipline.

I think we should all agree to keep this tread specific to Mondays race and individuals thoughts on doing it again next year. It's very enjoyable hearing how everyone got on.