bhaa 5k citywest joke

violator13

:mad:Did anybody see this shambles this morning.??.Leaders including brian maher,sergi,davy byrne,eug o neill,tom fitzpatrick and pat cassidy got to about 2k and gardai directed them the wrong way. Half of them dropped out at this stage and I think sergi won it..I heard the copper cursed at the runners and told them to do a lap!!Of course its the organisers who are to blame here..a disgrace for people who paid their money and drove up today..

TheRoadRunner

yep it was absolute mayhem all right. I went down to watch it myself.

In fairness to the Gardai it wasn't their fault at all. There was supposed to a stewards at that round about to direct the race in the right direction. If it hadn't been for the Gardai I think they would have ran the wrong way completely (even worse than it did).

The guy who organises the race isn't a runner so I think he underestimated what was involved slightly ! I've been involved in organising races myself in the past so I know how tough it is to get everything right on the day but the course is usually your primary concern.

Its a pity really because there were seemed to be a large enough field out today! Doubt the majority will be back next year unless some promises are given regarding the course. Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes and have a good race next year, either that or it will have to be scrapped. Knowing the main guys in the BHAA and the huge effort they put in I reckon they will sort it next year.

Racing Flat

Was a bit of a shambles today. Added to the confusion about the route, it was actually long - 5.4k. Winner was Brian Maher, Sergi 3rd, but a number of drop outs. And what about the prizes - a month's registration at the gym there - not very handy if you live on the Northside....Ah well, these things happen I suppose. At around 2k I was confronted with the leaders running in the opposite direction towards me! So didn't know whether to join them or keep going. The majority seemed to keep going so I followed them and decided to just keep running for 20 minutes at which stage if I hadn't got the finish I'd know it was the wrong choice. Luckily it was the right choice as the leaders then turned around again. Was nice to be ahead of Brian Maher, Sergi etc. for a few minutes!
Agree with the last poster though that generally the BHAA provide great races.

shopaholic

results are up on the site now.
Generally find bhaa races very well organised but was no where near the front so didn't need to worry about finding the way!
Won a team prize and didn't stay around for presentations so now have to run the 10k to see if anyone collected my prize! Anyone know what the team prizes were?

BHAA Infoman

Clearly the organisation of this race was unsatisfactory. The Chairman of the BHAA apologised to runners at the presentation after the race and has also made personal contact with several of the leading finishers. The BHAA does not simply allow race promoters/organisers to make arrangements for races and then hope that everything will be all right on the day. In this case, BHAA committee members were given specific assurances about various issues in the weeks leading up to the race. Unfortunately, things were not fully in order on the day and the BHAA is very disappointed about that.

Before leaving the venue, there was a meeting with a new hotel manager who agreed with the complaints put to him and promised to make amends next time. The BHAA committee will consider this matter at its next meeting before confirming the event for next year (or not).

Redgraffle

Hey

Was a bit of a mess especially for those in the top 20 - 30... I was around 30th when I came across the mess and I didn't lose much time as people had begun to decide which way to go at that stage. Hopefully it was just one way traffic for those behind me...

The organisers were very apologetic after the race and this is good to see - they didn't try to pass the blame or pass it off as a silly mistake. I think they took it very seriously and I'd give them the benefit of the doubt and will be back again next year...

I didn't like the finish at all as I nearly killed myself going around those last two bends - lost all momentum... I think they really need to have an exact 5km course for next year as the course is really fast and flat... perfect for a good time as long as you know how long the race is... I heard that the course was 5,350m - can anyone confirm this???

Red

TheRoadRunner

Hey

I don't know the exact measurement but I reckon it was around the 5.4k mark.

bazman

I was there for the messing - the lead car just stopped at a roundabout and all the runners just stopped also. It was just a crazy situation. We spent about at least 30 seconds trying to figure out which way to go. Eugene eventually picked a route and then we were just jogging slowly for a while in case we were on the wrong route - continuously looking behind us.

It's a pity runners dropped out as I don't think the results were affected - just the times. It was like 2 races in one & as Brian Maher said he had to win it twice

It seems that at least 4 marshalls didn't show after a night out. The hotel really don't know how to organise a race, but I still think it would be a pity if the race is dropped -the facilities are great and the course could be good it organised properly. The lead car definitely shouldn't have stopped in any case.

It really annoyed me that the course was too long and yet they insisted in bringing us down to the end of the carpark. I assumed the finish was going to be the same place as the start & started my sprint finish 800m from the finish line - now that was a mistake Won't make such assumptions again ...

The BHAA are very annoyed about it & Charlie Cronin called all the leading runner personally to apologise. It's just an unfortunate incident & lets hope it doesn't happen again ...

Redgraffle

Did many actually drop out??? Most seemed to continue running after the confusion...

Red

violator13

Not too sure who dropped out as I havent seen the results but there were about 10 guys within 10 mts of each other until the shambles..In fairness it was a complete joke and who wants to look back at their slow times in print.The BHAA are usually superb but for the guys who are new to the races etc,they wont be back...The BHAA dont do piss ups but if they do ,they bring it to Citywest!