Connemarathon Entries Closing soon

aburke

Cross posted from Athletics:
A quick heads-up for anybody thinking of doing the Connemarathon.
Entries will be closing very soon, in about 10 days or so, maybe more, maybe less.
Once the entry limit is reached, that's it! No more.

As with other marathons, no transfers between entrants, so expect to see me repeat that on more than one occassion over the next few months :-)

Later
Alan

hunnymonster

I really wish I could do the connemara ultramarathon again this year but I promised my partner I'd only enter 3 long races this year so I'm doing new ones. Best of luck with it, I'm sure it will go as smoothly as ever.

aburke

hunnymonster wrote: »

I really wish I could do the connemara ultramarathon again this year but I promised my partner I'd only enter 3 long races this year so I'm doing new ones. Best of luck with it, I'm sure it will go as smoothly as ever.

You'll be missed...
I guess you're one of these people who laughs at the idea of ONLY doing a half marathon :-)

hunnymonster

no, I have far more admiration for someone who runs a fast half marathon than I will have for my 80 miles in 3 weeks time which will be very slow.I'm never going to be fast (though I do intend to come break Helena's record in Connemara at some stage!) so I concentrate on going long. The faster guys are the ones to respect though. They train smart, set goals, focus... the rest of us are just having some fun :-)

Abhainn

Hunnymonster I see from an earlier post you got a race of 80 miles soon. That even a big distance on a bike!
Where are these races and what training plan do you use?

hunnymonster

80 miles is probably a bit of a misnomer. It's a two day race with 40 each day (http://www.ambitionevents.com/tring2town/). I've never done a multiday event before but seeing as I'm entered in the marathon de sables in 2009 I thought I would get a flavour of them this year.

As for training, I've pretty much been winging it. I've deliberately not gone over 22 miles in training but what I have tried to do is some back to back longer runs. For example I did 19 this morning and will do that again tomorrow morning. I'm also doing some doubles (e.g. 20 in the morning and 5 that evening). I've been told this helps to simulate the tiredness that ultra's bring on but without the high injury risk of very long distances. Unfortunately I got wiped out by a cold over the Christmas break so I am somewhat underprepared. That's nothing new for me though.

I'll let you know if it all works out the 3rd February about 5pm :-)

Odysseus

hunnymonster wrote: »

80 miles is probably a bit of a misnomer. It's a two day race with 40 each day (http://www.ambitionevents.com/tring2town/). I've never done a multiday event before but seeing as I'm entered in the marathon de sables in 2009 I thought I would get a flavour of them this year.

As for training, I've pretty much been winging it. I've deliberately not gone over 22 miles in training but what I have tried to do is some back to back longer runs. For example I did 19 this morning and will do that again tomorrow morning. I'm also doing some doubles (e.g. 20 in the morning and 5 that evening). I've been told this helps to simulate the tiredness that ultra's bring on but without the high injury risk of very long distances. Unfortunately I got wiped out by a cold over the Christmas break so I am somewhat underprepared. That's nothing new for me though.

I'll let you know if it all works out the 3rd February about 5pm :-)

Best of luck with it, out of interest will you be backpack running in that event? I'm starting to think about when I should start for next year, and what type of backpack ect, more than likely it won't happen for a few months and even the just as a starter. Inanyway enjoy the run.

Odysseus

Now a question about the race I picked the hotel that was furthest away from the start of the ultra last year, am I correct in saying the start and finish for the ultra is Mamms Cross and if so does anyone know the name of the nearest hotel. I have being trying to e-mail the site but I think their mail is down.

hunnymonster

yes I'm taking a back pack. Not much on the compulsary list though, compass space blanket, food etc.

Can't help you on the hotel front. I stayed in Galway city last year as I wanted to go out partying after the race. Also, I studied in NUIG so it was all a bit of a trip down memory lane.

Odysseus

As I said best of luck with it, please share the experience when you finish. I really believe in sharing the experience as it can be so vaulable to others, myself included. What weight do you expect to carry? I alway run when I'm at home with a 3lt camelbak, its going to be a significant increase.


I'm not too worried about the hotel I'm sure I get something sorted, there is loads of time left. I should have paid attention last year and I wouldn't have to be asking now, but you don't think that the night before an ultra, well you do but then you forget; early onset of alzheimer's;)

Enduro

Hunnymonster, its highly likely there will be a 3 day staged ultra race in Ireland in August this year. I can't say much more than that at the moment, but the official website should be launched by the end of this month.

hunnymonster

Thanks for that Enduro. By August I should be well into my Ironman Florida training so won't want to take on any long runs.

aburke

sold out!

rovers_runner

You might have answered this already but whats the reasoning behind closing registration so early?

Was undecided between this and Cork but Cork suits more for getting the miles in when there is plenty of light.

Best of luck with the race anyhow!

hunnymonster

I can't answer for aburke, but I would imagine it's reached it's capacity.

Odysseus

Enduro wrote: »

Hunnymonster, its highly likely there will be a 3 day staged ultra race in Ireland in August this year. I can't say much more than that at the moment, but the official website should be launched by the end of this month.

Hi Enduro, just wondering any update on that website as yet?

hunnymonster

na-na-na-na - I'm not listening, really
I'm doing the post race shuffle today after 80 miles at the weekend. I think the damage is all muscular so should be back to normal again soon.

Odysseus

Well you have done alot more than me, only did 62k but a tad stiff now. Anyway I'm only enquiring;) Seriously I would have to have a long discussion with my partner before signing up, but you need the info before you can do that:) 80 miles nice running.

hunnymonster

was my first significant race with a back pack. Interesting experience. Hips felt it.

--amadeus--

She's being modest again (not like you HM!!)

I won't spill the beans because if it was me I'd want to tell people myself but her mantle place needs a space or two clearing on it...

Odysseus

Come on spill the beans HM it sounds like you had a good day out, and from a selfish side I like to hear how you found the back pack its something I have been shying away from. Congrats.

hunnymonster

I loved the back pack, My brother kindly got me this one for Christmas. I was aware of a tiredness in the side of my hips at the end, and I've a feeling this could be the different pelvic shapes women have so I'd take advice from a man not me on this one. I tend not to drink a huge amount when I'm running (300-400ml / hour at most) so I don't bring a bladder. The pack easily held all the compulsary kit (waterproof jacket, long trousers, hat, whistle, compas, maps, water, food, first aid, space blanket, safety pins, head torch, spare batteries, ...)

As for the race, it was 80 miles, mostly of trail, made up of two 40 mile stages. I won both stages in 5:20 and 5:48 respectively and so won the 80 overall (11:08). I was also ahead of some pretty impressive runners which is the bit I'm most proud of. At the same time I was over an hour behind the overall winning man (10 hours) so there is room for improvement. I loved it though. And as Amadeus said, another couple of trophys. So much for my dream of a minimalistic designed home! It was a great race and a super bunch of people (aka nutters) took part.

Enduro

I'll make enquiries about when the site will go live for the 3 day race. Should be very soon.

Enduro

Hunnymonster, with those kind of times you should consider entering one of the classic distance ultra races, like a 100km race. Looks like you could be quite competitive indeed, and should be out running for Ireland.

Odysseus

hunnymonster wrote: »

I loved the back pack, My brother kindly got me this one for Christmas. I was aware of a tiredness in the side of my hips at the end, and I've a feeling this could be the different pelvic shapes women have so I'd take advice from a man not me on this one. I tend not to drink a huge amount when I'm running (300-400ml / hour at most) so I don't bring a bladder. The pack easily held all the compulsary kit (waterproof jacket, long trousers, hat, whistle, compas, maps, water, food, first aid, space blanket, safety pins, head torch, spare batteries, ...)

As for the race, it was 80 miles, mostly of trail, made up of two 40 mile stages. I won both stages in 5:20 and 5:48 respectively and so won the 80 overall (11:08). I was also ahead of some pretty impressive runners which is the bit I'm most proud of. At the same time I was over an hour behind the overall winning man (10 hours) so there is room for improvement. I loved it though. And as Amadeus said, another couple of trophys. So much for my dream of a minimalistic designed home! It was a great race and a super bunch of people (aka nutters) took part.

Congrats, they are impressive times, good suff. Sounds like a good race , glad to hear you had a good day out.

Abhainn

Excellent result HM.
To highlight how good an achievement it was, that time corresponds to more than 3 marathons in 2 days averaging a sub 3:40 in each.
Or two ultra Conns in 2 days!
I think in an earlier post your mentioned your training was affected for a while over the holidays by a flu or something, do you think that the "rest" actually benefited you in this 2 day race?

Congrats again

hunnymonster

No, I don't think the enforced rest did help. Sometimes a rest is good but when you're resting because of illness, you;re actually using your strength just to recover which I don't think does me much good. I've nothing scientific to back that up though, just a gut feeling. I've had all sorts of health problems over the years but that's life, take a few days off when things are bad and then get back to normal. If I wanted to get serious about running, I think losing some weight would be the most important thing for me to do, but this is what I do for fun, if it takes over my life then what's the point?

It's difficult to compare Connemara to Town2Tring2Town even if the distances are comparable. Connemara is on road which is much faster than the off road of tring2town. I did Conne in 5:34 (I think) last year without water & carrying a slight hip injury. I'm a much better runner this year than last, If I did connemara tomorrow I would be disappointed if I didn't go well under 5 hours for the distance.


Anyway, I hope to get back on my bike this week and start ironman training. It would appear that I'm a much better runner than triathlete (11.15 is best tri time) but I don't think 100 mile running weeks are a particularly healthy way to stay fit so I'm trying my hand at triathlon. 2008 will be my 3rd season and I hope to put my unfinished business with ironman to bed this year.



Thanks for the congrats everyone.

Odysseus

hunnymonster wrote: »

It's difficult to compare Connemara to Town2Tring2Town even if the distances are comparable. Connemara is on road which is much faster than the off road of tring2town. I did Conne in 5:34 (I think) last year without water & carrying a slight hip injury. I'm a much better runner this year than last, If I did connemara tomorrow I would be disappointed if I didn't go well under 5 hours for the distance.

It took me 6.37 last year and I was pleased with that and even though I had a 3lt camelbak I doubt it made a significant difference, plus I had no significant injuries. Really they are amazing timings, you done yourself proud and should be really pleased with your result. So I reckon I if I want to find you in the desert next year you will be that cloud of dust about 6 miles ahead of me;)

Congrats again.

yifter

The only half marathon I have ever ran, other than training runs is the Connemara half. Can anyone tell me how times compare to other "normal" half marathons. Waht does an 80 minute run in Connemara constitute on a flat one. I hear it's as much as 2 minutes!!!