Gaelforce West - Discussion & Afters

GForcer1

some discrepancies in the results aswell, can see some people managed to go up and down CP in 12mins...some also have blanks aswell for CP

I guess maybe as these are provisional, this maybe adjusted?

djpm

CKWPORT wrote: »

Ya its looks like stage 2 is a combo of all those parts.

Anyone the last 2 names on the page, that have DQ against their names?

Does that mean they were disqualified?

Looks like it alright

Mr Freeze

Hmmm, wonder what the rascals did?

gizmo73

Hey guys, hope the bodies have healed. Just wondering what everyones opinion on the overall weekend was? Personally i didn`t think it was a patch on last years event, reasons being were from the start-
The Registration-i don`t think i need to go into it.
Early start times- i thought they were too early, just for the likes of getting a normal nights sleep, proper breakfast ect!!
Number of competitors- i thought last years event was fabulous, even intimate. great camaraderie around the course. This year I felt the sheer volume took away all this, and then there was the simple things like trying to overtake on the bikes, the constant line of people on the reek...
The after party- enough said...
Oh i nearly forgot the goody bag, and the fabulous quality of the t shirts, the large t shirt at that!!
That said, has anyone and good feedback? i was chatting to a lot of people afterwards and it was mostly negative.

elchupanebrey

It obviously wasn't for taking their bags off going up the reek.

Finished in 5.21. Very happy.

I think I could make up some time on the first run which took me 84 mins.

I didn't get a time for the reek so my chip mustn't have registered when i came down, i just have a total at the end.

notsobadinc

ya gizmo73 i have to agree with some of your points-didnt take part last year but it did not match my expectation.
my bro and I did it and although we were in the last wave due to late registration, some of the guys/girls in our set were seasoned hill runners/ cyclists.

The Registration-too many people crowding into a swamp and not enough marshals-seemed like the guys from the tribute bands were the marshals.

Number of competitors- ya as i said didnt take part last year but found it difficult to overtake, sometimes 3 friends chatting casually and blocking the path for anyone else and the reek was a joke-some tourist couple with a child kept bumping into me and other competitors and resting in the middle which is fair enough but not good enough especially when you consider what we paid to enter-i would have thought the reek might have been closed off for a few hours just to give elites, amateurs and novices a fair run at it.
The Goody Bag-what more can i say- vouchers to visit local shops ant the tshirt does is crap
felt good about it but the kayak area was a mess and the marshall was really losing her cool...LOL:D

Gazz666

Second time for me, knocked about 10 minutes off my time with a 6hr 1 minute result. (shouldn't of stopped for a few smokes on the way round)

Loved the course, especially the dirt track near the end, i was one of those mad mountain bikers going down at full pelt, knowing that all the guys carrying thier road bikes will soon be snapping at my heels again.

I agree with all the negative coments made about the event and it does appear that money was on the minds of the organisers to be honest but that said, the crack from the racers and the friendly reception from the locals in Westport, who i feel bent over backwards to help, made my second GF well worth the money and ill be back next year.
Hopefully i'll have kicked the habit by then.

Slogger Jogger

Great performance PeterX and Paul Mahon to single out 2. Peter - congrats too on a Leinster Championship win even if you didn't get to run Lugnacoille yesterday. Won by a solitary point from the ever chasing Mr. Fortune.

2 Wheels Good

Any comments on the lack of kit, or rumours that some of the elite dropping bags on the climb and picked them up on the way down? If this is true they should be disqualified!
They may as well not have climbed CP and gone straight to Westport to "beat" their pb

richiemack

Delighted with my result came 13th and I didn't even finish the race:)

yop

Time was worse than I had hoped! 7hrs!!! More determined to shed another stone and get right training done! I was an hour+ off that time next year!!

ragsod

Article in todays times about the race:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2009/0825/1224253191973.html

mymojo

delighted with how i got on as ended up coming 3rd ( of the ladies!;))...didnt know what to expect from the event and i had myself worried sick about foot wear(just had normal runners all the way), type of bike(hired a racing one in the end), punctures etc etc from reading from others experiences in the past...couldnt sleep all week because of it! croagh patrick oh my god...horrific...definatley the hardest thing i have ever done in my life physically...thank you to "kevin from galway" who encouraged me through the cycle up to C.P and the climb itself! ran the off road section with the bike out of fear of puncture:eek: i trained hard in the gym coming up to gael force....the hours on the stairclimber and stepper got me up the mountain but i cud feel my calves screaming all the way..watching those ahead of me running DOWN the mountain at the top...skipping from rock to rock had me thinking i was seeing things:rolleyes:!!! since the event the fronts of my thighs were the area i felt it most...thought it wud be the calves and shoulders and butt but no! cudnt walk down steps on sunday...had to side step down..cringe....im a yoga teacher and definatley i feel it helped with a quicker recovery and muscular endurance during the race...was looking forward to my goodie bag on arrival to westport...thought everyone wud get a medal crossing the finish and sum treats etc ...was gutted! didnt see any cups of pasta etc...got a bottle of lucozade? still enjoyed the experience of gael force...what made it for me was the people i met on the day and the night b4...will try do it again next year and will change my training to include off road running and mountain hikes etc...nothing can really prepare u for them except doing them really

groovyg

I think when you have over 2000 people entered into an event like that - its always going to be problematic. Judging by the entry fee - I think its safe to say the organisers are more interested in profits and money making because if they weren't then the numbers would be capped.

The thing that attracts people to the gaelforce is that its aimed at getting everybody involved, you don't need a fancy bike to do it, you don't need to be super fit - its kind of similar to the womens mini marathon - every body comes in all shapes and sizes you can walk it, run it, do it with your friends etc which is why it has become so popular.

There are loads of adventure races going on around Ireland which have far fewer numbers and they are very well organised. However all them are offroad - which doesn't suit the majority of people who enter the gaelforce.

HumphreyD

I agree with everything here. The Registration was more Gaelfarce than Force, traffic management nonexistent and people having to leave their bikes piled against fences because no rack was available. Four portaloos at the start and grossly inadequate marshalling on the route. It's such a pity because the route itself it excellent but the organisers have clearly taken their off the ball completely. I competed in this event last year and while many people were of the opinion that management was a bit lax with 800 competitors this didn't ever manifest itself to any degree. This year it was as if they tripled the numbers without really making any substantial changes to the operation. Moving the bike transition from a tennis court to a swamp provided more space but that's it. They should put less emphasis on after race parties and more on getting the basics right but I think it boils down to GREED plain and simple. I hope that if the event is to go ahead again next year the organisers publish an apology for what happened this year and make it very clear to everyone what steps they will be taking to improve things. People travelled long distances and paid a lot of money to take part and they deserve better, much better.

djpm

A resounding failure? Why, because a few people got their shoes dirty and had to queue at registration?
There were problems, I don't think there was anything that can't be improved. A few suggestions:
- They can't take any more numbers (maybe cap it at 2000)
- Registration can certainly be improved upon, if only with better traffic management. Believe they ran out of racks also.
- More portaloos at the start
- Timing mat at the start (probably needs a generator but I'm sure they'd manage), timing mat at Delphi
- Some better signage on the course - both with directions and instructions to keep left and allow faster racers to pass, etc
- Better marshalling
- I believe Mayo Mountain Rescue personnel have some reservations so organisers should speak to them
- Results available immediately
- Some reasonable food included for the €85 would be nice
- After party was never going to work (wrist band should have been entry, and a tenner for anybody else)
- And a few more goodies in the bag...

djpm

HumphreyD, didn't see your post before I posted. I accept your point about people travelling a long way (it's all very easy for me). In relation to the GREED aspect, I'm not sure where Gaelforce ends and Detail Events (the events company hired to run it) begins. I believe Gaelforce itself is non profit (believe it or not). The so called after party was a parallel event, not directly under GF.
And btw, you'd want to hit the auld caps lock button there...

djpm

Sorry, it's font size, not caps!

GoHardOrGoHome

The Bus

Woke up at 4:50am. Didn’t need my second 'just-in-case' alarm.

Got on the bus and Dapope was there. Had a coffee and a pain au chocolat from the café at Westport house which opened at 5am for us. I also had a few bites of sandwich that I had made on the Friday, sipped on a Lucozade Sport orange drink and ate a banana. If only I’d known they were serving porridge. I would have had some nice porridge with honey at 5am which would have given me enough time to digest before my 7am start time.

The Run

I had decided to go out reasonably hard as I reckoned I could catch my breath at the kayak transition and during the kayak stage. We arrived at the beach and there was a ten second count down and then we were off. No blessing from the parish priest this year. It’s not really a community event. It’s very much a commercial undertaking and it felt like it this year.

There was a bit of a mad scramble up through the sand and onto the road. I went off at a good pace and caught up with Dapope. No sign of Dunebuggy which I thought was a bit odd seeing as I had been chatting with him the day before at registration.

After running along the road for maybe 5-10 minutes there was a crowd of competitors from the 6:00 bus who were waiting to go down to the start line. There were a couple of roars of support from a kayaking mate and from Dunebuggy who was put onto the 6:00 bus because there wasn’t enough room on the 5:30 buses.

There’s was a lot more undulating than I remembered! Sorry if I misled anybody from other posts describing the first run. Really enjoyed running downhill and caught a few people on these descents. I lost a banana from all the bouncing! Then we came to the first climb. Brian Keogh (who’s organising Achill Roar Adventure Race in three weeks time) caught me at this point. The steep descent on the other side was very tricky. I had very grippy runners which were great but the people ahead of me still managed to create a bigger gap. Then we got onto the track which I remembered from last year was going to be mucky with deep puddles. There was no option but to just plough through it. The crowd seemed to spread out quite quickly and there was only one guy in view ahead of me and one guy in view behind me. The views of Killary harbour were incredible. I think I slowed up a bit when we got back on the road but I tried to keep within reach of one or two guys ahead of me. Eventually I could see the kayak transition and ran hard to the timing mat.

Kayak Transition

Entered transition and there were four guys ahead of me having various parts of their gear checked. I was asked for my first aid kit which I produced and put away quickly. Quick visit to the toilet and washed my face at the water station. It was a pretty warm morning run! Had a few mouthfuls of water but didn’t eat anything. Dapope was there having finished the run about 2 minutes quicker than me. We agreed to do the kayak together. The reason he wasn’t ten minutes quicker than me was because of a calf injury he picked up 2 ½ weeks ago.

Kayaking Killary Harbour and run to Delphi

I got in the back of the kayak and Dapope hopped in the front and we were off. We got off to a good start and I was able to match my paddling to Dapope’s. We didn’t quite catch anybody but we hammered it the last ten metres to the shore and nearly collided with some poor lad who was standing by his boat. He didn’t seem in too much of a rush to get off the bank. We handed our jackets and paddles to the marshals and off we were running again. We had to climb up a steep bank and then we were off across the boggy field. There was no established path at this point. I’m sure the later waves had a more clear idea of where to go. Dapope and I passed a couple of people on our way to Delphi Adventure centre.

Delphi Transition

We ran into the bike transition and a guy was shouting at us to stop running. What for? I don’t know. It was a bit crazy. "What’s your number?" he said
"one, zero, zero, five " I replied and tried to move on.
"Do you know where you number is?"
"It fell off it’s in my side pocket" I replied and tried to move on.
"No, do you know where your bike is?"
"yeah, third rack from the back in the corner, I’m going".

At this point I just kept moving not really wanting to continue the fascinating conversation.

As I’m sure a lot of people will have remarked the bike transition was fairly marshy which was a pity. Also there was no neutralisation of the transition area i.e. you could be very lucky and have your bike parked 5 metres from the entry and exit or, like me, you could be in the far corner of the field and have to run (sorry, walk) through deep muck to get your bike. Often in triathlon’s there will be a separate entry and exit so that nobody gets an advantage from their position in the transition area.

Cycle - Delphi to Croagh Patrick

Anyway, Dapope was gone at this stage flying off on his spanking new Focus Cayo. I had the shades on and started off on the road out of Delphi. I had a decent drink of my Lucozade Sport tropical and downed a gel. Washed it down with some water and got onto the job in hand. The cycle. Felt great sweeping along the road. Took the right turn off the Louisburgh road up towards Drummin. That part of the route is surprisingly smooth I thought. Couple of locals zoomed by in the opposite direction and didn’t slow down which I thought would be just common courtesy considering the road is narrow and they were passing quite close to us.

Apparently at this point I was 25th from my wave which was great. Cycling, however, is not my strong point. I was caught by a couple of guys who were just a lot stronger than I was. Effortlessly gliding by as I was at my limit of continuous effort. Groups of two and three and one group of six riders overtook me. There was a long drag of an uphill which eventually got quite steep (not to a real cyclist but to a normal pleb like me it was steep!) I alternated between getting out of the saddle and peddling in gear (1,3) or sitting down and peddling in gear (1,1) - the easiest. Don’t ask me what my gear ratio is because I haven’t a notion. Whatever the stock cassette is.

The summit came quicker than I expected. I wasn’t quite dreading this climb but I think I had built it up to be longer and more arduous than it turned out to be. The descent is very slippery with some loose gravel in the median just to mix things up. A guy ahead of me came off his bike not far from me. Back wheel slid out. He said he was fine when I asked and later on when he caught up with me he told me he had to pull the brakes back into position which delayed him a couple of minutes. I went as fast as I felt comfortable going (read: white knuckles gripping the brakes for dear life). At the end of the descent there is a sharpish left turn and there was a civil defence ambulance waiting there. I assumed there had been a fatality or two but apparently not. This same ambulance seemed to shadow me for the whole cycle. Maybe they thought I was a liability. The worst part of the bike is the climb to Croagh Patrick. You’re fairly tired at this point and the hill is really energy sapping. A guy ahead of me hopped off his bike and looked at his back wheel? "Do you have a puncture?" "No, I was going so slow I thought I had" he said with a wry smile.

Croagh Patrick

At Croagh Patrick I racked my bike and took a drink of Lucozade Sport. Left my helmet with the bike (noticed a few people who kept theirs on, maybe not a bad idea in case you take a spill!) and kept my backpack on! Didn’t take any of the figrolls or the Lucozade Sport that was offered. I took a drink of water and started up the "hill"! I avoided the zig zag and took a more direct line up towards Croagh Patrick. I reckoned I’d be walking up the zig zag anyway (not running) so I might as well be walking directly towards the summit. I felt quite slow on the ascent and was hoping to make it up on the descent. But no! I was overtaken by quite a few people. Legs felt very tired at this point. I took a sub optimal route down and put my weight down awkwardly on my right ankle which buckled and I was worried for a second that I had actually injured it but I was alright. I was four minutes slower up and down Croagh Patrick than I was last year. I think this was because I was less cycling fit and had to push harder on the bike leaving my legs emptier for Croagh Patrick. Weather was good enough (for the first few waves) that I didn’t have to put on my jacket or hat. Conditions were worse for the later waves.

Cycle - Croagh Patrick to Westport

Got back to the bikes and onto the road. Flew down the road where I had struggled up about an hour previously. Didn’t want to brake and lose kinetic energy but didn’t want to break any bones either in a collision. Got to the offroad bit and cycled for quite a bit more than I had last year. I was reasonably confident cycling on this part as I had my Armadillo tyres on the bike and I was (newly) comfortable changing a tube if I did get a puncture. Nevertheless I hopped off the bike and hopped on depending on the terrain. There was one large puddle (mini-lake) which looked benign enough but I slowed down to cycle through it. Another guy from behind cycled through it at a fair clip and the blasphemous outpouring led me to believe that it was quite rocky underneath the water. I was passed by maybe two people along this part. Then we got to a reasonably steep section which was quite bumpy. My chain got caught up in itself and instead of freewheeling down to the road and fixing it there I stopped, put the bike upside down and spent a couple of minutes untangling the chain. I hopped back on and on the last descent the chain got tangled up again. I’d say about eight people passed me while I was getting the chain back on a second time. Very annoying! Eventually got back on the road and had a fairly uneventful trip back to Westport. Quite enjoyed the last cycle!

Back along the quay I pushed hard along the driveway to Westport House. There were a few cheers which was great. I cycled up to the rack where a marshal took my bike. Nice! Ran the last 200 metres or so up and around a little grassy track to the finish line.

Epilogue!

I was 60 seconds slower than last year. D’oh! 5 minutes quicker on the first run, probably 2 minutes slower on the first bike and 4 minutes slower on Croagh Patrick.

Strengths : running down gentle slopes

Weaknesses : running on the flat, running uphill, running steep downhill, cycling on the flat, cycling uphill, cycling downhill!


Bring on Achill Roar!

ronanmac

It's very easy to complain about an event like this, and certainly there are issues to be sorted (no real need to rehash them again in this post).

I think you have to keep things in context however, this is an "adventure" race. For example, while I was cycling towards the reek and dying in my saddle, I saw four cyclists, who had set out in the elite waves (I was in the third wave) on their way back from CP, fly past the turn-off for the off-road cycle section. I managed to shout at two of them who braked suddenly and turned back onto the right route. My initial reaction was that Gaelforce organisers should have had a marshal there, along with the signs that were on the turn. Thinking about it later, though, a map was given out, the turn was sign-posted, and cyclists had an opportunity to check out the turn on the way to Croagh Patrick. Surely the responsibility for missing the turn was their own? Likewise with complaints about the descent on the 1st cycling leg, and the bad condition of the offroad section of the 2nd cycling leg. IMO, these are what the likes of GFW are all about!

GFW09 was my first attempt at it, and I loved it, will definitely do it next year. My only real issue with the organisation was the registration/bike transition, which was a mess, but competitors also need to look at themselves. The amount of bags left on bikes at the bottom of Croagh Patrick was surprising...

Congrats to PeterX on a fantastic achievement, how anyone can go up Croagh Patrick in 37 minutes flat after coming all the way from Renvyle is beyond me! Out of curiosity, Peter, did you take a time on your first cycling leg, and if so, how long did it take you?

nerraw1111

I seriously don't get people complaining about lack of marshals. The route was blindingly obvious, you were a given a map and there were marshalls at all junctions.

What more do you want? A homing beacon? It's an 'adventure race.'

People complaining about having to get up early? Good grief.

There was one girl in another thread moaning about the fact that she got her 'favourite jeans' dirty at registration.

matrixroyal

I think we are all getting a bit pedantic, yes there were things that could have been better, if they are resolved next year I would be very happy.

Certainly I wouldn't say it was a failure in any way, it's just that there were certain things that could have been much better and when you throw in the high cost people get that little bit fussier.

HardyEustace

nerraw1111 wrote: »

I seriously don't get people complaining about lack of marshals. The route was blindingly obvious, you were a given a map and there were marshalls at all junctions.

What more do you want? A homing beacon? It's an 'adventure race.'

People complaining about having to get up early? Good grief.

There was one girl in another thread moaning about the fact that she got her 'favourite jeans' dirty at registration.

I don't think there was anything wrong with her complaint.

Previous years transition was in a tennis court, this year it was in the middle of a bog. You were ankle deep in water whilst going to rack your bike.

She'd nothing else to wear for the weekend, obviously having packed light. I think it's a valid complaint.

Transition was a complete f*cking joke.

My bike was moved at some stage and I came into transition to find the chain off the bike and the bike was two racks down. The mileometer and speedometer now no longer work.

I think another poster on the other Gael Force thread put it very well when they said that all the positives about the race had absolutely nothing to do with the organisers.

The lack of marshals was a big problem when there were dangerous points on the road. There should've been someone there with a warning flag before it to warn people of the danger.

I think the reason people are disgruntled about the lack of marshals is due to the lack of foresight and care by the organisers. It would be different if they'd organised it properly and had plenty of marshals but they were looking for marshals up to the very last minute. My impression is that there weren't marshals on the bike course because there weren't enough marshals not because they felt that it didn't warrant marshals.

Given the huge amount of money the entries generated, I thought it was very, very poor.

If the entry had been half the amount it was, I think that people would not be as harsh in their criticism. However if you're paying that amount of money for an entry, you expect a professionally run race.

ragsod

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

Croagh Patrick

...I avoided the zig zag and took a more direct line up towards Croagh Patrick. I reckoned I’d be walking up the zig zag anyway (not running) so I might as well be walking directly towards the summit.

What is the general take on this? By the time I got there everyone was heading straight up the mountain - was it quicker/possible to run on the zig zags and then along the ridge and up the summit cone? I don't think I saw a single person running up the reek, so not sure it is any faster to do so.

nerraw1111

Maybe we have different expectations which is fair enough. But I don't think a marshal is needed to warn of a dangerous corner.

It's up to the rider to take care along the course and to be able to judge what is and isn't a dangerous corner. A bit of personal responsibility is needed.

But someone signing up for an adventure race and complaining about getting jeans dirty is a bit much.

HardyEustace

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Maybe we have different expectations which is fair enough. But I don't think a marshal is needed to warn of a dangerous corner.

It's up to the rider to take care along the course and to be able to judge what is and isn't a dangerous corner. A bit of personal responsibility is needed.

Sure couldn't you say the same thing about road signs? a lot of people wouldn't have had a chance to cycle the road before hand. I fully appreciate your points but for a particularly dangerous section it could prevent a very serious accident. I guess my point was that I felt that the lack of marshals on the bike course was due to lock of marshals which represents bad organisation and a lack of respect and responsibility towards the competitors.

nerraw1111 wrote: »

But someone signing up for an adventure race and complaining about getting jeans dirty is a bit much.

If there had been a warning given out that transition was going to be such as it was I'm sure that there wouldn't be a problem. However, they got greedy, over-expanded the race and didn't have room for a decent transition.

I've gone to lots of triathlons and the transitions have never been more than a little muddy. Ankle deep in mucky bog is not acceptable.

WithCheesePlease

nerraw1111 wrote: »

But someone signing up for an adventure race and complaining about getting jeans dirty is a bit much.

In fairness - registration isn't part of the adventure race! I had packed light, with a pair of runners for the race and trainers for the rest of the weekend which I wore to registration, which got destroyed. Same happened to a lot of people I spoke to. Was I supposed to factor this in and pack special gear for registration too?! In fairness...

I also had to leave my bike against a fence at registration as there was no rack for me. Took me a lap of the boggy field the following day to find it. Was just annoying is all.

I think that a marshal on every dangerous bend may be overkill, but we had paid enough to cover the cost of that luxury I'd say! I just wonder how the €85 a head was spread out - buses, kayaks, etc I know, but it hardly adds up. I was also one of the suckers that paid in advance for the after party that I never bothered with once I realised it was out in the rain - but that was my own choice I guess.

This isn't a personal attack nerraw1111, but you've been very defensive of the organisation of GF from the start, almost to the point of making me wonder if you were somehow involved and are taking it personally!

WithCheesePlease

And no way would I say GF was a disaster. I just hope the organisers take all of the criticism they are no doubt receiving on board and make as great as it could be next year...

GForcer1

ragsod wrote: »

What is the general take on this? By the time I got there everyone was heading straight up the mountain - was it quicker/possible to run on the zig zags and then along the ridge and up the summit cone? I don't think I saw a single person running up the reek, so not sure it is any faster to do so.

i tried CP a few months before GF, 1st time i done it i took the zig zag root up the reek and back down aswell, total distance was 4.86km...on the day of the race i went straight up, total distance up and down was 3.76km so works out less distance but much steeper going the direct way

yop

GForcer1 wrote: »

i tried CP a few months before GF, 1st time i done it i took the zig zag root up the reek and back down aswell, total distance was 4.86km...on the day of the race i went straight up, total distance up and down was 3.76km so works out less distance but much steeper going the direct way

Time wise how did you find the difference in routes? Was it very steep coming off the cone?