Clare Burren Half marathon

pudgey22

Anyone know if this half marathon is off road?It seems to be in places but i'm not sure, don't know if my ankles would be able to take off road for long!!
Cheers!

Irishboy29

Just did it and boy was I surprised. About half of it is cross country , mucky wet trail that a 4 X 4 would have difficulty with. There was also some very steep mountain climbs on dirt trail and some parts that were just not suitable for running on at all. It would be very easy to break a leg or ankle in parts if you ran.

saying that, Now that I know the terrain I will be back next year and will make up time lost on the mountain with faster times on the actual road.

word of advice. Get your place at the front if running. It took me about 10 mins to get past all the walkers that were up at the front.:mad:

If organisers are reading this, Please divide the start by having walkers at the back and runners at the front.

limerickleader

I ran this on Saturday as well. Great experience. The weather at the start line was biblical, pouring rain, driving winds, proper Burren experience.

The race itself was very challenging. The first three miles were on the road out of Ballyvaughan before heading off road, across fields, up steep hills, across limestone, along cliffs before a sharp descent and the last two miles were on the road back into Ballyvaughan.

It was tough alright and I guess there was a risk of injury. Thankfully, I didn't see anyone taking a tumble.

The first two finishers in the half came in around 1'24" which is phenomenal running really considering the terrain. The full marathon I think was around 3'30".

Fair play to people who walked the course as well, the sun came out after about 2 hours - there were a lot of sunburnt people crossing the line 7 and a half hours after the challenge had started.

Definitely one to pencil in again for next year.

OuterBombie

Howdy,

My brother and his wife ran the half as well. I live close to there and as I was dropping them down took the opportunity to bike the whole marathon route with a mate. We started out about 15 minutes before the race itself (there are a lot of farm gates over the route and they had them all open for the race hence took opportunity to ride the course fully). I've ridden various parts of the route but never whole marathon in one sitting :-)

Anyhow, weather conditions were nasty, fair play to everyone that partook. I think the Burren Walking club clearly state that not all of the course is runnable (but it is) but conditions were so heavy on saturday it's no surprise that the course was under-estimated.

If you thought that the half was tough, the full is waaaaaaayyyyy harder (POC would say more than "Ugh my Gawg") , kudos to all the runners that completed the whole course. The climb between mile 10 and mile 12 even puts hairs on the chests of the local feral billie goats. One runner told me he had to dig his shoes out of the mud three times!

Great to see the numbers turning up for a local event and I met no one that complained, plus the sun came out in the end. What better way to spend a saturday avro then watching the steam rise off the burren while supping on a crisp pint.

Next year I intend to be on the start line (all going well).

R.

Woddle

Are there results up for this yet, I had a friend running, so curious to see how he did. Also what was the name of the winner

heinze

well done to the organisers , i ran the mini and really enjoyed it, even the rain didnt put a dampner on proceedings. my first road race along with my mates and we'll definitly go back again. nothin like havin a pint after looking out on the burren.

anyone know where the full results are posted? thanks

limerickleader

Doubt there'll be any results published - there was no one recording finishers or taking names and numbers. There was no presentation either. Perhaps, that's something the organisers could look at next year but with people finishing at various stages over the course of the day, when would you have the presentations?

For what it's worth, first finisher in the half was Dermot Kearns from West Limerick, followed by Phil Kilgannon and Ed McEntee from Sportsworld.
I think, although I'm open to correction, that the first lady home in the half was Siobhan O'Doherty.

The first home in the full marathon I think was a Kiwi, didn't catch his name.

pudgey22

That was some race in fairness! I did the half marathon, was expecting some off road trails but not unrunnable parts, when I seen that second mountain I nearly died, found it impossible to run down that second mountain to the roads, definitely ankle breaking stuff! Never run cross country like that before, found it very interesting tho, really enjoyed stretching the legs for the last 3 miles at the end. Will go again next year, at least I'll know what to expect!
Agreed about getting up the front at the start of the race, I normally hold back cos I leave the lads going for good times start well ahead but there were lots of walkers about with their sticks, you'd think they'd know themselves to hang back near the end as they're not going for any time.
Medals were cool aswell, well deserved after the trek!

donothoponpop

limerickleader wrote: »

The first home in the full marathon I think was a Kiwi, didn't catch his name.

That'd be Jason Reid, mountain runner extrordinaire. Well done Jase!

jeffontour

I ran the full and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable races I’ve run recently. Despite the wet conditions for the start the organisers did a great job in keeping spirits up with a bit of live music, introducing some of the youngest and oldest participants etc. They had Brendan Gleeson as their celeb race starter also.

The course itself would be challenging in dry conditions but was reminiscent of the recent Howth IMRA race in places, mudfest in the extreme. Great craic! I haven’t looked at the stats from my Garmin yet but there was some decent climbing, especially the one around mile 11 as previously posted.

Aid stations along the way were great, chocolate bars, water, fruit etc. at the all. For the runners maybe some sports drink would have been useful but I just made sure to come prepared for myself on that front as they didn’t say any would be provided. There were one or two places in the first half where some additional course marking would have been re-assuring but that’s a minor point.

As for the walkers and runners starting together and no recording of finishing positions/times I think it’s to be applauded. The organisers seem to be developing an inclusive event for all. There are tonnes of opportunities elsewhere for people to be chip timed and get half way splits etc. The race organiser was at the finish giving out medals and had a word for all finishing as I was coming in.
I’ll definitely be back.

pudgey22

Quick question....Would that half marathon be similar to the IMRA races or would the IMRA be a lot harder?? Wouldn't have dared chance one of them but after doing that race I'd be interested if it was along similar lines?

jeffontour

pudgey22 wrote: »

Quick question....Would that half marathon be similar to the IMRA races or would the IMRA be a lot harder?? Wouldn't have dared chance one of them but after doing that race I'd be interested if it was along similar lines?

If you got round that half in reasonable shape then you'd be more than capable of finishing the vast majority of IMRA races. The section of course shared by the full and half had some pretty tough conditions so if the rest was anything like that you're well able for IMRA races.

If your interest in off road running has been piqued by this race then this is a perfect example of why this format of more casual "racing" works IMHO. People start with a fun run and before they know it they're hooked.

djmcr

I was thinking of doing half-marathon this year and as have no experience of off road running what would people recommend in the way of footwear for a race like this

ger664

djmcr wrote: »

I was thinking of doing half-marathon this year and as have no experience of off road running what would people recommend in the way of footwear for a race like this

I ran this in 09 in the rain with ordinary road shoes. Big mistake was on my bottom for a lot of it. You will definitely need some sort of off road footwear for mile 9 to 11 in the half.

Macanri

ger664 wrote: »

with ordinary road shoes. Big mistake was on my bottom

Try wearing your runners on your feet and not your bottom next time - that will probably help alot.

jfh

so what's the general consensus on footwear for this, would an old pair of kayanos do or would one need special hill running shoes, like inov 8s?

Ath36

Re earlier question, will normal Asic Kayanos suffice for this run/walk full marathon ?

Birroc

Weather looks pretty bad for Saturday. I have never run this event but what do people suggest for footwear?

ger664

We have been getting a good bit of rain do here over the last two weeks. If rain is promised I would think parts of the off road course will be mucky and the downhill sections quite slippy.

I cannot advice on what footwear is best for the conditions so maybe some of the IMRA guys can help here.

OuterBombie

Hi Folks,

I've did the full last year and live close by so have run the course in most conditions.

You will get away with asics but if you had trail shoes would be no harm in using them.

The mucky sections of the course will be the first climb (once you go offroad), only mucky for a few sections of it.

Then off the top of the first climb through a bog it can get soggy but its not too bad.

From there to Blackhead it'll be wet and slippy but not mucky. Coming down the backside of blackhead it'll get mucky again, plus its steep and tricky enough especially as you'll be tired.

I would wear some suitable clothing, if its raining then it'll be nasty once you start climbing.

Enjoy, we were unlucky enough to get one of the hottest days of the year for the race last year, i think that was worse, i nearly melted round Black head!

OB.

PS. For the HALF the second climb is VERY mucky, its not too long though, the descent is also very tricky in the wet, but I've biked it a few times so you'll live, just take your time

OuterBombie

OuterBombie wrote: »

From there to Blackhead it'll be wet and slippy but not mucky. Coming down the backside of blackhead it'll get mucky again, plus its steep and tricky enough especially as you'll be tired.

Forgive me if I failed to mention the mountain that needs ascending and descending in the middle of that section! Its too steep to really run up, certainly not after 10 miles in the legs so you'll be walking and it won't be too slippy then. The descent is sharp but mainly on green road and then road so it should be good enough under foot. Watch those quads though, its the break you section of the course.

Have fun!

jfh

OuterBombie, thanks for your very detailed reply, it looks like i'll be in the kayanos, ordered a nice pair of inov 8 but haven't arrived:(
u doin it urself?

OuterBombie

Nope, unfortunately, in retirement this year due to baby commitments :cool:

djmcr

Ran this in my normal Asics this morning. The weather was atrocious and the ground was extremely slippy especially the last descent. Only fell twice though. Very enjoyable race despite the conditions, makes a break from plodding away along the road.

Birroc

That was tough going with the bad weather. Dangerous in places. Delighted to have completed half marathon in less than 2 hours but I dont think I would do it again.

HelenAnne

I did the 10k route yesterday and LOVED it, despite the sheets of rain. Great atmosphere, lovely route and some great scenery & views despite the rain. Because I wasn't off-road, the weather didn't slow me down, in fact I knocked 3 minutes off the time I did in a very hot, sunny race in Roscommon 3 weeks ago.

My sister ran the 10k too -- her first race! -- and loved it. Thanks to all the organisers. We'll be back! (loved the medal & t-shirt too, and would recommend the Soda Parlour in Ballyvaughan for a full Irish / vegetarian breakfast afterwards!

jfh

really enjoyed it myself, is there any other similar race? first time doing the Burren and bitten by the bug..