Galway Bay Half Marathon 2010

catweazle

3 laps :eek: Did you do an extra one??

I am their biggest critic over their 10k charges but fair is fair I enjoyed the half today. I did get confused though I was sure we only had to do the Mutton Island section once. I nearly fainted when I saw we had to do it again on the 2nd lap, I had put the head down for home far too early.

Enjoyed it though, found it very tough even though it is flat as a board, the wind is the killer. Ya same t-shirts but in fairness they are nice and they also threw me a freebie t-shirt over to the missus at registration which was nice of them

Nice start time....reasonably ok prices at 40 euros for the early bird, plenty of massages and a nice tented area. Far better than last year, would do it again

rasher_m

I arrived at Elvery's to pick up my number and I was disappointed when I looked in the goody bag.
I then went to the race next day and I was expecting the worst after reading the critical blogs about the race organisation last year.
I have to say the race was fantastically organised and there were 4 drink stations along the way. None of this paper cup rubbish and the drinks were pre opened so all I had to do was drink.
There were no problems with traffic and there was enough space to run without tripping over or running into runners.
The wind was not too bad, it was an easier race than the half in the park.
I have to say when I got back to the refreshment tent at the finish and there was another goody bag, then tea or coffee and a massage I was well impressed and thought my 40 euro was really well spent.

I also received a text message from the organisers telling me my time, chip time and over all place in the race.

Thx to all involved, I came down from Dublin and was really pleased that I did.

Speedy44

Any results posted for this yet?

rasher_m

Speedy44 wrote: »

Any results posted for this yet?

Well anyone who done the race got a text message last night telling them their time. I couldnt see an official race result page on their site as of yet.

LeoB

Well done on the half .It seems good progress has been made in the organization from last year. And as the posters have said, credit where credit is due. So maybe I will be more positive about it next year:mad::mad: . " lap coursrs can be harder. I did my first half in Bath, which is a genuine 2 lap course, I think it is a concentration thing,all in the mindset and really emphasizes that you need to train the mind as well as the body. ah well, I am looking forward to Waterford now.:D

cormy

I echo the positive comments posted earlier. Considering the race purely on the basis of organisation and enjoyability etc. it scores highly with me (I wasn't there last year so I can't comment/compare with that race).

The race pack was grand - the t-shirt is a keeper - and the post-race pack had snacks/a sambo/energy drink. What's more, the processing of finishers was handled smoothly with runners funnelled past the chip-collectors and into the marquee for medal/pack collection efficiently. Free coffee/tea, plenty of drinks available - no complaints there.

The start/finish announcer was also a bit of craic - he name-checked pretty much everyone as they crossed the line which was a nice touch. I think there was a good atmosphere on the course and at the start/finish areas, and the fact that it was two laps was grand - it's just a mental thing as others have said.

One particular highlight was a steward on the prom coming back towards town, about mid-way between blackrock and seapoint - she could teach the rest of them a thing or ten about how to encourage runners - she was bubbly and enthusiastic and really made the effort to cheer everyone on - both times that I passed her. On that basis, and given how much she was putting into it, I'd say she was a wrecked as everyone else by the end. Top marks to her whoever she was (fair/mousey hair, grey jeans I think - others may remember her). Zero marks however to some of the other stewards, who obviously just turned up to get their 50 euro and stand around in groups with hands in pockets - there was plenty like that. In particular a group of lads (two or three) at the seapoint roundabout who sat on the prom benches taking the p!ss out of the runners (a friend of mine was near them for a while so they got to hear what these guys were at/saying).

Getting the text with my result was also a plus (I was out with a couple of others that night who had also run, so it was good craic when we started getting the texts together).

Anyway - I'd do this race again - it was nice to have an afternoon start time and I think it went well.

doctorchick

http://www.galwaybayhalfmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39:2010-results&catid=4:news&Itemid=16

BRunner

Having run this race last year I thought there was a huge improvement and I really enjoyed the race. The organisers seemed to completly take on boards all of last years comments, they must also have been reading the boards forum for the galway city marathon and picked up on the feedback there too! Great to see some real thought being given down to the detail of the water bottles being opened for you, well done to the organisers

marchino

BRunner wrote: »

Having run this race last year I thought there was a huge improvement and I really enjoyed the race. The organisers seemed to completly take on boards all of last years comments, they must also have been reading the boards forum for the galway city marathon and picked up on the feedback there too! Great to see some real thought being given down to the detail of the water bottles being opened for you, well done to the organisers

i didnt run it last year but id agree that this was a very well organized race and as good as any or better than most around. fair play with the small BOTTLES too top marks. nothing worse than cups when your moving at pace. great atmosphere and a very good job from the mc/dj he made sure everyone got a mention. the funnel after the finish line was smart and better than the one in dublin. course was grand but the few twists and turns do break up your stride. wind was strong as expected IN PARTS. seen the massage therapists post race, always a good touch and to me the most under appreciated profession in the country. fair play to G.CANTY giving the x2 massuers a special mention after Cork won the footie this year. finished 2nd in this, but was dissapointed with the time so didnt hang around for treatment on the right glute which was acking <injured during the race> and didnt help for the last 3 miles. well done to everyone who took part.

BRunner

Your right, sports therapists do deserve alot of credit as they work flat out during these events. I think its a great addition to the race scene. I met the guy that I go to now at an event last year and he's really good and does a really good rate aftrer the events, it's so hard to know whether someone is good and by getting a massage after a race you get to try for free!

kraggy

Did the half marathon on Saturday and really enjoyed it. Was especially impressed by the encouragement I received from the stewards and general public along the course.

It was my first time doing any sort of official run. Did it in 1h 37 mins and came in the top 100. Totally surprised myself. Was really happy with my performance and am thinking of doing more runs like this. Never thought I'd be into long distance running!

Was glad to see info in this forum about other runs around the country. Looking forward to travelling to more days out.

domall

The Galway Bay HM on Sat was my first Half Marathon (I've done a handful of 10km's before) and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I agree the organisation was very good given the fairly large crowd and the atmosphere was good.

We were blessed with the weather really, thankfully the wind didn't blow too hard (got soaked by a shower walking up Shop St after it was all over though!). A one loop course probably would be better, but as mentioned by a few other posters, I think this is a problem for the mind more than anything (which I appear to be quite strong in when it comes to running!). The support along the way was excellent, randomers on the course were really supportive and some of the marshall's too.

A bit disappointed I didn't kick for home a little bit earlier, finished in 01:50:12 (chip), my secret goal was sub 1:50 but still really happy overall for my 1st half!