Clonliffe Harriers 5k Xmas cracker 18th December

eoinín

Brianderunner wrote: »

I would have asked for my money back too. Ask around i'm sure you'll find a few more.

I'm sure there would have been a small handful of killjoys joining you in the clubhouse to argue over some meaningless statistical former glories as the vast majority of runners went off to enjoy what was a fun race.

Brianderunner wrote: »

i smell deception. People ran this race thinking it was a 5k and were lied to.

You're acting like there was a deliberate attempt by the organisers to fool people. As mentioned MANY times already the course was shortened for safety reasons alone.

Brianderunner wrote: »

it wasnt announced that it was shortened

You weren't even there. How can you possibly comment on what was or was not announced?

eoinín

pistol_75 wrote: »

The only query I have is if the track was not safe to start the race on it how was it safe 15 minutes later to finish the race on?

Two lanes of the track were cleared - not sure if this was by the organisers or from the frost melting as people warmed up on track pre-race. This was a wide enough area for finishing on as people were arriving back in small numbers, but would have been too narrow to start the race on, as either everyone would have to bunch up on the two lanes or people would have tried overtaking on the frosty lanes. The grass was wide enough to allow overtaking.

ac20

Im not a member of Clonliffe but in my view they have emerged with a lot of credit from this. I had a query on my time which was resolved following an email to them on Monday, the goody bag was the best I have seen , the route was well marshalled, atmosphere on the morning pretty good. When I finished I was advised by a member of my club that the course was slightly short, which I was initially disappointed to hear. But to be honest when I turned up just before 9am to collect my number the track was white and I wondered how on earth the race would go ahead at all. Over the course of the next hour I saw some people salting lanes one and two but there was no way on earth the full track could be used at the start. By the time I came on to the track at the end, lanes one and two were thawed and it was obviously deemed safe to finish on. I will do the race next year if its on. Im sure Clonliffe will look at next years race and have a plan in place in the event of the weather being unhelpful, which in December it probably will be. For me as a novice runner, it was great to get out on a fresh (and cold ) December morning with a few hundred others and run the race, that was the goal on the day for me and nothing more, and I think it has potential to be a big race in the years to come. Thats my opinion, I enjoyed it. For me the shorter distance is not an issue, but for anyone wanting to set a PB and thought they did I can understand they would be some frustration.

groovyg

Brianderunner wrote: »

I would have asked for my money back too. Ask around i'm sure you'll find a few more.
As i said above, make the criticiser look silly (by saying he's the only one) to cover up the race's shortcomings.
It was mentioned that an announcement was made that the race was altered, yet it wasnt announced that it was shortened, i smell deception. People ran this race thinking it was a 5k and were lied to.
What will the ad for this race be in 2012. "Clonliffe 5k (well 4.94km if its cold)"

Why are you criticising a race that you didn't attend??
It doesn't make sense.

ultrapercy

I think there is some serious winding going on here,that or there is some serious bitterness being carried around in the hearts of some non Clonliffe members. One poster said a shortened course was akin to having his heart ripped out ! Very dramatic alltogether over 160 m max, personaly Id rather run the short distance than lose an organ. The organiser says course was .8 short so adjust your time 25-30 seconds upwards and worry about the euro or the situation in North Korea or how Santa is going to get down your chimbney.The organisers did well to hold it at all.

PDCAT

i didn't run this race at all by the way.
From what i have read here, it seems to have been very well organised, with virtually all participants finding it a great day out. So for all those people whom enjoyed the race the shorter distance makes no difference. So fair play to Clonliffe in that regard.

However, the few run's i personally run every year are aimed at setting a PB for a distance. I usually plan month's in advance of a race i'm going to enter and build my training around beating a particular time.
I have in the past travelled up from Kilkenny to Dublin to run in 5k, 10k run's. If i had travelled up last week to run in this race, i probably would have been pi**ed off if i found out afterwards that the distance was short. So as other's have said, i can see both sides to it.

In fairness though, apart from the (important to some) distance issue, it seems to have been an excellently organised event.

mccarte2

I don't think the people bemoaning the shorter distance who didn't run the race would have been able to run a PB due to the extra weight on one of their shoulders anyway. It appears that all who ran the race can only say positive things about it so it should be just left at that. No doubt, it will all be raised again when the 2012 race is announced but hopefully it won't take away from what sounds like was a very successful event this year.

Mr Slow

mccarte2 wrote: »

I don't think the people bemoaning the shorter distance who didn't run the race would have been able to run a PB due to the extra weight on one of their shoulders anyway.

Pas Comment!:cool:

Peterx

Great thread.

Reminds me of the good old days on the old climbing emailing list, that used to be great craic altogether in the winter months with all the pent up energy and angst overflowing onto the keyboard only to die away in the summer as lads could get out and play in the sun again.

donothoponpop

Peterx wrote: »

Great thread.

Reminds me of the good old days on the old climbing emailing list, that used to be great craic altogether in the winter months with all the pent up energy and angst overflowing onto the keyboard only to die away in the summer as lads could get out and play in the sun again.

The amount of club runners I've met in the past month for whom Boards is becoming a synonym of complaining and whinging:( Threads like this just make us a joke. Seriously lads, the most important thing about a club 5k race is the race part, not the distance. Getting on your high horse because the distance was slightly truncated so the race could go ahead, is just a rant for the sake of ranting.

The Hammer

Well it is very easy to complain on any web-forum rather than complain the old-fashioned way.

I think for this race the negative comments are a mix of:

people who were at the race and are upset with the shortened race distance,

people who were not at the race and are appalled at the shortened race distance,

some Clonliffe Harriers bashing,

and general negativity

.

As someone who raced and was happy with both my *short* time and then my *distance adjusted time* - the people I spoke to after it on the cool down all said "well sure it was great to get out and have a race despite the conditions etc"

Personally, I have no sympathy for the commercial races who make a mess of things - these are "professional" organisations and their fees for entry mean we should expect the highest standards. Clubs are doing this all based on volunteers - and Clonliffe have said that they realise a few things went wrong - but they will fix them for 2012.

There is a little loop that could be used next year as a backup - in Northwood - up near the Ballymun end .. Northwood Road and Northwood Cresend.. Just simply run the race in through this (Google's imagery is a bit out of date http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Euromedic+Northwood+Limited,+Dublin,+Santry,+Ireland&hl=en&ll=53.401811,-6.260363&spn=0.007407,0.01929&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.188298,79.013672&vpsrc=6&hq=Euromedic+Northwood+Limited,&hnear=Santry,+County+Dublin,+Ireland&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=53.401811,-6.260363&panoid=jmSPZDoWKIYHxZn0fUBmxw&cbp=12,90,,0,0) .

charkee

And another thing about that race ,where was the brack afterwards.??

what is running coming too??

bad enough that some bhaa races slap on the full fat butter,trying to give us runners heart attacks,should be benecol spread only!


On a more serious and less ironic note,poster a few above has it bang on.The race reviews are becoming a moaners charter,..am sure clonliffe can take it from those that did race,

but the biggest angst seems to be from those that didn't . and that
is laughable.

seedorf117

never come across so much bitching about a race 100m (or less short) k=just add it on to your time!!!!!!
The organisation, the route were spot on.
The amount of prizes was savage afterwards!!
Loads of spot prizes too.
Tea/biscuits after.
Goodie bag was great,loads of gels,energy supplememts,bars,etc...

Ive no connection with clonliffe, but for 15e i certaintly got my moneys worth!!!!

the_hairy_onri

Just had a look on their website. Says they're going to hold the other 92m of the race in the new year. Your time will be added to your race time and adjusted accordingly. Also if you missed out on the buns they'll have some for you. Its also open to people who weren't there but were angered enough to moan about it on the internet. It doesn't clarify as to how they'll get their 5k time though. Ticket closed. Happy Christmas

AJCOT

the_hairy_onri wrote: »

Just had a look on their website. Says they're going to hold the other 92m of the race in the new year. Your time will be added to your race time and adjusted accordingly. Also if you missed out on the buns they'll have some for you. Its also open to people who weren't there but were angered enough to moan about it on the internet. It doesn't clarify as to how they'll get their 5k time though. Ticket closed. Happy Christmas

Finally, the voice of reason,love it!