Essential Races to Run in 2013?

BenMicheal

Would be interested to hear what people think are the essential races to run in 2013?

I know its subjective, based on training etc etc and I know that all races are rated etc etc on this site. But what would, all things being equal be your ideal race series entries for 2013?

brutes1

All the cross country as long as i am able, county up to national , great buzz to run against the best even though way off! . Streets of Galway and the Dublin marathon series are also on the list for me.
Plenty of long established races like Ballycotton , Raheny 5 mile ,Dunshaiuglin 10k and Rathfarnham 5k that are also worth a shot

average_runner

brutes1 wrote: »

All the cross country as long as i am able, county up to national , great buzz to run against the best even though way off! . Streets of Galway and the Dublin marathon series are also on the list for me.
Plenty of long established races like Ballycotton , Raheny 5 mile ,Dunshaiuglin 10k and Rathfarnham 5k that are also worth a shot

My top races for 1st half of the year are:
Raheny 5 miler
Dunboyne 4 miler
K club 10k
Rte 5 miler
Bob Heffernan 5k

rovers_runner

My favourites for early part of 2012 were:
Raheny 5(Jan) - Value, great organization, only con is narrow start road.
Bohermeen half (March) - €15, local club feel, great circuit, fast course.
IMRA Wicklow Way Trail(March) - scenic, lung bursting, leg splitting, great value with bus transfer to start
Great Ireland run(April) - still a fast course despite crowd and price
Cork city marathon(June) - Nice course with constant changes, river/tunnel/estuary/rail line/suburbs/long road. Favourite race of 2012

socialrunner

my only experience in terms of marathons are Dublin and Limerick and both in my view are first class, i did the relay in cork some years back and crossing the line to be told walk to city hall for a medal was disappointing, thinking of doing barcelona in March if anyone has advice

Timmaay

BenMicheal wrote: »

But what would, all things being equal be your ideal race series entries for 2013?

Putting the focus on the track events, I think mine already exists :P, http://www.irishmilersclub.com, well they don't have their 2013 calender up yet, but they always put on excellent well organized events! Only thing I'll admit is the standard for entry is high!

Timmaay

average_runner wrote: »

Bob Heffernan 5k

There's afew very well organized 5k races by the local athletics clubs in the leinster area on very fast flat courses which generally have a very good standard up the sharp end to pull ya along to a PB, Rathfarnham probably being the best, the Bob Heffernan 5k organised by Na Fianna, Kilcock 5k by St Cocas, Celbridge ACs 5k. All worthy of mentions here also!

spurscormac

Here's my essentials, very much Galway based...
I've only listed the races I've done myself & would go back to.
Some others I'd like to try but haven't got to yet such as the Loughrea & Claregalway 10k runs and I'd also like to get to a few of the Mayo races if the dates suit this year.

Jan
Allianz Resolution Run 5k (just got a pb, lovely fast course around the city, will be back)
Tuam 8k (Did this a couple of years ago, great local club run)
Feb
Maree 8k (nice course but can be exposed if its windy)
March
Craughwell 10mile (did this for the first time last year, fantastic club race, unfortunately will be out of the country for it this year)
April
Connemara (again first timer last year in the half, pricey but what a scenic & challenging run)
May
Galway 5k series (technically this now spans April/May/June - a must for all Galway runners, so much so that runireland crashes as soon as registration opens)
June
Annaghdown Summer Solstice 10k (great local race on the 21st every year)
August
Streets of Galway 8k (my own club race, will be helping out again this year instead of running)
Warriors Run Sligo (for a different challenge this is great fun, but registration is in May & sells out fast)
December
Fields of Athenry 10k (twas my first time last week, but those brutal conditions don't put me off)

nerraw1111

Most of mine would IMRA centric.

Dublin half marathon Plod – It’s a great race, cheap and if you’re not familiar with Dublin mountains, it opens up a whole new set of training runs.

IMRA Ballinastoe – It’s a real rollercoaster of a race. Really steep climb to begin with but it has an amazing undulating descent that goes for quite a bit, through forests, across MTB bridges etc.

Raheny 5 mile – Great big race atmosphere

Rogue Runner

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Most of mine would IMRA centric.

Dublin half marathon Plod – It’s a great race, cheap and if you’re not familiar with Dublin mountains, it opens up a whole new set of training runs.

IMRA Ballinastoe – It’s a real rollercoaster of a race. Really steep climb to begin with but it has an amazing undulating descent that goes for quite a bit, through forests, across MTB bridges etc.

Raheny 5 mile – Great big race atmosphere

Agree with you on the Ballinastoe route. One of the best IMRA races of the LL

Wicklow Way trail is a great run

Looking forward to the Art O'Neill on the 11th

yeppydeppy

If you want scenic and hilly try the Achill half in July.

Mealagh Valley Ring for anyone in the Cork/Kerry area.

10 miles. Early February. A tough tough road race, undulating (though it seems mostly uphill!). A good way of starting off the year with a tough one.

statss

Haven't come across the Wicklow Trail one before - at first glance it looks like it could be a good "training route" two weeks ahead of Connemara.

The K Club10k was my first organised race and I would recommend it.