Waterford Marathon 2013

Runner2012

Panic over- all registered! Potentially incurred a few penalty points along the way!

Dilbert75

Good luck everyone - will be wearing a vizzy vest around 2m and again near the end. Expect an extra roar if I see a Boards t-shirt.:D

Bahanaman

Now where did I put those fresh legs.....[/QUOTE]

Dunno, but if you find them will you let me know?!:p

slowsteady

Bahanaman wrote: »

Now where did I put those fresh legs.....

Dunno, but if you find them will you let me know?!:p

Still looking......

Calm morning, looking good weatherwise.

JohnnyBingo

Porridge and bagel in. Supping on a pint of water. Looking good outside. Bring it on....

Dilbert75

Gary O won by a good distance.

Dilbert75

Pauline Curley first lady.

123agh

Mea culpa mea culpa mea culpa everyone. We only found out after the race had started that the first mile was long due to unanticipated road works on the quay that forced the turnaround point further than measured. We apologise profusely and know what it means to people. We were unaware and unable to do anything once we found out without impacting remaining runners. We really hope it has not affected peoples enjoyment on what is ...so far...a great day's running.

blockic

Did the road works just pop up this morning?

Surely it should have been highlighted before the race started by someone stationed at the turn around point? Marshals are there well before race start no?

Very frustrating when somebody targets this race, the biggest thing for me in races is accurate course measurement and many will go away disappointed with their time because of this discrepancy.

menoscemo

blockic wrote: »

Did the road works just pop up this morning?

Surely it should have been highlighted before the race started by someone stationed at the turn around point? Marshals are there well before race start no?

Very frustrating when somebody targets this race, the biggest thing for me in races is accurate course measurement and many will go away disappointed with their time because of this discrepancy.

+1 not good enough. It would have been very easy just to take the distance off the track at the end. They are getting a very easy time of it on Facebook....

JohnnyBingo

If I had my time again I would walk up that hill in Tramore. Was going lovely til then averaging 8:15 miles but after the hill ..... Slipped steadily until I was stop / starting for the last 5 miles. Average slipped to 8:55 by the end. Heat was savage too. Course was marked a bit long... Not really bothered to be honest but I guess if I was going for a qualifying time I might be peeved.

village runner

Too be honest It didn't affect the marathon as it came to 26.36 which is good enough for me. The half was badly affected by it as it came to 13.37 on waltches. But what it did do was it made the markers out. For someone with no garmin it would have effected your pace as you would have naturally sped up after mile 1 when you were way behind as markers.,
A great day was had though.
A fit steward approached the paced at 22 and said it was .2 long so when pacees heard this and we're already struggling the fight just left them. Heat was unreal in tramore.
I wonder was in measured by a jones counter ??? If the half was .2 long then the marathon would have been. So the marathon would have been only 26.18 odd then. There was an ideal situation in tramore that we went to a point and turned around. This could have been forward 150m so it would have cut 300m off it.
Great day and a great marathon venue. Great to see so many run for the 2 boys in tramore.
It was a bad mistake but I would def give them another chance. Great stewards etc. loads of water gels luc sport......
So a thumbs up for me despite this but get it measured on jones counter

Gavlor

village runner wrote: »

Too be honest It didn't affect the marathon as it came to 26.36 which is good enough for me. The half was badly affected by it as it came to 13.37 on waltches. But what it did do was it made the markers out. For someone with no garmin it would have effected your pace as you would have naturally sped up after mile 1 when you were way behind as markers.,
A great day was had though.
A fit steward approached the paced at 22 and said it was .2 long so when pacees heard this and we're already struggling the fight just left them. Heat was unreal in tramore.
I wonder was in measured by a jones counter ??? If the half was .2 long then the marathon would have been. So the marathon would have been only 26.18 odd then. There was an ideal situation in tramore that we went to a point and turned around. This could have been forward 150m so it would have cut 300m off it.
Great day and a great marathon venue. Great to see so many run for the 2 boys in tramore.
It was a bad mistake but I would def give them another chance. Great stewards etc. loads of water gels luc sport......
So a thumbs up for me despite this but get it measured on jones counter

Apparently it was measured with a jones counter. Official line is that both the half and the full we're out by .25 in addition to te usual crossing error which makes sense as the issue was related to the turning point along the quay at mile 1.

slowsteady

Does this mean I can have the 4 seconds I missed a PB by back:). Measured 26.47 on my Garmin, thought it was a bit off but not by 0.2.

Great day, enjoyed it even though I suffered in the last quarter, serious heat from Tramore on. Organisation was spot on but accurate distance is key, just made a Boston qualifier but would have been nice to have a minute or two more.

Oisin11178

Number one thing in a race for me is an accurate measurment. Better long than short though. Poor showing to be honest. By the way I dont think , we extended the course and only realised it was long today is gonna cut it. Better to apologise after than explain before was probably the thinking.

Sosa

Great day in the déise today....its a pity about the accuracy, came about when they had road works yesterday and the council put the barriers in the wrong place this morning which meant that the first turnaround on the quay was where the error was....out of the organisers hands imo, some may say they should have checked but they had 101 things to be doing before the race and they trusted the council to put the barriers where they agreed during consultation when they were planning the route.
I was pacing and it did throw us off a little but not too much, still got 7/8 in under 3 hours that ran with us....better long than short anyway and should not take away from the effort that was put into this event today....
I think alot of people suffered in tramore....it got very hot out there and the toughest hill on the route was out there....all in all a great day with a superb atmosphere at the newly laid mondo track at the RSC for the finish.
Onwards to 2014 and we will go again.

Gavlor

Sosa wrote: »

Great day in the déise today....its a pity about the accuracy, came about when they had road works yesterday and the council put the barriers in the wrong place this morning which meant that the first turnaround on the quay was where the error was....out of the organisers hands imo, some may say they should have checked but they had 101 things to be doing before the race and they trusted the council to put the barriers where they agreed during consultation when they were planning the route.
I was pacing and it did throw us off a little but not too much, still got 7/8 in under 3 hours that ran with us....better long than short anyway and should not take away from the effort that was put into this event today....
I think alot of people suffered in tramore....it got very hot out there and the toughest hill on the route was out there....all in all a great day with a superb atmosphere at the newly laid mondo track at the RSC for the finish.
Onwards to 2014 and we will go again.

Dunno about that. Leaving the council look after an important aspect of the race is a bit shortsighted. Given the room for error with that turning point considering it was a temporary turn it should definitely have been one of the 101 jobs that the organisers had. It's no big job to check that the first mile measures up ok as every other mile is measured from that.

I agree with all the rest of your comments, great day, but there were a couple of lads close to 3hrs that would have definitely been affected.

Sosa

Gavlor wrote: »

Dunno about that. Leaving the council look after an important aspect of the race is a bit shortsighted. Given the room for error with that turning point considering it was a temporary turn it should definitely have been one of the 101 jobs that the organisers had. It's no big job to check that the first mile measures up ok as every other mile is measured from that.

I agree with all the rest of your comments, great day, but there were a couple of lads close to 3hrs that would have definitely been affected.

2 people just over 3:00 that would have been under but i presume there are many more instances down the field going for other times...i hear you

babalobioddy

A great day, lots of water stops gels and energy drinks, the course was nice and flat and the weather ideal. I had my Kilkenny running vest on so there was lots of banter and support. its a pity the distance was long I missed my pb because of it so a bit disappointed with that. But overall happy with the experience.

pistol_75

Sosa wrote: »

2 people just over 3:00 that would have been under but i presume there are many more instances down the field going for other times...i hear you

Cost Gary O'Hanlon a PB as well apparently

village runner

I measured it as I said above. All marathons are around that. So I couldn't fault it. Great day. I might even race it nxt year if they take out that big hill in tramore. Jaysus it was tough. But when I rolled up it I was happy

isogel

I have to agree with village runner all marathons are around that mark .. cause of corners and crossing the road for drinks .. No marathon that i ever ran measured 26.2 miles .. you will always allow for that bit more
Sorry to hear that some people came so close to there PB but u will have another day to fight that battle
It was a great race lets be fair and on such a fine day .. really enjoyed it .. thats my little say

Tipp man running

Ah another excuse for the list...joins "they marked the start in the wrong place", "the lead car did a second lap of the town by mistake because the relief driver didn't know the route"..etc etc..

Targeted the half as I liked the route and this was probably my toughest and longest standing Pb....missed by 10 seconds!!!

To be honest I though the organizers got so much right and I loved the finish in the stadium in front of the stand...plenty of toilets and no long queues...well manned water stations..well marshaled etc etc, all the hallmarks to be a top race..certainly better that some of the commercial races I have raced recently.

But then the cardinal sin for races....

echancrure

H I run the half marathon today as a newbie (only 2nd official race with a previous 10k in frozen march).

I had a great time. Thank god the sky was overcast as I was atrocious under the sun in training. I was aiming for 1:44 hoping for below 1:40.

Before the start I was about 25 meters behind the 1:40 pacers: by the time I crossed the line the pacers were out of sight obviously (my mistake obviously!).

What threw me was that according to my watch I did the first mile in 9 minutes exactly, obviously way slower than my 8 minutes aim! And as I could hardly see the pacers in front of me: I sped up!!

Now we know that the 'first mile' was in fact 1.25 mile...

Thank god I could not speed up all that much, as I started to sweat and loose my breath. I put down everything to nerves and tried to settle.

And anyway by mile 3 I started to see the pacers way in front and my average time looked more descent.

I caught the 1:40 pacers after the first relay point, wherever that was, and I stayed with them a couple of miles: they were great with the encouragements and it felt good to run with them. I knew I crossed the starting line after them so that by staying with them I'd be under 1:40 no problem.

But according to my watch they were a little behind the 1:40 pace. I am a newbie and was not going to start to query them: I just went with the miles signs. Maybe they were going to increase their pace in the last three miles or so and leave me dead?

Staying with the pacers for a while allowed me to catch my breath and I felt good, so just before the split with the marathon course I eased away quite naturally without pushing. I could still hear them shout encouragements so all was well.

I was still worried about not making the 1:40 though but I knew the last mile was downhill so I forgot about the 1:40 pacers behind me and increased my stride.

The finish in the RSC was great, and as I entered it I had to really push if I was going to have a chance of making the 1:40.

In the end I did 1:39:43 chipped time and 1:40:25 gross and I am delighted with it.

Obviously the extra .25 miles worked great for me as it made me push hard (but not too much!) as it works out at an, unofficial, 1:37:51 half marathon.

I am a newbie so getting the length wrong seems a little ridiculous to me (I saw the explanation, but seems to me they could maybe have moved the finished line to compensate if they had realised early enough)

I had a great time, and although I kept an eye on my watch the main thing is that I listened to my body and did adapt to the wonky indications it gave me (time warp!) .

Definitely do it again, but only if they post the race number next time: bit of a long trip from Carlow just to collect the pack! I'll also try a cheaper half marathon next time!

[sorry for the long post, I indulged myself!]
Chris

Itziger

Lads, I've never organised anything more tasking than a piss up in a bar but wouldn't it be an idea to have a clued in member of the organising team go around on a motorbike with the council lads - or in the van with em when they're putting down the markers?? Just wondering here.

I tend to be the type to hit or miss pbs by very small amounts and a quarter of a mile would definitely have done for me on a good few occasions. Sounds good otherwise but I do think that it's quite an Irish thing to say, "Oh, twas brilliant, I wouldn't take the measuring thing too seriously".

There's two key factors surely we'll all agree in getting a marathon right. Hydration and measurement. You can screw up in some other minor areas.

Dilbert75

To be fair the organisers put their hands up and admitted responsibility straight away. As suggested earlier they might have considered dropping the part lap at the end to balance it out but that didn't happen.

When you're organising a major event like this you have to divest trust to some people or groups who should be trustworthy and responsible. The City Council should be expected to be in that category. I doubt they will be in the future.

ger664

Dilbert75 wrote: »

When you're organising a major event like this you have to divest trust to some people or groups who should be trustworthy and responsible. The City Council should be expected to be in that category. I doubt they will be in the future.

The last group or organisation that I would entrust with the accurate measurement or layout of a course would be a local city or county council.

carsfan

I did this yesterday as my first marathon and overall really enjoyed it.
Plenty of water and well marshalled.
The road surface between the Tramore road and Cork road(Green Road?) was very poor and as this was a point in the race where every effort was needed to keep running, it was difficult to concentrate on the surface as well to ensure not going over on an ankle or tripping.
The distance issue has really annoyed me as it threw me from the start when my garmin told me I had 1.22 miles done at the first mile marker. I know they are not 100% accurate but couldn't understand how it would be so far out when it normally isn't. I actually thought someone had interfered with the first mile marker but when the other ones were bang on I figured it was my fault.
In the end my chip time was 3.30,50 but by doing the math I put myself at about 3.28,50 which I am delighted with
I assume I can legitimately claim a sub 3.30 time?
It would have been a lot worse if the course was short as we wouldn't have run a marathon at alland the complaints would be much worse for that I imagine!

echancrure

Well I think you did fantastic, you are defo below 3:30, the distance confusion could have definetely played games on your mind.
Well done to the support,
But do get the distance right next time.
Obviously, it should be obvious that nobody can tamper with the course...
Regards,
Chris

carsfan wrote: »

I did this yesterday as my first marathon and overall really enjoyed it.
Plenty of water and well marshalled.
The road surface between the Tramore road and Cork road(Green Road?) was very poor and as this was a point in the race where every effort was needed to keep running, it was difficult to concentrate on the surface as well to ensure not going over on an ankle or tripping.
The distance issue has really annoyed me as it threw me from the start when my garmin told me I had 1.22 miles done at the first mile marker. I know they are not 100% accurate but couldn't understand how it would be so far out when it normally isn't. I actually thought someone had interfered with the first mile marker but when the other ones were bang on I figured it was my fault.
In the end my chip time was 3.30,50 but by doing the math I put myself at about 3.28,50 which I am delighted with
I assume I can legitimately claim a sub 3.30 time?
It would have been a lot worse if the course was short as we wouldn't have run a marathon at alland the complaints would be much worse for that I imagine!

Gavlor

carsfan wrote: »

I did this yesterday as my first marathon and overall really enjoyed it.
Plenty of water and well marshalled.
The road surface between the Tramore road and Cork road(Green Road?) was very poor and as this was a point in the race where every effort was needed to keep running, it was difficult to concentrate on the surface as well to ensure not going over on an ankle or tripping.
The distance issue has really annoyed me as it threw me from the start when my garmin told me I had 1.22 miles done at the first mile marker. I know they are not 100% accurate but couldn't understand how it would be so far out when it normally isn't. I actually thought someone had interfered with the first mile marker but when the other ones were bang on I figured it was my fault.
In the end my chip time was 3.30,50 but by doing the math I put myself at about 3.28,50 which I am delighted with
I assume I can legitimately claim a sub 3.30 time?
It would have been a lot worse if the course was short as we wouldn't have run a marathon at alland the complaints would be much worse for that I imagine!

Unfortunately you are a sub 3.30 runner that has yet to run a sub 3.30!

At least you have the peace of mind of knowing that its in the bag next time around.