The "flatline" Athlone Half Marathon – Sat 14th Sept 2013, 11am

snailsong

I was a bit disappointed not to meet a few more boardsies today. Had a scan of the main hall at 10:20 but saw no big groups and no Boards tops so headed off as my friend was keen to get in a long warm up. Met Statts at the start, the nicest hair in the 1:30 group. I'd hoped he would introduce me to the others afterwards but I guess I missed him after I spent a long time chatting to the other Mayo runners at the finish. Next time for sure.

The race was perfectly organised as everyone has said. Also great value, I'll definitely be back. Even the weather was spot on.

There was a lot of congestion in the pace group early on bit this thinned out eventually. This was my third attempt to stay with 1:30 pacers so when I was still there at 15 k I was calling this a pb of sorts as 14 was the furthest I'd made it previously. At 18.5 k the pressure got too high so I had to let the pacer go. There must have been another one behind me but I'd forgotten him. The pacer got about 100 meters on me by 19k but I pushed hard to keep the gap at that until 20k. I wasn't going to leave it behind at this stage so I opened all the taps for the last k. My hr was 195 constant for the last 500 but I caught the pacer and crossed the line in 1:29:19 chip time. Absolutely delighted to have that monkey off my back. Will now target 3:10 in DCM. Celebrated by running 800 metres with David Rodeisha in Galway on the way home, 3:05 or so but had to go very wide to pass all the kids :-).
Well done to all the boardsies who got pb's today.

Ps. @Tom Joad. Sorry I didn't make a bigger effort to meet you today. I trust you did your bit to bring us victory in the boards comp.

woody1

snailsong i was in the hall at about 10.15 with a boards top on but went to car to put stuff away and came back with different top on as boards one is too heavy to run in. i did see a few at 10.15, but there was a camera and a mic and people being interviewed so i legged it , shouldve introduced meself to a few sorry...

Tom Joad

1:34:40 and happy enough with that - 1:35 pacers got me home - missing training sessions hit home and last 2 miles were horrible. Good to meet lots of boardsies too especially the one's I hadn't met before!! (Can confirm that Statss' hair was still immaculate after the race :eek:)

Unfortunately only got to the race with minutes to spare as was meeting a mate off the bus at the bus station which was late.

Fantastically organised race and can't wait for next years already.. Well done Snailsong too - go team us :D!!

slowsteady

Tom Joad wrote: »

1:34:40 and happy enough with that - 1:35 pacers got me home - missing training sessions hit home and last 2 miles were horrible. Good to meet lots of boardsies too especially the one's I hadn't met before!! (Can confirm that Statss' hair was still immaculate after the race :eek:)

Unfortunately only got to the race with minutes to spare as was meeting a mate off the bus at the bus station which was late.

Fantastically organised race and can't wait for next years already.. Well done Snailsong too - go team us :D!!

You probably passed me in the stretch as I was only 14 seconds behind you - wearing a Boards top:)

blockic

quinlivan wrote: »

Absolutely delighted with my time: 1:44:19! I had set myself the ambitious time of 1:45 which was a 7min PB improvement - So happy to have done it

Nice one quinlivan good work!! Was 20 seconds outside my target. Finished in 1:19:31 but you made it up for me! Reckon we are 20 seconds under target!

RunForestRun wrote: »

1:21 flat for me, maybe a second under.. Never felt great during it but thanks to blockic got the best outta what was there today.

Thanks a mil for your company too RFR, would have been lost without it. Your still in super shape for Chicago.

snailsong wrote: »

I was a bit disappointed not to meet a few more boardsies today. Had a scan of the main hall at 10:20 but saw no big groups and no Boards tops so headed off as my friend was keen to get in a long warm up.

woody1 wrote: »

snailsong i was in the hall at about 10.15 with a boards top on but went to car to put stuff away and came back with different top on as boards one is too heavy to run in. i did see a few at 10.15, but there was a camera and a mic and people being interviewed so i legged it , shouldve introduced meself to a few sorry...

Sorry I didn't introduce myself to alot of you, was there for a few minutes at 10:10 but got caught on the camera and then wanted to make a quick escape in case I was caught again!

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

To the race organizers:
Don't change anything. You got it spot-on. Don't tinker with the recipe, don't change the price. As long as you are making enough money from the race, keep it just the same and you'll have a recipe that will last for many succesful years.

+1 to this. I felt it was fantasticly organised again this year, start was much smoother from what I saw and people were well instructed. Flew though registration and a great atmosphere at the finish! Hats off to the organisers and you can't go wrong with 20 euro.

Tom Joad

slowsteady wrote: »

You probably passed me in the stretch as I was only 14 seconds behind you - wearing a Boards top:)

Were you wearing a bandana? - If so tried to give you a shout out but it came out as a croak:o - I was all over the place by that stage!!

psychozeb

1:24:04 for me,good bit outside my PB from Charleville last year of 1:22:48.Was hoping to break 1:22 and had headed up on the reccomendation of a clubmate that it was very flat but found it dragged from 6 to 9.5 miles and seemed to be always running into a wind.Can't fault the race and Organisation,great value for money and everything went off smoothly.Pacing duties next week in Charleville but would love to have a crack off it again this year now and see is this where I am at the moment or just a bad day and move on.Well done to all the Boardsies on the PB's.

slowsteady

Tom Joad wrote: »

Were you wearing a bandana? - If so tried to give you a shout out but it came out as a croak:o - I was all over the place by that stage!!

That was me, the state I was in probably wouldn't have heard you. Pain was my only friend at that point:p.

martyboy48

woody1 wrote: »

snailsong i was in the hall at about 10.15 with a boards top on but went to car to put stuff away and came back with different top on as boards one is too heavy to run in. i did see a few at 10.15, but there was a camera and a mic and people being interviewed so i legged it , shouldve introduced meself to a few sorry...

So that was you!!! I came over and muttered/stuttered "Is this where all the fast people hang out " And you were just on your way out!!!! I should have made more or an effort to get the intro right but I got the jitters!!!!!

Seen a couple others, claralara and pistol I think.. Were they on camera?? By that stage I had given up on introducing myself as I didn't know how to bring up the whole boards thing without the guards being called on me

I'll try to do better next time

blockic

martyboy48 wrote: »

So that was you!!! I came over and muttered/stuttered "Is this where all the fast people hang out " And you were just on your way out!!!! I should have made more or an effort to get the intro right but I got the jitters!!!!!

Seen a couple others, claralara and pistol I think.. Were they on camera??

Haha. That was me marty! Sorry I didn't introduce myself . Next time for sure. Yep that was pistol and claralara the seeded 1 team who I'm sure will be denied victory based on early polls

Peckham

Catching up with things here. Some great results. Will be tomorrow before I get around to totting up the team times.

statss

snailsong wrote: »

I was a bit disappointed not to meet a few more boardsies today. Had a scan of the main hall at 10:20 but saw no big groups and no Boards tops so headed off as my friend was keen to get in a long warm up. Met Statts at the start, the nicest hair in the 1:30 group. I'd hoped he would introduce me to the others afterwards but I guess I missed him after I spent a long time chatting to the other Mayo runners at the finish. Next time for sure.

The race was perfectly organised as everyone has said. Also great value, I'll definitely be back. Even the weather was spot on.

There was a lot of congestion in the pace group early on bit this thinned out eventually. This was my third attempt to stay with 1:30 pacers so when I was still there at 15 k I was calling this a pb of sorts as 14 was the furthest I'd made it previously. At 18.5 k the pressure got too high so I had to let the pacer go. There must have been another one behind me but I'd forgotten him. The pacer got about 100 meters on me by 19k but I pushed hard to keep the gap at that until 20k. I wasn't going to leave it behind at this stage so I opened all the taps for the last k. My hr was 195 constant for the last 500 but I caught the pacer and crossed the line in 1:29:19 chip time. Absolutely delighted to have that monkey off my back. Will now target 3:10 in DCM. Celebrated by running 800 metres with David Rodeisha in Galway on the way home, 3:05 or so but had to go very wide to pass all the kids :-).
Well done to all the boardsies who got pb's today.

Ps. @Tom Joad. Sorry I didn't make a bigger effort to meet you today. I trust you did your bit to bring us victory in the boards comp.

Well done man, delighted for you, how did your training partner get on? I would have introduced you to a few of the heads afterwards but I left Tom Joad and RFR after a quick chat, was under pressure to get back to Dublin and was not in the best of humour anyway...1:31:12...just stuck up the report in my log. Well done everyone else! Great atmosphere at the race.

snailsong

statss wrote: »

Well done man, delighted for you, how did your training partner get on? I would have introduced you to a few of the heads afterwards but I left Tom Joad and RFR after a quick chat, was under pressure to get back to Dublin and was not in the best of humour anyway...1:31:12...just stuck up the report in my log. Well done everyone else! Great atmosphere at the race.

She was 8 seconds behind you. A bit disappointed but she's over doing it. She won a local half last Sunday in 1:30:08. I resisted the urge to race and cheekily did 2 miles of the course as part of my 20 miler, then met them all at the end. She reckoned you finished very fast, obviously close to the pb.

Well done in any case, onwards and upwards for DCM.

woody1

martyboy48 wrote: »

So that was you!!! I came over and muttered/stuttered "Is this where all the fast people hang out " And you were just on your way out!!!! I should have made more or an effort to get the intro right but I got the jitters!!!!!

Seen a couple others, claralara and pistol I think.. Were they on camera?? By that stage I had given up on introducing myself as I didn't know how to bring up the whole boards thing without the guards being called on me

I'll try to do better next time

not sure if it was me marty , there were a couple of others around with boards tops as well, if it was a tall skinny guy it was me, and if i just walked by you im sorry, i didnt hear you at all.. yeah there were 2 on camera and i was standing to one side like a plank for a few minutes and then i realised yer man had a mic and they were actualy recording and i decided to make an exit...

Lostnfound

Well done to the organisers - yet again they get it right, from hassle free registration, on site parking, non alcoholic beer at finish, decent technical top and all for €20. Puts other race organisers to shame.

This year they improved on the start which was somewhat congested last year.

The High 5 gels were a new addition although I thought they were a tad early at 4 miles.

Knocked a good chunk off my PB which I got in Wexford in April so happy with that.

pistol_75

Disaster for me today. Was on pace for 5/6 miles then legs just shut down. Stumbled home from there. Had a sore throat last couple of days which is obviously a bit more than a sore throat considering I had to throw up in the last mile running at recovery pace.

Flyer

antomagoo wrote: »

Very well organised race, fair play to all involved.

Sorry Flyer didn't hit the target. No chip times up yet but gun time was 1:37:54.

Mixed feelings about the result, at one stage I was well on for sub 1:36 but legs started to cramp really badly just after 10 mile mark & I couldn't maintain the pace. Still PB by 4 mins but reckon I could have gone quicker.

Cheers to Meno for the encouragement towards the end & big thanks to Pronator for all the training advice. Hopefully back next year.

Happy with run but no PB. Missed target by 1 and a half mins. We did our best. Good luck in DCM If doing it.

Peckham

I have the results done, but I'm missing one result - dublin runner. Can anyone identify him/her or let me know their time?

The team currently in first place have a two second advantage over second place, but dublin runner's result could affect the standings.

Trampas

Anyone know how the person who was lying on the side of the road at the drinks station at 6 miles?

DULLAHAN2

Trampas wrote: »

Anyone know how the person who was lying on the side of the road at the drinks station at 6 miles?

When I ran past he was saying a few words and the guys around him saying he was dehydrated. I presume he will be grand

iarmhi1975

DULLAHAN2 wrote: »

When I ran past he was saying a few words and the guys around him saying he was dehydrated. I presume he will be grand

He is OK, from the feedback I got. Mike Briody who is a local doctor attended to him while the waited for the Ambulance. Then Mike describes a discussion between the man and his wife in the Ambulance and being passed by the same fella with two miles to go and he was flying. Looks like a hydration problem

iarmhi1975

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Bitter-sweet feelings about today's race. Had hoped to run 1:15:xx and finished up with 1:16:04. It's a PB by over a minute (and I somehow still managed to bag an old man's prize), but those five seconds are the difference between a good personal result and one I'd be entirely happy with. It means I'll have to have another go at a half marathon at some stage.

To the race organizers:
Don't change anything. You got it spot-on. Don't tinker with the recipe, don't change the price. As long as you are making enough money from the race, keep it just the same and you'll have a recipe that will last for many succesful years.

Krusty, PM me and we can swap numbers. We havent set down yet for our debrief but we already have a few ideas for next year so it would be good to speak to some runners about these ideas before we do anything. In essence everything will remain the same. It's not a money race.

RedRunner

Well done everybody on some great runs there. Sounds like a really good event so definitely intend putting this one in the calendar for next year.

Aimman

Lostnfound wrote: »

The High 5 gels were a new addition although I thought they were a tad early at 4 miles.

I thought that too. I was doing the full marathon option and they would have been handy for our 17M point as we passed, but the only problem I had with them is that you need to take those gels with water for them to get absorbed properly, but there was no water option there until you got to the 10k marker station.

I ran into some problems in the second loop with the tummy (general bloating and cramps, not the Sonya O Sullivan type) and had to walk a good bit for the last 5 miles to finish. As the elites and front group were passing by, they knew I was doing the marathon and were giving plenty of 'Fair Play' and the like comments, but by the time I hit the last couple of miles, I was regularly mistaken for a half marathon runner who just went out too fast and blew up and got lots of encouragment from people passing telling me it was just a mile to go etc and hang in there. Was good to see the comraderie and support amongst runners. Mind you, I did also see a lot of HM runners that went out too fast and walking and then getting the pat on the back from random runners to get them running again.

For the price, it was great value and managed to enjoy a glass or two of the Eirdinger (which would have been ideal for me at mile 21 to sort out the tummy)

Excellent value for money.

Muppet Man

Well done everyone... well done to the organisers for a really really fantastic race. It genuinely is a PB course and the flattest half marathon on a public road I have ever run. I ran with the 1:35 pacers who were absolutely brilliant. They called out each mile split and they were spot on every time. I got home in 1:34:18 which was a 4 minute PB. I will absolutely do this race again next year. Could NOT fault it in anyway.

OK - Maybe a little bit more water outside the finishing pen (or a little further away from the finish line) to keep people moving "out" and prevent congestion.

Well done again, and thanks very much to the two 1:35 pacers.

Muppet Man

blockic

Peckham wrote: »

I have the results done, but I'm missing one result - dublin runner. Can anyone identify him/her or let me know their time?

The team currently in first place have a two second advantage over second place, but dublin runner's result could affect the standings.

If dublin runner didn't declare name before the race then this should be deemed team disqualification!

Lets get to the results!

Peckham

blockic wrote: »

If dublin runner didn't declare name before the race then this should be deemed team disqualification!

Lets get to the results!

If dublin runner met their projected time, it would completely alter the results. Let's give them until tomorrow lunchtime to come forward, if not it's a DQ and the results will go out as they stand at the moment.

blockic

Peckham wrote: »

If dublin runner met their projected time, it would completely alter the results.

aka them winning! that's why I want a DQ! Only messing by the way. Tomorrow is fair enough.

slowsteady

blockic wrote: »

aka them winning! that's why I want a DQ!

and why I don't:D.

Unless my partner is still running around the bogs of Roscommon we are still in with a shout.

This is a bit like a golfer having a dream round and losing his scorecard somewhere on the 18th:p

dublin runner

Sorry for the delay everyone.....just home!

Finished in 1.24.31

Brilliantly organised race