Waterford Viking Marathon 2014

tombliboo83

Massive embarrassment for waterford AGAIN! I've plumped for Dublin marathon this year and I'm glad. Id hate to throw up to 6months training in the bin

Dilbert75

eliwallach wrote: »

.............

I know. After last year's cock-up they ye've out with hands up straight away. This year? Tumbleweed.

MacSwifty

The weather was lovely though!!!!!

a little too lovely the first 20 miles were warmer than forecast and than I expected. I struggled badly coming in from Tramore just about made a sub 3.30 copped markers were out at mile 11 - I thought our little excursion at the roundabout at Ballindud was a liitle short!! As expected the ol' Eco Park was a little bit lonely for me!!

eliwallach

MacSwifty wrote: »

The weather was lovely though!!!!!!!

:eek::eek:

That's OK so. All is forgiven.:cool:

NoGutsNoGlory

Bestake wrote: »

By the way, did any one notice a bearded man dressed as a fairy pushing a pram on the tramore road lane way yesterday?.....or was it just my imagination???

he finished the full in 6.41.29 ... very odd sight .. there was a doll in the buggy as well... :eek::eek:

http://www.news.msn.ie/waterford-marathon-pics-1545086-Jun2014/

Bestake

NoGutsNoGlory wrote: »

he finished the full in 6.41.29 ... very odd sight .. there was a doll in the buggy as well... :eek::eek:

http://www.news.msn.ie/waterford-marathon-pics-1545086-Jun2014/

Interesting.

I was averaging 6.30 miles by the time I passed him after the 8 mile mark.

He must have been doing positive splits :D:D

EauRouge79

Disaster lads, I ran as a pacer and after last year couldnt believe what was happening when I arrived at the 10 mile marker with the watch showing 9.7miles completed. Another tough day in Waterford with the stopwatch!
Pity, as its an otherwise very good event.

mr.wiggle

Bestake wrote: »

Interesting.

I was averaging 6.30 miles by the time I passed him after the 8 mile mark.

He must have been doing positive splits :D:D

I have to say I thought exactly the same thing when I read the report on him:pac:
He did look a 'bit' suspicious just standing there around the 8 mile mark, maybe he was waiting for the 'baby' to arrive?

123agh

123agh here

I have read all the comments about Saturday's full marathon shortfall. Also that various mile markers were wrongly placed. To clear up any ambiguity I have contacted AIMS today to have the course measured and apologise unreservedly to all upset by the confusion out on this year's course. As soon as the course is certified internationally, it will be exact forever and will hopefully mean that the event can continue for some years to come. Also I would like some feedback from everyone as to what they thought of the course(s) as they were, and indeed the event in general and would take on board any recommendations that you have for us. I always say every day is a learning day. Thanks again to everyone who made this a fantastic day.

123agh

ger664

I would have thought after last year that the course would be measured to AAI/IAAF/AIMS standards before the race.

What standard was this years coursed measured to ?
Was it measured by at min an AAI/AIM approved measurer ?
If yes to above was the course marked/layed out as per the instructions of the measurer ?

If the course is short then no one ran a marathon on Saturday. Your time cannot be used as a qualifying time for Boston/London. You did not get a pb for the marathon because you did not run the required distance.

Dilbert75

Sorry 123agh but that sounds like too little too late to me.

NoGutsNoGlory

ger664 wrote: »

I would have thought after last year that the course would be measured to AAI/IAAF/AIMS standards before the race.

What standard was this years coursed measured to ?
Was it measured by at min an AAI/AIM approved measurer ?
If yes to above was the course marked/layed out as per the instructions of the measurer ?

If the course is short then no one ran a marathon on Saturday. Your time cannot be used as a qualifying time for Boston/London. You did not get a pb for the marathon because you did not run the required distance.

of course you can use it for london/boston. .... who is going to tell them the truth:rolleyes: MCI will count it as a marathon ..

menoscemo

NoGutsNoGlory wrote: »

of course you can use it for london/boston. .... who is going to tell them the truth:rolleyes: MCI will count it as a marathon ..

Exactly. I doubt word will reach London or Boston that the course was short this year. All they ask is a link to the results on precision timing.....

Itziger

menoscemo wrote: »

Exactly. I doubt word will reach London or Boston that the course was short this year. All they ask is a link to the results on precision timing.....

Unless of course they google Waterford Marathon 2014..... (Even then you might be ok)

ger664

menoscemo wrote: »

Exactly. I doubt word will reach London or Boston that the course was short this year. All they ask is a link to the results on precision timing.....

Sure we all lie about where we live for London hell even some of us pretend to be from Limerick :rolleyes: So using a 42KM Triathlon Length Marathon time is just another little white lie.

The B.A.A. however will verify all qualifying times before granting acceptance into the race. This is why there is a delay in your entry been accepted.

menoscemo

ger664 wrote: »

The B.A.A. however will verify all qualifying times before granting acceptance into the race. This is why there is a delay in your entry been accepted.

I think you are giving too much credit to this verification process tbh.

Off topic I know a marathon that has been short for a good few years now but Boston accept it every year..... How can they verify from Boston what length a course was??? There is no mention on the website and very little on their facebook page.

BTW I am not in any way excusing the fact that this marathon was short, that's a disgrace. Just saying that anyne with a BQ or London Qualifier from this race should still try to apply. let's see what happens....

eliwallach

123agh wrote: »

123agh here

I have read all the comments about Saturday's full marathon shortfall. Also that various mile markers were wrongly placed. To clear up any ambiguity I have contacted AIMS today to have the course measured and apologise unreservedly to all upset by the confusion out on this year's course. As soon as the course is certified internationally, it will be exact forever and will hopefully mean that the event can continue for some years to come. Also I would like some feedback from everyone as to what they thought of the course(s) as they were, and indeed the event in general and would take on board any recommendations that you have for us. I always say every day is a learning day. Thanks again to everyone who made this a fantastic day.

123agh

Bit of a shallow and insincere apology in my opinion, you are apologising for "confusion out on this year's course" - your apology should be for an INCORRECTLY MEASURED COURSE. Maybe, as a gesture of sincere remorse, you could offer all of those short-changed last Saturday, half price entry for next year? Won't affect me though, I won't be there.

At this risk of boring you; 3 weeks ago the local primary school (in the arse-end of rural Cork) held a fun run/walk. I was asked to measure a course (due to my stellar running career :rolleyes:) that started and finished close enough to the school.
On the Saturday beforehand, armed with my Garmin 110, I ran and measured a 4 mile course. I then ran the course in reverse, marking my finish line, mile markers and ,finally, the start line. On the Sunday I rank the course one last time just to be sure, double-checking my mile markers etc.
The Parents Association weren't too bothered if the course wasn't exactly 4 miles but I said that if it's being advertised as a 4 mile race and if they are taking money from people for the fun run then it should be done right, to which they agreed.
Just to reiterate, this was a fun run/walk in aid of the local primary school, most participants were going to be walkers (and a lot of them with buggies); the course was measured, remeasured and confirmed a third time all by 1 person in one weekend. Needless to say, it measured 4 miles (albeit Garmin miles) on the day.

It strikes me that more thought and effort was put into the warm-up dance for the quarter marathon participants last Saturday than measurement for the full marathon.

Dilbert75

Afaik the first year of the Waterford marathon was measured by an official measurer with Jones Counter method. Last year was a mess up with moving road works so it could have also been measured that way. I can't fathom what would have possessed the organisers to not have it officially verified in advance.

baza1976

Would anyone know how much it would might cost to have the marathon course measured and certified?

Tipp man running

123agh looked for feedback and recommendations last year and I gave him some...reply says everything and needless to say I gave this a miss this year thank god.

123agh wrote: »

Sorry tipp man running but i do recall running a half marathon some years ago when the distance was close to 16 miles People in glasshouses should not throw stones so I think we should leave it at that. Sorry for the late response but I was busy trying to measure three courses in one
123agh

I'll leave you with the exact same feedback again;
"The correct distance would be a great start!....No Excuses please"

Tipp man

eliwallach

Tipp man running wrote: »

123agh looked for feedback and recommendations last year and I gave him some...reply says everything and needless to say I gave this a miss this year thank god.



I'll leave you with the exact same feedback again;
"The correct distance would be a great start!....No Excuses please"

Tipp man

In hindsight, his/her reaction to your complaint for last year's event was of the playground variety, and alarm bells should have been ringing as to his/ her attitude towards a correctly measured course.

Interestingly, not one comment nor response on the official website acknowledging the short measurement for the full marathon.
Also on the Facebook page only one comment was made to which "we're looking into it" response was given (apparently, they're still looking). That comment has been well and truly buried under an avalanche of photos, one of which particularly caught my eye: "Roger Biggs, after completing his 781st marathon on Saturday" - no he didn't, he did, however, complete a very long run through Waterford and out to Tramore and back.
I'm assuming the organisers will carry on and wait for the uproar to fade away, which it will, but I will point all prospective runners for next years event to this thread when the time comes.

TFBubendorfer

eliwallach wrote: »

"Roger Biggs, after completing his 781st marathon on Saturday" - no he didn't, he did, however, complete a very long run through Waterford and out to Tramore and back.

Actually, the marathon club rules allow this to be counted as a marathon:

13.4 The runner must have completed the whole race entered, abiding by the event rules and have completed the whole course (unless misdirected by the organisers) for the race to count. The declared race distance counts (the runner is not penalised if the race distance appears to be short). However, a runner cannot count a race he knows in advance to be short. Participants in relay teams, no matter the distance covered, cannot count that race.

I suppose it's not the first time something like that has happened.

Ososlo

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

I suppose it's not the first time something like that has happened.

not in Waterford anyways:pac:

TFBubendorfer

Ososlo wrote: »

not in Waterford anyways:pac:

:rolleyes: I knew someone would say that, even before I typed it! At least last year everyone could claim they had run a full marathon, though!

Macaonbhuit

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Actually, the marathon club rules allow this to be counted as a marathon:



I suppose it's not the first time something like that has happened.

TFBubendorfer... Thanks for digging that up. That's good to know!

Trampas

Maybe they wanted to make it up to the people from last year.

So it even's itself out over the 2 years.

Getting coat and leaving now

NoGutsNoGlory

particularly caught my eye: "Roger Biggs, after completing his 781st marathon on Saturday" - no he didn't, he did, however, complete a very long run through Waterford and out to Tramore and back.

i'm sure roger counts it .. as TB pointed out it does count... :) and it TB says it its good enough for me..:)


I'm assuming the organisers will carry on and wait for the uproar to fade away, which it will, but I will point all prospective runners for next years event to this thread when the time comes.[/QUOTE]

why so bitter... build a bridge:D

Cabaal

NoGutsNoGlory wrote: »

why so bitter... build a bridge:D

In fairness I'd agree with you if this had only happened once, after all mistakes can happen to the best of us. But twice in a row is a little different.

I didn't run the event myself but I honestly don't blame some people for being pissed off, a quick glance at the Facebook page shows what appears to be a lack of real acknowledgement of the issue itself.

Don't get me wrong I think its great Waterford is operating a marathon but its just a little disappointing that course measurements have been an issue again

eliwallach

NoGutsNoGlory wrote: »

particularly caught my eye: "Roger Biggs, after completing his 781st marathon on Saturday" - no he didn't, he did, however, complete a very long run through Waterford and out to Tramore and back.

i'm sure roger counts it .. as TB pointed out it does count... :) and it TB says it its good enough for me..:)


I'm assuming the organisers will carry on and wait for the uproar to fade away, which it will, but I will point all prospective runners for next years event to this thread when the time comes.

why so bitter... build a bridge:D[/QUOTE]

Not bitter, just really pissed off and annoyed by, firstly, a shoddy approach to course measurement resulting in a non-marathon distance, and secondly a refusal by the same organisers to acknowledge this.
One of the organisers has regularly posted here during the "money-grabbing-phase", or registration period, but has only made a brief almost-apology since it transpired that the course was short.

mylifetoday

mylifetoday wrote: »

Courses are not measured by garmin... Certified courses are measured by Jones Counter... IS this a certified course measured by jones counter... ????

I'm from Waterford.... I ran the half marathon.

Can you please advise how the course was measured....