Connemara Half, Full and Ultra 2014

ultraman1

NameThatTune wrote: »

Lads is it too early for a weather forecast? Anyone from the area have an inkling of how the day will be?

Will be defo wet,dry,cold, warm , mild,windy and sunny......has been d past two yes...

ultraman1

NameThatTune wrote: »

Lads is it too early for a weather forecast? Anyone from the area have an inkling of how the day will be?

Will be defo wet,dry,cold, warm , mild,windy and sunny......has been d past two yrs.....

ArtieFufkin

ultraman1 wrote: »

Will be defo wet,dry,cold, warm , mild,windy and sunny......has been d past two yes...

Looks like rain for the ultra start followed by The usual grey muck. Maybe a bit of sun later in the day. Perfect conditions!

Altreab

ultraman1 wrote: »

Will be defo wet,dry,cold, warm , mild,windy and sunny......has been d past two yes...

and thats just while doing your warmup

*sticks head out window* Lads its Heavy Mist here at the moment with chilly showers and strong breeze but with the mountains the course runs through you could genuinely** get anything anywhere weatherwise


**Fek i will have Miriam/Rosenstock in me head the rest of the day now!!!

Kander

Yeah pretty much anything can still come in at this stage. Nearly every forecast is saying for a SW wind which will mean it'll be warm but with the hills you can get rained on randomly. It's Connemara after all

Ferris B

ultraman1 wrote: »

Will be defo wet,dry,cold, warm , mild,windy and sunny......has been d past two yrs.....

Better pack my waterproof sunscreen so.

Cabaal

Last taper run done for me anyway, roll on Sunday

EauRouge79

Best of luck to all running on Sunday! Dead jealous. A great event.

guysmiley

This will be my first effort at this distance, did the 50km in Donadea last year and found it pretty tough from 35km onwards. I think the preparation has been a bit better this time, and I hope to keep it steady at about 5:45/km all the way through if possible.

I took the latest results from the web site and did a bit of nerdy excel sorting. See the attached - may be interesting. This saved version is sorted with the runners who had the smallest time difference between half splits on the top. The red marked cells under the diff columns are where the runner increased pace. I don't think I could manage that, but would like to keep them fairly even.

Best of luck to all anyway and keep it cool :cool:

Canine Marathoner

guysmiley wrote: »

This will be my first effort at this distance, did the 50km in Donadea last year and found it pretty tough from 35km onwards. I think the preparation has been a bit better this time, and I hope to keep it steady at about 5:45/km all the way through if possible.

I took the latest results from the web site and did a bit of nerdy excel sorting. See the attached - may be interesting. This saved version is sorted with the runners who had the smallest time difference between half splits on the top. The red marked cells under the diff columns are where the runner increased pace. I don't think I could manage that, but would like to keep them fairly even.

Best of luck to all anyway and keep it cool :cool:

Very interesting indeed - any chance you could work your magic & do the same with the 2013 results: http://www.connemarathon.com/sites/www.connemarathon.com/files/cnm13ultra.pdf will be back next week to see if you've put up the 2014 results too!

Brenner65

Best of luck everyone. Especially for all the first timers. Great race. This was my first full marathon and I really got the bug after. Enjoy!

echancrure

First timer here.

Don't know if I am ready but I am well tapered anyway (and fattened this week unfortunately).

Weather looks misty with worse of the wind staying away: expecting same scenery than in the photo on page 8 of the current Irish Runner magazine (great shot btw).

Going very ambitious for my first marathon at 3:25.

Will be carrying my own water too because everybody says you should do the same in the race than in training (even though very few runners seem to abide by that rule!).

Looking forward to everything: pre-marathon, marathon, post-marathon.

Best of luck everyone, and enjoy.

Chris (aka 5442 during the race)

BrokenMan

Theres no need at all to carry your own water. There will be water in bottles every 3 miles on the marathon route. Save yourself the hassle and just pick one up at each water station. The advice on doing what you always do is more on gels, runners, gear etc.

Best of luck and enjoy the day.

opus

Best of luck to everyone on Sunday!

Must admit I'm a little apprehensive at facing the ultra again but hopefully it will go ok on the day.

guysmiley

Canine Marathoner wrote: »

Very interesting indeed - any chance you could work your magic & do the same with the 2013 results: http://www.connemarathon.com/sites/www.connemarathon.com/files/cnm13ultra.pdf will be back next week to see if you've put up the 2014 results too!

Same done for 2013. Seems that 2013 was a tougher day than 2012.

TFBubendorfer

guysmiley wrote: »

Seems that 2013 was a tougher day than 2012.

Correct. The wind was against the runners over the last 13.1 miles in 2013.

dublin runner

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Correct. The wind was against the runners over the last 13.1 miles in 2013.

Very true. The it was virtually all against the wind. It was tough.

ArtieFufkin

Some advice needed from previous Ultra runners in this race...

I'm just getting my 3 drop bags planned and I'm worried about not being able to find them when I come up to each station. Did anyone have any issues with this in previous years?

I'm thinking about day-glo stickers or something similar to help me recognise them.

TFBubendorfer

ArtieFufkin wrote: »

Some advice needed from previous Ultra runners in this race...

I'm just getting my 3 drop bags planned and I'm worried about not being able to find them when I come up to each station. Did anyone have any issues with this in previous years?

I'm thinking about day-glo stickers or something similar to help me recognise them.

You pretty much have the right idea. The more it stands out the better.

I had 3 drop bags last time I raced. The first two went into distinctive boxes but I only had 2 of those at home so I just packed the last one into one white plastic bag.

Imagine the horror at mile 30 when I came across the ultra table with about a dozen identical looking white plastic bags on it! Ok, I wasn't exactly horrified but I probably lost half a minute or more trying to identify mine.

The other thing noteworthy is that any bags left after the 26 mile point is exponentially more likely to go missing. Funny things can and do happen to the tables that the half marathoners are passing by (nothing personal, halfers, no need for hate mail).

Oh, and one more thing. The 13 mile table is closer to mile 12. Many an ultra runner has passed that table with their supplies on it not realising that it was early and therefore missing out on their goodies.

ArtieFufkin

Great advice.

Thanks, and see you at the start line

Krusty_Clown

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

The other thing noteworthy is that any bags left after the 26 mile point is exponentially more likely to go missing. Funny things can and do happen to the tables that the half marathoners are passing by (nothing personal, halfers, no need for hate mail).

I have a particular penchant for Percy Pigs, so if you guys could keep your 26+ mile drop bags stocked up with Percy Pigs, I'd very much appreciate it.
Yours in running,
A greatful hungry half'er.

Ferris B

Another query for previous Ultra runners who wore Garmins.

What distance did the course measure? Just trying to gauge garmin pace vs real pace in case mile markers are missed.

... not essential information I know.

ultraman1

Ferris B wrote: »

Another query for previous Ultra runners who wore Garmins.

What distance did the course measure? Just trying to gauge garmin pace vs real pace in case mile markers are missed.

... not essential information I know.

I tink I got 39.8 last year on garmin

TFBubendorfer

Ferris B wrote: »

Another query for previous Ultra runners who wore Garmins.

What distance did the course measure? Just trying to gauge garmin pace vs real pace in case mile markers are missed.

... not essential information I know.

39.45 on mine

Cabaal

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Oh, and one more thing. The 13 mile table is closer to mile 12. Many an ultra runner has passed that table with their supplies on it not realising that it was early and therefore missing out on their goodies.

Yeah, I realised this last year when I was a good 300metres past the table,
Wasn't the end of the world, but annoying on the less...I just left it and kept going.

Won't be making same mistake this year,

Ultra distance was 39.63miles for me lastyear

Ferris B

Cabaal wrote: »

Ultra distance was 39.63miles for me lastyear

ultraman1 wrote: »

I tink I got 39.8 last year on garmin

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

39.45 on mine

TFB must have run the Blue Line.:)

Average is at 39.63.

Canine Marathoner

guysmiley wrote: »

Same done for 2013. Seems that 2013 was a tougher day than 2012.

thanks for that guysmiley, good luck sunday...

Tigerandahalf

I'm doing the half on Sunday. What bag or stuff can we take with us on the bus and are we able to leave it with someone at a safe place to be collected at the finish line?
I think it would be handy to have a towel and a change of clothes for the return journey in the bus.
Is there anything else one should have?

skittles8710

So nervous/excited right now for this as my first half..have done 16 miles in training so hope I'm able for it! The notorious hills have me shaking in my boots Looking forward to heading to Galway tomorrow and soaking up the atmosphere. Best of luck to all! Hope we're blessed with a calm day..

Tigerandahalf

Ya this is the furthest I will have raced too. I have some pain my knees lately so have took it easy enough in the last couple of weeks. I think fresh legs will be beneficial anyway with the hills. I have done upto 25km in LSRs but hoping I have enough gas in the tank to keep me going. I'm glad it's not warm anyway. I don't mind the rain too much as it keeps you cool. Hopefully the heavy rain will have passed by the time we start.