clontarf half 29th November

bilko_con

Grand reply eoin- but the length of the 5mile was just one of the problems. There really should just be one race at a time. I understand from this, this is how u make a living but that doesnt excuse other stuff. We all have jobs (mine too is working in a voluntary body and we have to make sure even more that things are 100%) and the lack of marshalling/ signs along the prom was very poor. Quite dangerous for the public and runners.

I dont mean to be harsh but needs to be highlighted

born2bwild

I arrived dead late for this race. I ran from the east point car park all the way to the start line and just ran on...So I guess I ran 23 kms+
My chip time was a PB of 1,45 - 10 mins better than my time in July on the same course.
I put it down to the weather - it was actually better today than in July.
Also, the psychological benefit of overtaking everyone from the start onwards has to count for a few seconds.
On overtaking - I very nearly fell into the sea when trying to overtake a woman going up the Howth road - seriously I don't know how I recovered.
That I put down to her stupid headphones, probably starting in the wrong wave and the narrowness of the path.

PaulieC

The course was interesting to say the least, but some of the comments here are priceless. Almost fell into the sea ? Exaggerate much ? Also, complaints about the path from the car park to the start, are you for real ? What was your problem there ? You couldn't fit through the gap ?

I think some folks need to calm down and get a grip of themselves. There were a few organizational and logistical problems, hardly worth getting your knickers in a twist over.

The soup was lovely though, nice touch indeed.

Ginny

Did you go through the gaps? They were very tight and yes I saw some people who couldn't get through them. Given that and the swampiness of the path, it might have been an idea to direct people to walk the longer way around. No one likes standing around in muddy wet runners before a race.

bilko_con

Well after 4 years and running this twice a year maybe the 'organizational and logistical' problems should be sorted.

saying that muddy, swampy paths from the car park to start line is peoples own problem!

corny

bilko_con wrote: »

Well after 4 years and running this twice a year maybe the 'organizational and logistical' problems should be sorted.

saying that muddy, swampy paths from the car park to start line is peoples own problem!

True. The problem created by the two races merging was a prevalent theme in last years thread. I'm yet to hear justification or a reason why its not addressed.

rodneyTrotter.

I'd actually pay a fiver more to run it if it was a half marathon only and gladly come back 6 months later to run a reasonably priced 5m . Unfortunately I wouldn't come back if it's combined so badly again .
Hopefully Eoin will heed the comments this time as it could be a great race .

Now feet up and a bottle of red. It's been a long day!

ColmS29

First time running in Clontarf and only second HM. Left in wave 3 a bit behind the 1:50 pacers. Same problem with people who left in wrong wave until we hit the beach and too noticed the yellow with black band club singlets. Course was fantastic although my slowest Km's were on the sand in both directions. We're bless with the weather and would be a whole lot worse with a strong breeze. Marshals were great and a special mention to the female member of the Garda who assisted handing out water bottles at the water station just off the beach. Finished in 1:52:06 which was 9:59 better than the Phionex Park in September :-)

Phoebas

Can someone clear up a novice question; what's the difference between the Race Time and the Chip Time?
I thought that the Race Time was the time from the start of the race to crossing the finish line and the Chip Time was from the time you crossed the starting line to crossing the finish line, but I left in the third wave and my chip time and race time are identical.

Does that sound right?

TCDStudent1

Phoebas wrote: »

Can someone clear up a novice question; what's the difference between the Race Time and the Chip Time?
I thought that the Race Time was the time from the start of the race to crossing the finish line and the Chip Time was from the time you crossed the starting line to crossing the finish line, but I left in the third wave and my chip time and race time are identical.

Does that sound right?

Chip time = From time you crossed starting line to time you crossed finish line.

So this is the accurate time and the time you got.


Race Time = From time race clock starts to time you cross finish line.

So the first wave goes and then the race clock starts. When the 3rd wave goes, the clock will already have been running a couple of minutes. So the race time is not an accurate reflection of your time unless you were at the very front of wave 1. If you are front of wave 1, chip time & race time should be the same as race clock starts.

Birdsong

Was there a lead bike for the 5 mile, I didn't see one & this would have ensured people turned correctly. This is a commercial race so not sure about this quote re clubs

eoin ryan wrote: »

At the same token races can't happen without people volunteering to help support their clubs. And if nobody volunteers there will be no races for anyone... It is a downer - no question.

P_Fitz

The race sounds remarkably like the mark pollock night run. The 5km and 10km started at the same time, there were a bunch of walkers near the start. Both merged towards the end meaning you had to zig zag to get to the finish line AND the 5km was too long!! Two races starting and finishing at the same time are a bit of a disaster.

Of course the obvious difference was that the night run was for charity.

born2bwild

PaulieC wrote: »

Almost fell into the sea ? Exaggerate much ?

Exaggerate not.

Wubble Wubble

Clontarf HM Nov 2014 Race Report

Having had a fairly rotten second half to my running year (among other things, I abandoned my plan to run DCM) I was keen to finish up for the year on a high note. A stag do two weeks ago didn't help my prep for this one; I had a 14 and a 16 mile run the following week (35 in total) to try and compensate.

It took a few minutes to get into the parking at Eastpoint, but the walk up was ok, apart from two *very* narrow gaps in the "shortcut" trail. Lucky me in that I had "some" training done!! With a PB of 1:37 but a course PB of 1:47, there was a major discrepancy which I felt I had to sort out. With this in mind, I lined up with the 1:40 pacers (FBOT01 and another guy) and decided to play it by ear. Conditions were as good as you could ask for, so off we went on our merry way at the front of Wave 2.

1-6 Km

Incredibly, we were picking up huge amounts of people before we'd even gone a kilometre. In my case, there was a cordon of five from one particular club, and nothing would do them only to block me and a host of others as they filled the gap between two cars :mad: I can never understand the logic of such behaviour. Anyway, I was keeping a steady enough pace, although the narrow path with its slight drag was tougher than the flooded soft sand which we normally run through in this event. Once we hit the beach, I found a position roughly midway between the two pacers, and managed to hold station as we exited Bull Island for the first time.

7 to the turn

I picked up water at the station located around the 7 Km mark. This time I was a bit smarter than my previous effort however. Whereas in the summer I almost sprinted back up to the pacer after getting some water on board, this time I paced myself gently back up, and felt much the better for it. There were an awful lot of walkers, joggers and dogs as we turned right towards Sutton, all determined to have their morning stroll no matter how many might be attempting to pass. It might have been more of an annoyance if I was ever in contention for a prize, but as it was I personally wasn't really hampered. As we turned to face the breeze, I still felt in reasonable shape and was maintaining my position in the group.

Back To The Beach

I don't know if it's my imagination, but having now run this race four times, I'm convinced it's mainly downhill (although very slight) as you turn back in the direction of Raheny. Certainly I felt like I had an extra pep in my step at this stage of yesterday's event. Just after 12k, I found myself alongside the lead pacer. Whether he was easing back or I was running at a faster pace, I am not certain. But having edged ahead of him, I decided that I might as well push on and see if I could get close to (or even beat) my time from Carlingford. Picking someone to run with wasn't easy, as a good few guys were going backwards, and some others I suspected were going too hard too soon. I eventually paired up with a girl in a Trim AC singlet who I thought I remembered from the summer HM and a few other races, and we kept together into the wind along the beach. As you left the sand, there was a choice between running up the steps and scaling the bank. I used my cross country experience and chose the latter option.

To The End

I reckoned I still had a good lead on the 1:40 group, but didn't feel as strong as I thought I might, especially after we turned back onto the promenade, and the wind seemed to pick up again, to add to my increasing tiredness. Trim girl slowly edged away in the last mile and a half, and a good few others passed me too in the closing stages. However, I didn't have a repeat of my previous blow-ups here, and got across the line in a chip time of 1:39:16, a course PB of almost 8 minutes!!! (albeit two minutes slower than Carlingford) I'd a big smile on me coming up to the line knowing I'd had a good one (best for quite some time) although I wasn't expecting to see some poor girl in a heap on the ground as I crossed the timing mat. Hope she's ok.

So What Happens Now?

Overall, I had a fairly good year running wise, with PBs for 5k (Malahide) and 5 miles (Terenure) in addition to the aforementioned HM improvements. I also ran my first marathon, in Paris in April; something I would only have dreamed of when I started running in the second half of 2012. There's still some soft PBs that I will hope to lower next year.

To begin 2015, I am entering the Dublin City Council Lord Mayor's Challenge (five races) again. It begins with the Tom Brennan 5k on New Year's Day. This was a great incentive to me in 2013, especially as I was more or less starting off back then. I hope to beat all my times from 2013 there (Operation Transformation is replaced by the BHAA Garda XC). In addition, I have signed up for the Carlingford HM again, as well as the Connemara Half. After that, I'll see whether I have the fitness and/or inclination to start a marathon training cycle.

In the meantime, no running, just eating, drinking and life stuff. See ye next year!!

WW

Extrasupervery

P_Fitz wrote: »

The race sounds remarkably like the mark pollock night run. The 5km and 10km started at the same time, there were a bunch of walkers near the start. Both merged towards the end meaning you had to zig zag to get to the finish line AND the 5km was too long!! Two races starting and finishing at the same time are a bit of a disaster.

Of course the obvious difference was that the night run was for charity.

Dear god don't compare it to that night run, I've done that before and it was a disaster, I don't think Clontarf was nearly as bad, and it was much better value! Perhaps a 5k or 4 miler would be a better shout for the shorter race.

estariol

I would echo most of the sentiments already covered.
The course is not suitable for the numbers, and the logic of water station after the turn around is questionable...bottles everywhere.

Especially annoyed with the poor conduct of some club runners. I really feel there is a need to name and shame! Monaghan town runners (yellow singlet) please include some etiquette in your training programme. Your selfish and inconsiderate behaviour bothered me a lot of people I spoke to the in the finish area.

This race has always been a favourite of mine bit the standard of races (samsung, mark pollock etc) in the last 12 months seems to suffering.

bbability

I just wanted to discuss the race meeting in Clontarf Saturday just gone. As a keen observer to the sport I thought the finish line last Saturday was very poorly operated and supervised. At the 1 hour 40 minute mark or so a runner collapsed crossing the line. Nothing unusual there but the medics seemed to take an age to get there to assist even though the DJ/Annnouncer was calling for a medic to attend the finish line. It was only after I walked around the other side of the finish line that I realised that he was only broadcasting in the one direction so it made sense why no one responded to his calls. The runner required oxygen. A second runner who was carried over the line and was in pretty bad shape finished a couple of minutes later. It looked like the poor civil defence guys were really stretched with one tank of oxygen. Both were stretchered away. The finish line was so tight at one stage it was single line traffic to cross it as the medics attended to the injured parties. The civil defence guys were easily spotted with the hi-vis jackets but the marshals were not wearing hi-visibility vests. I only spotted one guy with a radio directing people to queue for their medal. The Dj stroke announcer was standing on the sandbags doing his stuff but telling others not to climb on them
It was an accident waiting to happen. I just thought it could have been better supervised. I know many clubs up and down the country raced at it at the weekend and just wanted to pass on my observations.

MisterDrak

Jesus, so much negativity for a race on a lovely scenic course, where the weather played ball...

Completely flat course, closed roads, well marshalled, with plenty of support from the lads marshalling at the top and bottom of the causeway road, and the turn. Loos everywhere, grass or sand under foot, rather that concrete...

Plenty of water, in bottles not cups, and a chance to see Gary O'Hanlon in full flight... What's not to like...

Lost4Life

This was my first time running the Clontarf Half - Really enjoyable race and after a 1.41 in the Dublin half, I was delighted to record a new PB of 1.36 on Saturday.

Just a few observations.. There were a few members of the public who I nearly crashed into after coming off the wooden bridge on the way back. I think for a race with so many people, some cordoning of tight areas is necessary. There was also an area with approx 2k to go where I had to zig-zag in and out of two cars who were pulling out across the route.

I also think next time, just keep it to the half on its own..the crowd weren't sure who was doing what race!

Also, a shout out to the civil service guy and couple of other runners who helped me at the 16km mark and at the finish line when I got quite violently ill!

Dune half marathon next!

Jay D

I think some of the comments are a bit far fetched. Nearly falling into the sea definitely springs to mind! Seriously?

It's a run I've done many, many times. Not the half marathon itself as it was my first time doing this one but I have ran that route. The start of it was tight, lots of bodies around and difficult to get through but there was the grass route available to get by. Little tight at the bridge too and slightly awkward mixing with the general public but that said, it is what it is and you can hardly have the width given for the likes of the DCM or other halves around the countryside, Enniscorthy for example because it's just so much busier with public and traffic.

I was running along after the first water station and thank God I wasn't wearing earphones as I was running with a friend. A corpo bin van is driving along with the two doors open for throwing rubbish bags etc in. So this girl a bit up throws her water bottle towards it, it bounced off it, she goes "oooh!" and the bottle comes hurling towards my face! Blocked it with my hand but like I say, thank God I was paying attention but it was a very stupid thing of her to do.

Anyway no one's perfect

I thought the second bottle station was a complete hazard, way too many bottles around and you really had to watch your step running along it. Where were the bins? Not to mention completely ignorant people who would just throw them in such an area like that anyway! I had my own bottle from the first station right back to the home stretch along the promenade before binning it.

All in all it was a grand race but I would share the view that it should be just a half marathon in future.

born2bwild

Jay D wrote: »

I think some of the comments are a bit far fetched. Nearly falling into the sea definitely springs to mind! Seriously?

Yes, seriously - what is so hard to believe about this? What is the problem? I'm not exaggerating, not imagining it. I nearly fell into the sea off the edge of the escarpment overtaking someone on the inside along the Howth Road.
I couldn't overtake on the outside as I would have run into the lead bunch coming back down the other side of the cycle path.

I don't understand what is so fantastic about this - it happened - or rather it very nearly happened I felt my balance going and I have no idea how I managed to fall back to the left but I did.

Perhaps next time someone'll fall in - will you believe it then?

Phoebas

Jay D wrote: »

I think some of the comments are a bit far fetched. Nearly falling into the sea definitely springs to mind! Seriously?

Its not really far fetched. For a lot of that stretch there is no barrier between the path and the sea and its a steep enough decline down.
When you're running in a bunch with not much visibility of the path ahead and suddenly you run onto some discarded water bottles, you could well trip over the side.

born2bwild

Phoebas wrote: »

Its not really far fetched. For a lot of that stretch there is no barrier between the path and the sea and its a steep enough decline down.
When you're running in a bunch with not much visibility of the path ahead and suddenly you run onto some discarded water bottles, you could well trip over the side.

Yeah it was somewhere there!
I actually really enjoyed the race - I got a good time and could have kept going.
There's a great atmosphere at it too.

HelenAnne

born2bwild wrote: »

Yes, seriously - what is so hard to believe about this? What is the problem? I'm not exaggerating, not imagining it. I nearly fell into the sea off the edge of the escarpment overtaking someone on the inside along the Howth Road.
I couldn't overtake on the outside as I would have run into the lead bunch coming back down the other side of the cycle path.

I don't understand what is so fantastic about this - it happened - or rather it very nearly happened I felt my balance going and I have no idea how I managed to fall back to the left but I did.

Perhaps next time someone'll fall in - will you believe it then?

I don't think it's far fetched - I run along there all the time and you COULD fall off if you went too far to the sea side or someone stepped out in front of you. There's no barrier.

Murph_D

Agree completely that it could happen. It occurs to me every time I run that route. But I would not overtake on the inside for that reason, especially not overtake someone wearing headphones - if the way to the outside is not clear due to traffic heading towards you, there's every chance the person will also move to the inside just when you are passing.

MeIsGod

I did the 5 mile on saturday and enjoyed the race, good atmosphere and a nice course. Ive done a couple of 10k's in the past but only starting running proper about 2/3 months ago. I was hoping to break 40mins on the 5 mile and ended up doing the 5.3 or whatever in 37mins so happy overall.
I thought it was Strange was to see the the winner of the half crossing the line between lots of 5 mile finishers, could probably sort that out a bit better.

Jay D

born2bwild wrote: »

Yes, seriously - what is so hard to believe about this? What is the problem? I'm not exaggerating, not imagining it. I nearly fell into the sea off the edge of the escarpment overtaking someone on the inside along the Howth Road.
I couldn't overtake on the outside as I would have run into the lead bunch coming back down the other side of the cycle path.

I am not saying you are exaggerating but I would say just taking it easy along there when it comes to overtaking people would have eliminated that risk. That's all.

born2bwild wrote: »

I don't understand what is so fantastic about this - it happened - or rather it very nearly happened I felt my balance going and I have no idea how I managed to fall back to the left but I did.

Perhaps next time someone'll fall in - will you believe it then?

I do believe you! Also I appreciate how annoyed I would be if I nearly fell the same way you did, I can just imagine the fear in the moment!

Like I said I have run that route many, many times. No barrier for sure but as long as I've taken a bit of care, even at the run Saturday, I've been ok. Bottles were a bit of a hazard though and I've said that too.

Philrunner83

I am wondering what the individual prizes were for this race ?

thirstywork2

Eoin I don't think as race organiser you can't blame the marshals for a fault with measuring the distance of the race.
Prize for the winner was probably a voucher for the gym.
I got a 3month membership for a gym for winning(3 years ago) that I would never use(too far away)

If people don't like a race then don't do it,simple really.
From the numbers people are going back so Eoin must be doing something right.
Strange to have an event on twice in the one year but if the demand is there who can argue.

Philrunner83

Ridiculous prizes considering the amount it costs to enter the race and the numbers involved .. As was said must be doing something right with it though so fair play to Eoin on that regard