Raheny 5, Sun 25 Jan 2015

Dubgal72

beertons wrote: »

Great race, big turn out too. Delighted with my first race, in a cool 41:30, give or take a second. The goodie bag is huge, 3 drinks. Nearly had to pull in on the drive home for a tinkle.

it, spluttered on my glass of red! Congrats on the time too

FBOT01

KielyUnusual wrote: »

FBOT just snuck in

Happy to just sneak in for a change:)

I see you snuck into the top 50 yourself KU. I am presuming that it wasn't a PB run for you but an acceptable day at the office all the same:)

Dubgal72

Thanks to Raheny Shamrocks and all the volunteers involved. It was a really seamless, professional, enjoyable experience. Of course extra thanks go to the organisers for arranging perfect weather conditions (tail wind up the coast road!!) only negative point for me was the Nestlé products but I'll take that to the Rant thread Thank you Raheny!

KJ

Joeseph Balls wrote: »

Yay official time 39.47
Wanted sub 40

I got 39.55. The sprint at the end really paid off. Well done man.

Joeseph Balls

KJ wrote: »

I got 39.55. The sprint at the end really paid off. Well done man.

Yea, sprinted too and gained a few seconds. Didn't think I had it left but rounding the last corner and the crowd were great. Stitch set in just after the hill, but thankfully seemed to ease off last 200 yards.
Fair play, next year we'll break 35

Wubble Wubble

Raheny 5 Mile 2015 Race Report

Pre Race
So far this year, I've been struggling to get out on the road, or up to even near the speeds of last year's highs. Combining running with preseason GAA training is proving to be a lot harder than last year or the year before! A slow Tom Brennan 5k on New Year's Day, followed by two even slower parkrun warmups, meant signs were not encouraging. My SIL, who's at the beginner stage, was running this too...she started in Wave 2 but was confident of doing well.

At the start I met FBOT01, yaboya1 and adrian522, all of whom would go on to have quite successful outings...well done them, keep up the good work!!

And They're Off!
I started quite a ways back, and soon found out I was probably about right in that respect. Congestion in the first mile was difficult, but even when the field thinned out a bit, I just couldn't pick up the pace. I got through the Howth Road section very much in my own time, thinking I'd have a bit of gas for the downhill section to follow. No dice.

Mile 4 was the only one where I made any improvements, passing a number of runners as we made our way along the Coast Road. I felt comfortable turning up the hill, probably because I was going so slowly. I hadn't even looked at my watch, but as we went around the first of the three right handers I heard someone call out "37 pace". At that point I decided to pack it in, and slow jogged the rest of the way past our supporters to the finish. I must have been passed by at least 25-30 people in that little stretch. A time of 37:02 (3 minutes slower than my PB) was just desserts really. I was in a major fouler on the way to picking up my humongous goodie bag, but all things considered I couldn't have expected much more. The SIL did a lot better, beating her Simon 5 Mile time from October by about 8 minutes, and whizzing round the last few corners at a much faster pace than I managed all afternoon.

Next race for me is the BHAA Garda XC on St Valentine's Day, one of the toughest on the BHAA calendar I'm told. Major improvements are needed in order to avoid another death march! Congrats to all who managed to nail PBs today, and well done to Raheny on the organising.

eoinín

I've put some photos on Flickr here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/86489211@N00/sets/72157650410150886/

more slowly uploading overnight / tomorrow.

That magic ChristieB semi-naked moment is in there for those of you who missed it!

menoscemo

eoinín wrote: »

I've put some photos on Flickr here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/86489211@N00/sets/72157650410150886/

more slowly uploading overnight / tomorrow.

That magic ChristieB semi-naked moment is in there for those of you who missed it!

One rule for Benabbad, another rule for Chisteb :pac:

fletch

Fantastic race as per usual, weather conditions couldn't have been more perfect. The "hill" seemed a lot easier than before. I was going for my first sub 30....at the bottom of the hill, I was over 40 seconds ahead of target so knew I could drop back a little bit going up the hill. Crossed the line by my Garmin in 29'32"....delighted!

The timing website has my chip time and race time exactly the same. I started a good few rows back, so maybe took 4-5 seconds to cross the start line....anybody else's like that?

Fiona44

Let me start by saying what a fantastic race this is. The organisation is really top notch and it's a highlight of the year for me!
I didn't think they could improve on anything from last year but they did - really appreciated the extra space along the coast road from closing the road this year and the portaloos & bag drop were also a welcome addition!

If I could make one tiny criticism it would be that the timing mat at the start is a few meters back from the start banner. I started my watch going under the banner so my finishing time was slower than I thought! But that's a really minor thing! Also a few more volunteers at the bag drop to speed things up.

Really enjoyed myself and delighted with my time! Well done Raheny on another great race!

This Fat Girl Runs

I finished in 1:08:17, 3 minutes faster than my last 5 mile race time! Woot!

davedanon

I'm in training for London, so the prospective lack of a long run at the weekend was bothering me. I decided to get out to Raheny early and do a long warm-up, and a couple after. Did three by myself, then a couple more with clubmates when the Tallaght hordes turned up (I think there were more than a hundred athletes there from Tallaght and Bros. Pearse combined - we'll be watching Raheny's attendance at the Tallaght AC 5k with interest - I believe they decamped en masse to Drogheda last year). I figured that sub-33 would be a decent showing for me based on recent performances, so I was very happy with my 32.31, and I felt pretty fresh afterwards too, the last two miles of my 'long run' were easy enough. Ended up with 12.5 miles on the day, so I was quite satisfied with my efforts.

Krusty_Clown

Fiona44 wrote: »

If I could make one tiny criticism it would be that the timing mat at the start is a few meters back from the start banner. I started my watch going under the banner so my finishing time was slower than I thought! But that's a really minor thing!

Fair point, but I don't think it's the starting gantry. I think it's technically the finish line gantry. They move the chip timing mats under the finish gantry for the end of the race. The loop must be slightly under 5 miles, so they have to move the starting chip mats forward a little to make the distance accurate. Probably don't have enough time to move the gantry as well as the chip mats and there's little point in having two gantrys (gantries?!) just 30m apart, but doesn't help much if you can't see the chip mats at the start! I started my watch on the gun, but that's not too useful if you're back in the pack, or in the second wave.

Krusty_Clown

Second time doing this race, but last time was a few years back, so I'd forgotten just how big a race this is. Despite the crowds, organization was top-notch and nothing was left to chance. Great to have a race with such a high caliber field as it really gives you an opportunity to run your best time, with so many strong runners to chase. Sadly, missed the tea and cake as I was in the wrong hall, watching the handing out of the domestic appliances. There were so few people at the awards ceremony, I'd imagine most of the spot-prizes went un-collected and somebody in Raheny now has a house full of toasters and kettles.

adrian522

Yeah a bit strange having the Tea in the GAA club (which was packed) and the prize giving across the road which seemed empty.

I hung around for about an hour afterward, I think it was about 5pm when I was heading away.

davedanon

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Fair point, but I don't think it's the starting gantry. I think it's technically the finish line gantry. They move the chip timing mats under the finish gantry for the end of the race. The loop must be slightly under 5 miles, so they have to move the starting chip mats forward a little to make the distance accurate. Probably don't have enough time to move the gantry as well as the chip mats and there's little point in having two gantrys (gantries?!) just 30m apart, but doesn't help much if you can't see the chip mats at the start! I started my watch on the gun, but that's not too useful if you're back in the pack, or in the second wave.

I was a little confused too. Saw the first mat, then didn't see a second one at the start line (the gantry) so pressed the button, then saw a second mat. The race clock was showing 11 secs at that stage, so didn't know which way my chip time was going to go. At the end my Garmin said 32.28. Gun time was 32.41, chip time 32.31. Clocked it at 4.96, btw, although I'm sure that's a Garmin error. Also there was a spot on the course where EVERYONE cut the corner by going up on the path. I had scrupulously avoided any of that hitherto, but I was tired and I was ****ed if anyone around me was getting an unfair advantage. Maybe I should be on the rant thread...

Krusty_Clown

davedanon wrote: »

Also there was a spot on the course where EVERYONE cut the corner by going up on the path. I had scrupulously avoided any of that hitherto, but I was tired and I was ****ed if anyone around me was getting an unfair advantage. Maybe I should be on the rant thread...

I didn't. Neither did anyone ahead of me. Was thinking that they should have a traffic cone on that corner though, just to put off any potential cutters.

davedanon

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I didn't. Neither did anyone ahead of me. Was thinking that they should have a traffic cone on that corner though, just to put off any potential cutters.

There was massive corner-cutting at the start, when we turned left at Manor House. This was much later on, I can't remember exactly where. Might even have been quite near the finish.

HelenAnne

davedanon wrote: »

There was massive corner-cutting at the start, when we turned left at Manor House. This was much later on, I can't remember exactly where. Might even have been quite near the finish.

I saw that massive corner-cutting at Manor House. I wasn't going to do it (especially not in my Raheny top ), but I took a bit of pleasure in catching up on and passing some of the people who'd got ahead of me there.

PWEI

Results are up;


https://app.box.com/Raheny5-Results

HelenAnne

PS I was talking to a woman in a boards.ie top afterwards in the changing room -- I came in looking for my goody bag. Forgot to identify myself at the time, but 'Hi', if you're reading. Also bumped into RayCun, who ran a fantastic time yesterday and (almost literally) bumped into MarthaStew (we were neck and neck for a while in the fourth mile, but she had a much better finishing kick than me and left me for dead in the last 800m. Well run, everyone!

copacetic

incredible amount of corner cutting alright but not sure organisers can do much about it, I don't mind what other people do, but the coming flying back on to the road having cut the corner and crashing back in to the flow of the race is a bit much!

Certainly didn't see 'everyone' cutting any corners though..

RedRunner

davedanon wrote: »

I was a little confused too. Saw the first mat, then didn't see a second one at the start line (the gantry) so pressed the button, then saw a second mat. The race clock was showing 11 secs at that stage, so didn't know which way my chip time was going to go. At the end my Garmin said 32.28. Gun time was 32.41, chip time 32.31. Clocked it at 4.96, btw, although I'm sure that's a Garmin error. Also there was a spot on the course where EVERYONE cut the corner by going up on the path. I had scrupulously avoided any of that hitherto, but I was tired and I was ****ed if anyone around me was getting an unfair advantage. Maybe I should be on the rant thread...

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I didn't. Neither did anyone ahead of me. Was thinking that they should have a traffic cone on that corner though, just to put off any potential cutters.

If you are referring to the corner at the bottom of Watermill Rd(just before the hill) I was one of the marshalls there. Tried my best to keep people on the road but inevitably a lot of people ignored my "advice". Difficult to cordon it off too as the public have to be able to use the path. Towards the back of the field it was actually safer then to direct people onto the path because the gardai had gone and traffic was heavy on the road.

Glad everyone enjoyed the race.

RayCun

There are a few places where it is very crowded all right - the first half mile, along the coast road - so people are going to be pushed up on to the path. And when there's people running on the path its hard to close off a corner properly, taping it back 10 or 20m to stop corner cutting.
That said, there are also places where people obviously just think "**** it, I'm tired and that way is quicker"

bmurphy8177

Great organisation by Raheny Shamrocks as per usual. It was a pleasure to run this for the third time. Great day for all involved.

As mentioned previously though the corner cutting from All Saints Road onto Watermill Road in the first mile did my head in yesterday.
I really don't mind people corner cutting and taking a shorter route. That's their business. The problem I had yesterday was people running across my path to do said corner cutting and then cutting back out into my path when joining back.

RayCun

davedanon wrote: »

(I think there were more than a hundred athletes there from Tallaght and Bros. Pearse combined

we had more than you

(and more than anyone except Raheny )

Krusty_Clown

HelenAnne wrote: »

PS I was talking to a woman in a boards.ie top afterwards in the changing room -- I came in looking for my goody bag.

That'd be emer_911, if I'm not mistaken.

FBOT01

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I didn't. Neither did anyone ahead of me. Was thinking that they should have a traffic cone on that corner though, just to put off any potential cutters.

+1. They did take steps to stop people cutting the corner at the top of Sybil Hill which is where most of the "big" offences have taken place in previous years and I am sure they will continue to address this as best they can.

Tombo2001

copacetic wrote: »

incredible amount of corner cutting alright but not sure organisers can do much about it, I don't mind what other people do, but the coming flying back on to the road having cut the corner and crashing back in to the flow of the race is a bit much!

Certainly didn't see 'everyone' cutting any corners though..

Just on this, and maybe something for the organisers to take note of....

I was watching the race at the '300m to go point', that is to say the far side of the park from where the race finish is.

There were more people running on the footpath, than on the road.

I couldn't understand it as I don't know why anyone would want to run on the footpath when there is a full wide road available to them.

It was quite dangerous as there were a few exits from the park, and it would have been very easy to walk out the exit into a runner.

For me watching with the kids, I had to keep them pinned back against the railing because there were so many runners on the footpath. That's not really satisfactory. Great event, but just a health and safety issue to take note of.

adrian522

Yeah, people cutting thaty corner annoyed me for some reason, pretty much everyone near me did that.

not really sure what the organisers can do though?