Samsung Night Run 2015

Señor Fancy Pants

pc11 wrote: »

Seriously??

How else will you know though? Even the most knowledgable people here don't have all the answers.

Best to go direct to the source.

chabsey

pc11 wrote: »

Their website says: "This is a not for profit event taking place in the heart of Dublin city centre". It wasn't even in the city centre really.

I'd consider it about as central as you can get really, the route covered both sides of the Liffey (probably to its detriment, congestion etc.)

chabsey

pc11 wrote: »

Any BHAA, IMRA or Park Run race. Most races organised by a good athletics club like Terenure or Raheny AC.

Thanks, I'll be doing some of those, probably the Terenure one and maybe the park run.

pc11

pc11 wrote: »

Their website says: "This is a not for profit event taking place in the heart of Dublin city centre". It wasn't even in the city centre really.

Where is the city centre according to you?

RayCun

pc11 wrote: »

My SO did this race and reported no water and no food of any kind.

There was a water station at the 5k mark, and tables full of HiVit drink at the end (though they may have run out)

pc11 wrote: »

Can someone tell me where 5,500 times €30 went to??

No idea of the cost breakdown, but closing down city centre streets is expensive

pc11 wrote: »

Was this race organised by Samsung or just sponsored by them?

Don't know the details, but organisation was divided between Samsung (via an event management company I presume) and Athletics Ireland

pc11 wrote: »

Why was Raheny AC looking for people to volunteer to steward for the race (presumably for free)?

For every volunteer at this kind of race their club gets 30 euro. Don't know how many people Raheny had but there were hundreds of volunteers, mainly from athletics clubs.

pc11 wrote: »

Where did all this money go? The website says it's a "not-for-profit" event - what the F*** does that mean?

Again, no idea of the detailed breakdown of revenue and costs. I don't imagine Samsung are doing this as a money-spinner - a bit out of their area of expertise. It could be costing them money overall but they treat it as marketing. Athletics Ireland make money from it and the event management crowd I'm guessing do Samsung's end of the organisation get paid

I haven't run the race myself, don't like the look of the course and I steward instead, but the gang from the club who ran it enjoyed it, and everyone loves the tops

libelula

Jaysus, there's that much controversy over this bleedin' race, it makes me want to do it next year to see what all the fuss is about

LorMal

Seems that most people who actually participated in the event enjoyed it but had reservations about the course, congestion etc. on balance though, a really enjoyable evening.
The criticism ("corporate sell out" etc) seems to be coming primarily from club runners who did not participate. Is there a reason they feel so strongly that they have to come on to a thread about it. Could they not just leave it to us 'trotters'?
I enjoyed it. But I have nothing to compare it to. So based on the comments here, I have signed up for the Terenure 5 mile. I assume it is a club organised event as it has been mentioned here a few times by club runners. It will be interesting to see if it is a much better experience.
Btw, it's €21.40 - not that much cheaper than the Samsung event, given it is being run in the suburbs on a Sunday morning.

pc11

chabsey wrote: »

I'd consider it about as central as you can get really, the route covered both sides of the Liffey (probably to its detriment, congestion etc.)

The previous races were much more central as they went on O'Connell Street, Westmoreland Street and so on. So obviously not as central as could be.

See here:

http://www.irishtimes.com/samsung-run-dublin-at-night-10k-1.1376443

This race practically went to the port tunnel - not what I call central for the most part.

pc11

RayCun wrote: »

There was a water station at the 5k mark, and tables full of HiVit drink at the end (though they may have run out)



No idea of the cost breakdown, but closing down city centre streets is expensive



Don't know the details, but organisation was divided between Samsung (via an event management company I presume) and Athletics Ireland



For every volunteer at this kind of race their club gets 30 euro. Don't know how many people Raheny had but there were hundreds of volunteers, mainly from athletics clubs.



Again, no idea of the detailed breakdown of revenue and costs. I don't imagine Samsung are doing this as a money-spinner - a bit out of their area of expertise. It could be costing them money overall but they treat it as marketing. Athletics Ireland make money from it and the event management crowd I'm guessing do Samsung's end of the organisation get paid

I haven't run the race myself, don't like the look of the course and I steward instead, but the gang from the club who ran it enjoyed it, and everyone loves the tops

Thanks Ray. Does anyone actually know what it costs to close the streets at 9pm on a Sunday night in an area that has very little traffic at that time?

PaulieC

LorMal wrote: »

Btw, it's €21.40 - not that much cheaper than the Samsung event, given it is being run in the suburbs on a Sunday morning.

so that's almost 50% cheaper. On what scale is that percentage "not that much" ? And how is the location and time of the race related to the price ?

menoscemo

PaulieC wrote: »

so that's almost 50% cheaper. On what scale is that percentage "not that much" ? And how is the location and time of the race related to the price ?

And you get a Tshirt, pacers and a massive feed back in the school after. And the prizes are way better plus they donate profits to an actual charity, last year they gave Debra ireland €20k afaik....

Jaysus the difference between €21.40 and €30 for an irregular run is negligible imo.

This is literally the first 10k I've ever done. I'm really being turned off by these pointless and pedantic arguments. What do I expect from an internet forum in fairness. Time to unfollow this thread.

AAD

It was my first time to take part in this race and I thought it was a good experience.

Was it expensive to enter? It was only my second 10k so i can't really comment.

Was it congested? Off course it was but with 7000+ people running in the streets around grand canal dock it was always going to be congested.

As for the costs of closing streets, the streets around grand canal theatre are actually private roads and not under the control of the council. I would suggest that this would have cost a lot more to close.

Overall it was a good experience for me, a newbie to running and I'll be back next year.

menoscemo

Deleted User wrote: »

Jaysus the difference between €21.40 and €30 for an irregular run is negligible imo.

So you are adding the booking fee to the Terenure race but not the night run? Why?
It's €31:50 vs €21;40 or €20 vs €30 (without the booking fee). So the night run was 50% more expensive and if you run Terenure you will find that the cheaper event is the far superior one.

Can you tell me any other industry where people are prepared to pay 50% more for an inferior product? That's why some runners get annoyed by these gimmicky runs tbh...

belcarra

menoscemo wrote: »

Can you tell me any other industry where people are prepared to pay 50% more for an inferior product?

I-Phones!:D

menoscemo

belcarra wrote: »

I-Phones!:D

What are you saying? That we should have bought Samsung instead?:pac:

chabsey

I can't speak for the other newbie runners who took part in the event but for me the major reason I enjoyed it was the atmosphere and the chance to run on otherwise normally busy city streets in the evening. Also, the fact that it was my first organised race gave the evening, for me, a real buzz.

Did I feel ripped off at the price? Not at all - presumably because this was my first race and I've no idea how many more I'll do so it could be a once-off for me.

Also there's a uniqueness to the event - running those streets, in the dark with everyone all wearing the same t-shirts makes it look and feel like something special. I mentioned I was doing the race to a few people and the general reaction I got was that it looked cool / something different, the Terenure 5 mile has not evoked a similar response when I mentioned that I might do that next!

Obviously that's unfair on the 5 mile as it's different type of event, actually it's probably less of an 'event' which is fine and might be what some people are missing about the difference between it and races like the SNR.

To me the price difference isn't that huge, sure if you start talking percentages it makes it sound like loads and my opinion may change if I do the Terenure race and love it - but a tenner extra for a hugely popular, unusual version of a race doesn't sound that exorbitant to me.

opus

Wow the night run certainly has lots of divergent opinions!

I did the one in Cork last year & while it was expensive I figured it was worth it for a once off trot around closed city roads. Most of the club runners were working as stewards (as I finished way above where I should be) but I heard after it was a good money spinner for them.

The event, which was cancelled this year despite selling out last time, had just over 1000 people so much less than Dublin and because it started on Patrick St which is fairly wide, congestion wasn't a problem. By the time it got to narrower streets people has spread out.

The t-shirt is grand but it hasn't changed my life or anything

menoscemo

menoscemo wrote: »

So you are adding the booking fee to the Terenure race but not the night run? Why?
It's €31:50 vs €21;40 or €20 vs €30 (without the booking fee). So the night run was 50% more expensive and if you run Terenure you will find that the cheaper event is the far superior one.

I genuinely thought you were being sarcastic with this at first, after I mention the pedantic arguments are turning me off all this.

Can you tell me any other industry where people are prepared to pay 50% more for an inferior product? That's why some runners get annoyed by these gimmicky runs tbh...

Any industry that has a leading brand name product. The brand is usually flashier and gives the user a sense of comfort and safety. Its debatable if that culminates to an inferior product. Seasoned veterans (i.e. you) in that industry can see through the nonsense.

Off the top of my head, colgate tooth paste vs any of those brands you haven't heard of; avonmore milk vs store-brand milk; apple laptops vs laptop with same parts put together without apple logo; samsung night run vs terenure 5 mile...

LorMal

PaulieC wrote: »

so that's almost 50% cheaper. On what scale is that percentage "not that much" ? And how is the location and time of the race related to the price ?

Need to revisit the old Maths there Paulie

menoscemo

Deleted User wrote: »

I genuinely thought you were being sarcastic with this at first, after I mention the pedantic arguments are turning me off all this.

Yes it does come down to pedantry but all arguments do. If someone makes a point and someone else thinks they are wrong; they have a right to point it out with facts.

Deleted User wrote: »

Any industry that has a leading brand name product. The brand is usually flashier and gives the user a sense of comfort and safety.

But surely in this case the running club is the trusted 'brand name' in running races?
What if sportsworld running club decided to launch a new phone and pitched it at 50% more expensive than the samsung equivalent phone?
Can you not see that is what samsung have effectively done here with this race?

BeepBeep67

LorMal wrote: »

Need to revisit the old Maths there Paulie

I'm he meant to word it that the Samsung night run is 50% more expensive than the Terenure 5M!

MLC_biker

chabsey wrote: »

There was water given out at the 5k mark I believe, and as many vit-hit bottles as you might want at the end. The goodie bag had a protein bar in it as well I think.

I don't know if what was offered was considered good or bad by people who do these types of races regularly but it seemed fine to me.

Think there was 7000 VIT Hit bottles ...for 7000 runners

Ran out long before the later runners finished. Problem was they asked people to take one only, but runners went to a different table and got another

Easily sorted - after you get one, put a tick on bib/number, the it's one for everyone in the audience. It's something they manage at most races.

...and bring a few extra if you're a race sponsor.

enjoyed the race, but no more than Raheny/Terenure/Dunboyne. Wouldn't be inclined to do it again, now I have the (in)famous shirt

KingMambo26

MLC_biker wrote: »

Think there was 7000 VIT Hit bottles ...for 7000 runners

Ran out long before the later runners finished. Problem was they asked people to take one only, but runners went to a different table and got another

There were little scumbags in hi-vis vests (dunno if they were genuine marshals or not) taking full boxes and hiding them behind the bushes around the First aid tent. One girl asked for one and was told to f**k off and walk to the tables

PaulieC

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

I'm he meant to word it that the Samsung night run is 50% more expensive than the Terenure 5M!

ah, yes, right. that's what I meant :P

You can't criticise anything these days without being labelled a snob or an elitist or some other label.

Some people think the race is an over-expensive farce that shoehorns 7k people into a course that plainly cannot accommodate them, is dangerous, badly laid out and doesn't have enough refreshments afterwards. Because of this, they are labelled as snooty, snobby and what not.

I bet of those people started calling those who did enjoy it pejorative names, all hell would break loose and there would be locked threads, card, bans and whatnot flying about.

It's ok to have a different opinion. It doesn't make you right or wrong, good or bad, snobby or crass.

Murph_D

Deleted User wrote: »

..The brand is usually flashier and gives the user a sense of comfort and safety...

Comfort and safety? Maybe that was the expectation but what many got was the "comfort and safety" of being squashed like cattle into narrow streets and falling over kerbs, bollards and crash barriers!

chabsey

MLC_biker wrote: »

Think there was 7000 VIT Hit bottles ...for 7000 runners

Ran out long before the later runners finished. Problem was they asked people to take one only, but runners went to a different table and got another

Really?! My mistake so, I saw so many people with multiple bottles I presumed you could take two, which I did from the same table and nobody said anything.

DocQismyJesus

KingMambo26 wrote: »

There were little scumbags in hi-vis vests (dunno if they were genuine marshals or not) taking full boxes and hiding them behind the bushes around the First aid tent. One girl asked for one and was told to f**k off and walk to the tables

#legends

PaulieC

DocQismyJesus wrote: »

#legends

too right. The race was obviously closer to the inner city that the city centre...

DocQismyJesus

PaulieC wrote: »

I bet of those people started calling those who did enjoy it pejorative names, all hell would break loose and there would be locked threads, card, bans and whatnot flying about.

You called ?