Raheny 5 Mile 29th Jan

Dubs1990

Brilliant event, only live up the road from it and now wondering why this was my first time doing it!!! Never ran a 5 mile race came in at 39:10 pritty chuffed with that as I haven't been running to much! Only thing I disliked about it was running up the mile in St anns, other then this loved every minute, the crowd at the end makes you push hard 😀

aquinn

ooter wrote: »

Heard a steward actively encouraging people to "run on the footpath."
Minor gripe but it is a road race, a girl beside me nearly got wiped out by a bloke twice her size because he decided to cut across the bend and run on the footpath having listened to said steward.

This is a major gripe of mine.

I was supporting 800m from the finish and stood on the footpath roaring at people it was a road race and to run on the road. I'm currently injured so not my best plan but it really annoys me. One girl was trying to whoosh us off the footpath as we were in her way. I got fair few filthy looks telling her it was a road race and to get off the footpath, the cheek!

Well done to all, it is a super race, very enjoyable and emotional to get out and support.

Whyner

ooter wrote: »

I was still warming up on the opposite side of the little park 5 mins before the start, made my way round to the start and managed to get fairly close to the front, took me 20 secs to cross the start line.

I'm not saying it wasn't possible, anyway...lesson learnt

average_runner

aquinn wrote: »

This is a major gripe of mine.

I was supporting 800m from the finish and stood on the footpath roaring at people it was a road race and to run on the road. I'm currently injured so not my best plan but it really annoys me. One girl was trying to whoosh us off the footpath as we were in her way. I got fair few filthy looks telling her it was a road race and to get off the footpath, the cheek!

Well done to all, it is a super race, very enjoyable and emotional to get out and support.

There was a few issues on the course in fairness.

1) Cars parked after we took the left turn after the start line, people were on the road and footpath and jumping all over the place. Real safety concern here.

2) The turn off the howth road we were forced on to the path by the stewards, so alot of people that were on the road had to cut across other people.

3) The 3rd turn was the same, i was heading for the road turn and we were forced off the road onto the path.

4) The amount of elbows flying around was shocking, i got two into the ribs, the next one was getting a smack off me, but never had a next one.

The course has a few problems, a wave start would solved alot it.

average_runner

aquinn wrote: »

This is a major gripe of mine.

I was supporting 800m from the finish and stood on the footpath roaring at people it was a road race and to run on the road. I'm currently injured so not my best plan but it really annoys me. One girl was trying to whoosh us off the footpath as we were in her way. I got fair few filthy looks telling her it was a road race and to get off the footpath, the cheek!

Well done to all, it is a super race, very enjoyable and emotional to get out and support.

Once you got out of the park there was no need to be on footpath, especially last 800m. Would of gotten a pb if I jumped onto the path there!

wookiesleep

I placed myself slightly off my pace group at the start. My experience is mainly with hm and marathon so was expecting space to appear after the 2nd Km or so. It took pretty much till the fourth until I found the pace I was hoping for. Happy enough with a 32.30 finish but could have easily taken another couple of minutes off.

Good atmosphere and I'll give it a proper lash next year

HelenAnne

Deleted User wrote: »

I would happily have settled for a single bar of chocolate on its own (as we just went to SuperValu afterwards and got some Tea and had it with a bar of chocolate in the car - figured we'd just be sitting in traffic if we left straight away).

The amount does seem excessive, but at the same time, it does seem to be a talking point and noticed by people, so I'd say they'll keep it and make it a 'thing' that you associate with the race. "The 5mile? Is that the one with the goodie bag?".

.

Really glad you enjoyed the day. And you're right, I think there would be uproar from long-time Raheny 5-ers if the goody bag wasn't full of chocolate. Just checking, did you know there was tea and coffee and biscuits for everyone in the GAA hall afterwards? The GAA hall is just opposite the Cara Hall where the kids sign up was, about 30 secs walk from the start. Come in next year!

HelenAnne

average_runner wrote: »

There was a few issues on the course in fairness.

1) Cars parked after we took the left turn after the start line, people were on the road and footpath and jumping all over the place. Real safety concern here.

2) The turn off the howth road we were forced on to the path by the stewards, so alot of people that were on the road had to cut across other people.

3) The 3rd turn was the same, i was heading for the road turn and we were forced off the road onto the path.

4) The amount of elbows flying around was shocking, i got two into the ribs, the next one was getting a smack off me, but never had a next one.

The course has a few problems, a wave start would solved alot it.

I THINK (And I'm not sure, this is only from casual conversations with stewards) that the course actually officially crossed the path at the left turn from the Howth Road onto Sybil Hill Road -- the course went onto the (wide) footpath BEFORE the flowerbeds to avoid people cutting the corner and tripping over the flower beds if we made the left turn on the road. It was taped that way etc. AFAIK (& apologies to anyone official if I've got this wrong) that was the only place we were meant to be on the footpath (apart from the last stretch in the park past the dog park etc which I suppose is officially a footpath!)

Loads of people cut the corner from Watermill onto the Howth Road, so I was quite pleased to catch up with and pass a few of the people who'd got ahead of me there further along the Howth Road.

Re people starting in the wrong place, the only races 've ever done where I haven't been impeded by slower people at the start are small ones where I've started on the line (which would be obviously madness for me to do in the Raheny 5!) or the WMM front pen, where you need an official time to get in. People just don't seem to self-police, and I can't imagine how much logistics go into having policed, time-banded pens where people can only get in if they can prove they've run that time before. People should just be sensible and start around the position they think they're going to finish -- at the race series in the park the announcer reminds runners about that literally every few minutes in the run up to the start and STILL people think it doesn't apply to them!

The parked cars were a menace all right! People were sportingly shouting out warnings to people behind them, which was nice!

Overall I loved it, glad people had a good day out!

aquinn

average_runner wrote: »

Once you got out of the park there was no need to be on footpath, especially last 800m. Would of gotten a pb if I jumped onto the path there!

Yes, but then you would have been cheating and come across and very irate short person

HelenAnne

aquinn wrote: »

This is a major gripe of mine.

I was supporting 800m from the finish and stood on the footpath roaring at people it was a road race and to run on the road. I'm currently injured so not my best plan but it really annoys me. One girl was trying to whoosh us off the footpath as we were in her way. I got fair few filthy looks telling her it was a road race and to get off the footpath, the cheek!

Well done to all, it is a super race, very enjoyable and emotional to get out and support.

Someone said you were shouting 'You're all cheating!' at the path-jumpers. Fair point, well made .

smashiner

Fantastic day out, had an absolute blast with 3 mates on the day. One new lad in the group did it in 28:30, so he is not invited to come along anymore....:rolleyes:

Really enjoyed the atmosphere, as always very friendly and great buzz of excitement before the race, great support too (fair play aquinn , hope you are back running soon).

One or two people were complaining after the race about it being too congested in places and wanting a 'staggered start' for next year, I found that the first mile was a bit slow, but this is normal for most popular races too and wouldn't change a thing about the race.

Great race, ridiculously generous goodie bag, nice unique little plaque, 5th year in a row to do it and will be back next year.
Top marks again to the race organisers for another super Raheny 5!

P.S. Bumped into FBOT in the GAA hall afterwards when I was rifling a few Jaffa cakes with a cuppa.

AAD

There seemed to be a lot of footpath running this year.

At the turn from the Howth Road to the Sybil hill road just myself and one other person stuck to the road, practically the entire field cut the corner, and again when I came into the last 800m or so people jumped up into the paths again, which meant people cutting back to avoid being stuck behind the barriers on the final straight.

Myles Splitz

AAD wrote: »

There seemed to be a lot of footpath running this year.

At the turn from the Howth Road to the All saints road just myself and one other person stuck to the road, practically the entire field cut the corner, and again when I came into the last 800m or so people jumped up into the paths again, which meant people cutting back to avoid being stuck behind the barriers on the final straight.

Actually course was measure on the path this year, I reckon this was probably done because in the past this corner was being cut by majority.

Marshalls were aware of this it seems to as we were pushed up onto the path for this turn.

ooter

Apologies if this is a silly question but how long before the start of the race do the faster guys make their way to the top of the line in races like the raheny 5?
Never done it myself but I've often wondered whether the amount of standing around you have to do negates any warm up you have done.

RayCun

the turn from Howth Road onto Sybill Hill Road, at about 2.5k, is the only place marshalls directed me onto the path.

I don't know why the other corners aren't taped off? (and this corner too, if we were directed onto the path because people were always cutting the path!)

ooter - the faster runners warm up in front of the race, and line up in the last couple of minutes

AAD

I didn't see anyone there telling us to
go on the path, it was the first time I had clear road so just went for it😂 I want those 5 seconds to come off my time.

The one thing that annoyed me was one lad who obviously turned up late and was faster than most and didn't have a care in the world who he barged out of the way to get past. He was very close to knocking a couple of people over at one stage.

Anyway as always it was a good day out and I'll be back next year.

Run and Jump

HelenAnne wrote: »

Really glad you enjoyed the day. And you're right, I think there would be uproar from long-time Raheny 5-ers if the goody bag wasn't full of chocolate. Just checking, did you know there was tea and coffee and biscuits for everyone in the GAA hall afterwards?

Yes, there would be uproar! If you can't burn off the chocolate then you're not running hard enough!

Well done again to Shamrocks for the usual high standard of organisation in bad conditions. You can't legislate for inexperienced or inconsiderate runners (and both these types seem to wear headphones) and every race has its lessons from managing the course for next time.

Having the sun come out just afterwards was a bit cruel, though

HelenAnne

ooter wrote: »

Apologies if this is a silly question but how long before the start of the race do the faster guys make their way to the top of the line in races like the raheny 5?
Never done it myself but I've often wondered whether the amount of standing around you have to do negates any warm up you have done.

I once asked Catherina McKiernan that - how do you stay warmed up if you're corralled 15 mins before the race starts. For a while she didn't really understand what I was asking as obviously she's never had to do that! (By virtue of being a fast runner, I may add - we could all start in the elite pen if we put enough work in over our lifetimes )
Anyway, one @d explained the penning system in loads of big races, she said try to do your strides just before you go into the pen and then try to keep moving your muscles as much as possible do calf raises, shoulder rolls etc.

clickerquicklic

Turned up here thinking I'd be set for about 31-32 mins , got to start like about 5-10 mins before start time, I'm not used to racing outside parkrun. I was a good distance back crossed the start line with 3 mins on the clock and hit my watch, couldn't move gridlock tried not to cut across people , was looking for gaps to pass ended up running on grass at side of road slipping so went back to the road. Looked at watch and was doing 5:30 per km after 500 metres ran stupidly hard on footpaths to get down to 4:28 for first km but started to feel I'd pushed too hard , tried to settle into a rhythm and target 4min Kim's was doing fine till turning onto howth road where I was frustrated again stick behind people nonwhere to move , after turning off the howth road I found some pace to run a sub 4 km but it never opened up for long and I was annoyed at constantly meeting runners and trying to navigate around them . All the accelerating and slowing was starting to take its toll and I didn't feel like pushing when I had a bit of space. It never really opened up that much though . Got in at 34:30ish by my watch , wasn't happy at all with time , I understand it can be tough to organise these races but sub 30 sub 35 sub 40 pens be a big addition to an otherwise flawless race , I did walk up the front at start and could have stood in beside the club guys in singlets but didnt want to be in the way , in hindsight I'll probably go the front in future and let others pass me by instead of vice Versa. Everything else was super especially the goody bag ! Support was brilliant fair play to people coming out in the rain .

chinguetti

chinguetti wrote: »

I'ld love if they could sort out the start and get people to start in the right area. The amount of people I passed in the first mile was crazy and I was about 15-20 rows back.

You must be getting faster. You normally start at the back and annoy people as you glide past them during the race asking them are they alright

Nuttzz

clickerquicklic wrote: »

I understand it can be tough to organise these races but sub 30 sub 35 sub 40 pens be a big addition to an otherwise flawless race , I.

I remember seeing that at one of the night runs, I got into a Sub 50 pen and still ran into groups of people strung out in a line in a light jog chatting with each other.

I'm not sure what you can do to enforce it other than regular reminders over the speakers but then that starts to get preachy!

Tombo2001

HelenAnne wrote: »

I once asked Catherina McKiernan that - how do you stay warmed up if you're corralled 15 mins before the race starts. For a while she didn't really understand what I was asking as obviously she's never had to do that! (By virtue of being a fast runner, I may add - we could all start in the elite pen if we put enough work in over our lifetimes )
Anyway, one @d explained the penning system in loads of big races, she said try to do your strides just before you go into the pen and then try to keep moving your muscles as much as possible do calf raises, shoulder rolls etc.

I don't know that there is an elite pen.

I'd say its more that they are doing strides in front of the race start, and they join the group from the front rather than the back.

To answer an earlier question, they would be standing there 3-4 minutes tops, and they would be pretty well warmed up, muscles would be warm and they could jog on the spot if needs be.

Tombo2001

clickerquicklic wrote: »

Turned up here thinking I'd be set for about 31-32 mins , got to start like about 5-10 mins before start time, I'm not used to racing outside parkrun. I was a good distance back crossed the start line with 3 mins on the clock and hit my watch, couldn't move gridlock tried not to cut across people , was looking for gaps to pass ended up running on grass at side of road slipping so went back to the road. Looked at watch and was doing 5:30 per km after 500 metres ran stupidly hard on footpaths to get down to 4:28 for first km but started to feel I'd pushed too hard , tried to settle into a rhythm and target 4min Kim's was doing fine till turning onto howth road where I was frustrated again stick behind people nonwhere to move , after turning off the howth road I found some pace to run a sub 4 km but it never opened up for long and I was annoyed at constantly meeting runners and trying to navigate around them . All the accelerating and slowing was starting to take its toll and I didn't feel like pushing when I had a bit of space. It never really opened up that much though . Got in at 34:30ish by my watch , wasn't happy at all with time , I understand it can be tough to organise these races but sub 30 sub 35 sub 40 pens be a big addition to an otherwise flawless race , I did walk up the front at start and could have stood in beside the club guys in singlets but didnt want to be in the way , in hindsight I'll probably go the front in future and let others pass me by instead of vice Versa. Everything else was super especially the goody bag ! Support was brilliant fair play to people coming out in the rain .

If you were after a good chip time, you would probably actually be better off waiting for 2 minutes after the last runner has gone through the start and then starting.

HelenAnne

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I don't know that there is an elite pen.

I'd say its more that they are doing strides in front of the race start, and they join the group from the front rather than the back.

To answer an earlier question, they would be standing there 3-4 minutes tops, and they would be pretty well warmed up, muscles would be warm and they could jog on the spot if needs be.

Sometimes there is. There is at the WMM, and the Great Ireland Run (there's even an elite portaloo at that!), and the Raheny 5 had an area taped off at the front for the fastest runners, and I'd say there probably is an elite pen at big races like the marathon majors.

What I meant, though, is that race winners etc probably never have the 'get into your pen 20 minutes before the start or you won't get in at all' experience that the hoi polloi have.

clickerquicklic

Tombo2001 wrote: »

If you were after a good chip time, you would probably actually be better off waiting for 2 minutes after the last runner has gone through the start and then starting.

I did consider that but surely you'd need to wait at least 20 mins if your setting off at 4min Kim's your going to catching people doing 6min Kim's after a kilometre it would be a disaster , it's not the end of the world for me either way , times don't mean a huge deal for me but I do find it frustrating when you want to go faster but can't because of crowd infront - I'm sure we've all experienced it, it's always good to think of a way to make it more enjoyable for everyone I'm sure slower runners that started higher up where equally frustrated by people cutting across them or barging by them .

The Davestator

ooter wrote: »

Apologies if this is a silly question but how long before the start of the race do the faster guys make their way to the top of the line in races like the raheny 5?
Never done it myself but I've often wondered whether the amount of standing around you have to do negates any warm up you have done.

Any races I've watched, the elites warm up on the first few hundred metres of the course and then go back to the start line to begin.

glacial_pace71

Re the runner density per km? Self-regulation at the starting position works for most races, but for a race of this size there may inevitably be a few problems with congestion.

Btw Raheny have always welcomed walkers, and so do let them off 15 mins before the race. Unfortunately for the past 2 years the course has had to divert into St Anne's Park due to road works on the coast. The up/down of the avenue does make it a little narrow but that shouldn't warrant some of the aggression shown by runners against any walkers not in single file: I can appreciate that some athletes may have gotten a bit frustrated in their 4th mile but becoming a human snowplough isn't the appropriate response.

(I was ambling along at a leisurely running pace, as I'm still recovering from injury, but I was quite surprised at what I saw, just approaching the Rose Garden. I almost wanted to run alongside or backwards facing one particular knob, just to say "what's your problem bud? You're not going all that fast yourself. Show a little respect to others").

On the cutting of corners? The course still measures just over the 5 miles, so even the pavement-huggers on the Watermill Rd junction are still getting in the requisite distance, but I do wish they'd respect the course and the efforts of the stewards. Unfortunately none of the volunteers at the junctions could do much. It'd have needed electric cattle prods and lassos, not just some tape, to stop the determined pavement-mounters from taking the shortest route around the bend. Perhaps if it's become such an integral part of the experience - and is now officially part of the course at the Howth Rd/Sybil Hill junction - then why not bring the race start and finish mats to a slightly different location?

chinguetti

Exactly wrote: »

You must be getting faster. You normally start at the back and annoy people as you glide past them during the race asking them are they alright

Why thank you and I was faster than last year:D. No idea who you are but you might be a re-reg from olden times. I did have a lovely chat going up and down the avenue with a guy from East Antrim yesterday so that hasn't changed.

With the crowds in Raheny, its much easier to start further up as if you're a regular, you know loads of people start too far up and you need to ease the traffic issues for yourself as much as possible.

HelenAnne

HelenAnne wrote: »

Really glad you enjoyed the day. And you're right, I think there would be uproar from long-time Raheny 5-ers if the goody bag wasn't full of chocolate. Just checking, did you know there was tea and coffee and biscuits for everyone in the GAA hall afterwards? The GAA hall is just opposite the Cara Hall where the kids sign up was, about 30 secs walk from the start. Come in next year!

I wasn't aware of that, no, to be honest. It was probably said a thousand times, but being newish to all this kinda craic a lot of things were just whooshing over my head as I simultaneously admired the lovely ladies, and pondered the benefits of wearing a black bag. :pac:




I'm gonna post something now that very well may get all my windows in my house smashed, my car burned out and my legs broken, but.. surely if you're looking to get a personal best time for a set distance, it makes more sense to map a route on google earth, get up at 6am, and fly through it as best you can?

Other than perhaps the odd 'elite' runner who wants to get prize money or something, I'd have thought that a lot of the purpose of these events was to get out and do something active, and enjoy a social event that doesn't involve binge drinking until your eyes are bloodshot?

Although I, like everyone else, recorded my time, I dont think I fully understand the mindset of entering a race where you know in advance there will be literally thousands of people on the route, and aiming for a personal best time.

Again, it could well be just that I'm too new to these events and because I'm getting into jogging from a weight loss/get in shape approach, perhaps I'mm just naive, but I know that whatever 5k or 10k I sign up to next, there's gonna be a man with a dog, a woman with a buggy, a group of ladies chatting and walking 'briskly' etc. that are gonna get in the way of me getting a personal best time, so I have to say I find it hard to get annoyed at these people (as, in fairness, they're paying the same money I am and are just as entitled to the route as I am).

I just get a little baffled when I see the odd poster here and there (not in this thread, exactly, but from mooching on this forum in general) that wont sign up until they find out if a route is 'fast' and are hymming and hawwing about doing things incase their time isnt the best they've ever done.

Much like a leaflet I got at the end of the Raheny event for another race, stating it was 'Ireland's flattest race', which to me, sounds like the opposite of a challenge?

Is there something obvious that I'm missing?

I could understand if finishing in X time got you a better goodie bag or limited edition t-shirt or something like that, that you really wanted, but if you're just doing it for yourself (which seems to be the case for 99% of people?) it just seems like you're knowingly setting yourself up for a frustrating experience by signing up to any kind of a popular road race?

Battery Kinzie

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I wasn't aware of that, no, to be honest. It was probably said a thousand times, but being newish to all this kinda craic a lot of things were just whooshing over my head as I simultaneously admired the lovely ladies, and pondered the benefits of wearing a black bag. :pac:




I'm gonna post something now that very well may get all my windows in my house smashed, my car burned out and my legs broken, but.. surely if you're looking to get a personal best time for a set distance, it makes more sense to map a route on google earth, get up at 6am, and fly through it as best you can?

Other than perhaps the odd 'elite' runner who wants to get prize money or something, I'd have thought that a lot of the purpose of these events was to get out and do something active, and enjoy a social event that doesn't involve binge drinking until your eyes are bloodshot?

Although I, like everyone else, recorded my time, I dont think I fully understand the mindset of entering a race where you know in advance there will be literally thousands of people on the route, and aiming for a personal best time.

Again, it could well be just that I'm too new to these events and because I'm getting into jogging from a weight loss/get in shape approach, perhaps I'mm just naive, but I know that whatever 5k or 10k I sign up to next, there's gonna be a man with a dog, a woman with a buggy, a group of ladies chatting and walking 'briskly' etc. that are gonna get in the way of me getting a personal best time, so I have to say I find it hard to get annoyed at these people (as, in fairness, they're paying the same money I am and are just as entitled to the route as I am).

I just get a little baffled when I see the odd poster here and there (not in this thread, exactly, but from mooching on this forum in general) that wont sign up until they find out if a route is 'fast' and are hymming and hawwing about doing things incase their time isnt the best they've ever done.

Much like a leaflet I got at the end of the Raheny event for another race, stating it was 'Ireland's flattest race', which to me, sounds like the opposite of a challenge?

Is there something obvious that I'm missing?

I could understand if finishing in X time got you a better goodie bag or limited edition t-shirt or something like that, that you really wanted, but if you're just doing it for yourself (which seems to be the case for 99% of people?) it just seems like you're knowingly setting yourself up for a frustrating experience by signing up to any kind of a popular road race?

Most people wouldn't be able to run as fast on their own as they can in a race. The effect the adrenaline and thought of it being 'the one' has on your speed can be huge. I know for myself that a race 5k vs a 5k on my own (even giving my all), would be a couple of minutes apart, and I think the same would apply to most people, regardless of ability.


But generally, I agree with you that some people get way too hung up on their times and I find the people who only run 'fast' races tiring, but each to their own I guess. Some people get motivation from different things, I suppose finding what motivates you is the most important thing.