Dingle Marathon/Half-Marathon 2017

diego_b

As Kerry based past participant I got a text message this morning to say the event is very close to selling out. I signed up for the half marathon myself, a few months earlier than I would liked to have done but I've completed the event the last two years and didn't want to miss out.

Just a headsup for those who are interested in it.

http://www.dinglemarathon.ie/

Insect Overlord

I signed up for the half marathon there on Monday. Seems it's €5 more expensive than it was last year.

I want to knock about 17 minutes off my time from 2016. Plenty of time to perfect my training between now and then.

TFBubendorfer

I signed up for the full after that message. I'm not even sure if I will be up for it in September but chances are I will run it.

It's not a cheap race, that's for sure, but the scenery alone makes it worthwhile IMHO. In fairness, it's always very well organised.

Insect Overlord

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

It's not a cheap race, that's for sure, but the scenery alone makes it worthwhile IMHO. In fairness, it's always very well organised.

Aye. The tech top looks great too, and the finishers' medals (they're still important to me! :P ) tend to be lovely. I suppose they have the added costs of the buses back into town for the Half as well.

diego_b

An File wrote: »

Aye. The tech top looks great too, and the finishers' medals (they're still important to me! :P ) tend to be lovely. I suppose they have the added costs of the buses back into town for the Half as well.

Tip on the tops though is that there usually is a small store in the Marina near the start/finish of the race selling off previous years stuff so I picked up 2/3 more 2015 tops last year for a fiver each I think it was....could have been 3 for a tenner. I use them a lot in training as I really like them (nice, bright and well ventilated). Guessing this year will be similar. I used the long sleeve top from last year in the winter so would pick up another 1.

I think the buses in fairness to add to the costs, it is an expensive race and they don't even offer an early bird plus I don't think they have given discounts to local clubs anymore. We may have got a fiver off or something the first year I did it.

Fwiw I think it's probably well up there with the best races in the country, I know it gets the awards but I vote for it as well. Not a race for a time though really so take in the views!!

opus

Damn the a&r forum to hell anyway, now you've got me thinking I could sneak this in as a nice scenic training run before the Berlin marathon at the end of Sept

RubyK

I'm signed up for the half. I love Dingle, it's a great spot and makes for a lovely weekend away.

opus

Signed up for the full

overthebridge

Signed up for the half. I ran the full last year and really enjoyed it. But this year
I want to have a pint at Kruegers !

chavezychavez

Leading out the 3.45 pace train again this year for anyone who wants to join.

Seannew1

Anyone else doing this??!! Looking forward to this one: My first half in Dingle! Can anyone tell me what to expect??

BKWDR

Seannew1 wrote: »

Anyone else doing this??!! Looking forward to this one: My first half in Dingle! Can anyone tell me what to expect??

I did it in 2015, it's a very nice course, very scenic. Gentle slopes to start but you do hit some hilly climbs coming in and out of Ventry. The finish into Dún Quinn is deceptive as it's downward but with rolling hills but good Craic. Finishes at a pub and there is great atmosphere at the end

Great buzz around Dingle then that night, real nice spot. Do spend the night in Dingle and wear your medal or tee shirt

RubyK

I'm in for the half, but training hasn't been to plan.

I did it in 2015 and really enjoyed it. The hills start after mile 6. The last mile is fast.

Seannew1

BKWDR wrote: »

Seannew1 wrote: »

Anyone else doing this??!! Looking forward to this one: My first half in Dingle! Can anyone tell me what to expect??

I did it in 2015, it's a very nice course, very scenic. Gentle slopes to start but you do hit some hilly climbs coming in and out of Ventry. The finish into Dún Quinn is deceptive as it's downward but with rolling hills but good Craic. Finishes at a pub and there is great atmosphere at the end

Great buzz around Dingle then that night, real nice spot. Do spend the night in Dingle and wear your medal or tee shirt

Sounds good! Thanks! 

I did a hilly half in February and then did Clontarf in July which is flat but deceptively tough with the wind, so looking forward to a different challenge in Dingle!

RacoonQueen

Have they discontinued the ultra? Pity, was disappointed when they reduced the 50 miler to 39. Something I would have loved to go back and do again some day.

TFBubendorfer

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Have they discontinued the ultra? Pity, was disappointed when they reduced the 50 miler to 39. Something I would have loved to go back and do again some day.

2014 was the last year they did the ultra. The reduction to 39 miles never happened, they just stopped it entirely because they never got more than 50 or 60 runners.

It's a commercial race and the ultra never made commercial sense. It's a shame, it used to be one of my absolute favourites.

Looking for advice 2013

Hi, just wondering has anyone every ran this course before and how much slower should I expect to finish this race?

d7guy

Hi I ran the full marathon ( Dingle ) last year .the half has Spectacular scenery all along the coast and the course is grand some elevation all right but nothing you would nt find during any race.
If the weather is nice you are in for a treat...good luck

Drdenise75

I ran this last year and doing it again on Saturday. It's a lovely run. The half has a couple of hills but nothing very out of the ordinary. My time was not my fastest but only a minute or two slower than other halfs I've run (Galway Bay, Cork). The most amazing thing is the view - being able to look out at the sea/coast most of the run - spectacular. It was very well organised last year with a high quality top and well-stocked goodie bag as well as snacks etc at the finish (Very important!!) as well as the buses back to town so I thought it was worth the entry fee. And the buzz around Dingle after is brilliant. A great weekend.

echancrure

Looks like it's gonna be wet unless you run very quickly...

Insect Overlord

echancrure wrote: »

Looks like it's gonna be wet unless you run very quickly...

That was said in 2013 and half of us came home with sunburn. :P

Drdenise75

Any storm clouds on the horizon will motivate us all to run faster!!
Hopefully it'll not be too wet but battling the elements does make the post run pint all the tastier...

opus

Best of luck to everyone tomorrow, does indeed look like we'll have a wet one!

MonkstownHoop

Thought a sub 1.30 half would avoid the rain I was very wrong, first time doing this and tempted to come back next year for the full, great event and lovely place.

opus

Must say that half finish looked mighty enticing to me when we passed it

Real character building stuff in the 2nd half of the race, it got funny at times with the wind & rain. Big thanks to Chris & Fozzy who were pacing the 3:30 group who I stuck with for ~14 miles & then Thomas who towed me along for another 8 or so. Wasn't wearing my glasses so took me quite a while to recognise who it was

Imagine the route is stunning on a nice day. Too bad there's nowhere to change afterwards, that's a big omission when you're soaked to the skin at the finish and facing a 20 min walk to your car.

echancrure

Ran the full Dingle marathon for the second time in a row yesterday. Last year the weather was glorious, not so much this year but the wind made it interesting nonetheless (at least it was not cold).

I treat this race as a training run for DCM, it is just about enjoyment. My plan was to steadily increase the pace: first 8m at 7:50, then 9m 7:30, with the final 9 miles at 7:10 for a marathon at 3 hours 16 and a negative split. My training has been going on OK, but I am 1 Kg over my weight from last year when I ran 3 hours 20.

I started nice and slowly as planned, shook hand with Thomas and had a little chat and everything felt fine. The miles when by quickly and I averaged about 7:40 in the first 8 miles, slightly faster than expected.

As planned I increased the pace after that. I felt so good that I found it very difficult to slow down an stick to my middle of the race pace of 7:30. I even ran a couple of miles below 7:00. I was catching plenty of runners at that stage, feeling great.

The last third of the race went well too, easily running about 6:55 before the major hill. I climbed well, better than last year I think and everything felt good. The miles went by very quickly for some reason. I put the hammer down in the descent running 6:17 and 6:23. Last mile was a 6:38 as the road levelled off. So I finished quite strong.

Overall ran a 3:10:32 so faster than expected with everything under control with a 9 minutes negative split, breathing and legs were good.

What does this mean for DCM17? Well it is kind of reassuring and a confidence boost. I ran 2:49 last year in DCM16, so I should be on track for a PB. By how much will depend on the training and on the amount of kilos I'll manage to shed in the next 8 weeks... (which needs to be a lot just to be on the same level as last year.)

May enter Dublin half tomorrow and aim for a PB there as I need to focus a little bit more on speed work.

TFBubendorfer

opus wrote: »

Must say that half finish looked mighty enticing to me when we passed it

Real character building stuff in the 2nd half of the race, it got funny at times with the wind & rain. Big thanks to Chris & Fozzy who were pacing the 3:30 group who I stuck with for ~14 miles & then Thomas who towed me along for another 8 or so. Wasn't wearing my glasses so took me quite a while to recognise who it was

Imagine the route is stunning on a nice day. Too bad there's nowhere to change afterwards, that's a big omission when you're soaked to the skin at the finish and facing a 20 min walk to your car.

I was starting to wonder who that was, hitching a ride for over an hour

It was really good talking to you, eventually, because right at that time my asthma was starting to act up again and running with a buddy helped take my mind off that.

I finished feeling pretty good, much better than expected, only to feel rather miserable during the long walk back to the car. And just as I got there and I was ready to head home the missus rang and told me she was on her way and we spent the rest of the afternoon in Dingle. Funnily enough, I felt much better after an additional couple of hours on my feet! :rolleyes:

chavezychavez

Wow, that was a fun Saturday in Dingle all right wasn't it. :pac::pac::pac:
Had a fantastic group with us on 3:45 right up until the hill, much more than normal, but as usual that nailed a lot. In fairness, we did see a few shoot past going down the other side so at least some managed it nicely.
I think the saving grace was that it was still very humid and people didn't start to freeze out there. A few degrees colder and there would be a completely different story out of everyone.

PIORUN

4th time doing the Dingle Full....was using it as training run for Dublin, which i hope to do in sub 3:30...The plan was to go around and keep it under 8:30 pace, I knew I wouldn't sub 3:30 Dingle.The miles really flew by and I was feeling really good especailly after passing the half way point. The wind at our backs was great from about mile 11 to mile 16-17 and I found myself going under 8 min mile even though I didn;t wanty yo . From about mile 19 I started getting a sharp pain in my right knee that slowed it all down. I had to walk/jog/shuffle up that %@#ing hill!. And even the descent down the hill was agony. That long stectch of road after that seems to get longer every year...so it was counting poles time then until the last hill into town. Thankfully i met 2 guys there and we pushed each the rest of the way...finished in just over 3:50 with I was happy with considering how my knee felt for the last 6 miles....hands down the wettest race i've ever run.

fin12

I’m doing the half marathon this year, I did the Cork half marathon in 2013 at a time of 3 hours 15 mins. I walk in marathons, just wondering is there a time that they expect everyone doing the half marathon to be finished by? Cause I read there is buses to bring you back into Dingle so do they allow up to 4/5 hours to complete the race.

Drdenise75

fin12 wrote: »

I’m doing the half marathon this year, I did the Cork half marathon in 2013 at a time of 3 hours 15 mins. I walk in marathons, just wondering is there a time that they expect everyone doing the half marathon to be finished by? Cause I read there is buses to bring you back into Dingle so do they allow up to 4/5 hours to complete the race.[/quote

In the FAQ section of their website they state a 3 hour 30 min (gun time) cut off for the half.
http://www.dinglemarathon.ie/faq.html
You need to factor in that as a walker you won't be starting at the start line as the gun goes off (unless you want to be getting in the way pig the runners!) so your time will be behind the gun time