DCT 2018

stampydmonkey

Sooo anyone doing DCT tomorrow?

...will be up early welcoming you into the car park if you are so take it easy on us..

Only 250 spaces so arrive early and costs €2. We'll be there from 6.30am. Chapalizard road closes from 8am.

Best of luck!!

S_D

What did people think of the race?

I thought the liffey was absolutely disgusting haha! Good bike route and run route though! Kyber pass was killer on the run I thought (My weakest)

Collecting the bags was a v bad experience , people queueing up for over an hour, people skipping etc, was a shambles and they ran out of goody bags and medals ( didnt effect me) but still....surprised at that! Great goodies in the bag too and hoody

But the Liffey...UGH! I swallowed a bit of water and that was the worst experience lol

TriFirst

S_D wrote: »

What did people think of the race?

I thought the liffey was absolutely disgusting haha! Good bike route and run route though! Kyber pass was killer on the run I thought (My weakest)

Collecting the bags was a v bad experience , people queueing up for over an hour, people skipping etc, was a shambles and they ran out of goody bags and medals ( didnt effect me) but still....surprised at that! Great goodies in the bag too and hoody

But the Liffey...UGH! I swallowed a bit of water and that was the worst experience lol

The water quality is the main reason I decided against doing it, the Liffey is a cesspool.

joey100

Ah it's not really, water quality might not be as good as lough Lene or another lake but it's not that bad in reality.

tunney

joey100 wrote: »

Ah it's not really, water quality might not be as good as lough Lene or another lake but it's not that bad in reality.

Lough neagh, Bull Island just two locations that are as bad if not worse

TriFirst

tunney wrote: »

Lough neagh, Bull Island just two locations that are as bad if not worse

Oh they doubtless are, but Ive heard plenty of stories within the Tri community of stomach bugs due to the Liffey water, more so than any other body of water on this island. Id love to swim in it but I'd be afraid to given what ive heard and given the crap Ive seen in it when the level is low.

Bertje14

I have done DCT in 2016 and 2017. Personally I find Liffey disgusting. The smell of it 🀮🀮🀮.

When they were 75 euro for a sprint my mind was very quickly made up.

Now goodie bag and hoodie are always very good.

joey100

I've grown up taking part in watersports all along the Liffey and have a group of friends that are the same, it's not that bad. TI have quality standards for water to allow a swim take place, if it was that bad the swim wouldn't be taking place there. Caroline Kearney were unlucky this year with the weather and had to cancel their swim because of the water quality, didn't happen in Dublin so you would have to say the water was above the minimum standard needed. A lot of it is in people's heads cos of what they see in Dublin city centre.

Bertje14

Still deal with the smell 😉🀣🀣🀣🀣🀣

griffin100

I did the Liffey Swim in the city ctr a couple of weeks ago. It tastes disgusting and visibility is about 3 inches but it wasn't that bad, apart from the tree branches, coffee cups, bottles, etc floating on the top The water quality from Islandbridge down should be reasonable given the tidal nature of the flow I would have thought. Did the water taste salty at the DCT?

TriFirst

Right so I contacted the Central Laboratory in Dublin City Council and the most recent water analysis of the River Liffey was done on the 19th of July.Now by their admission any findings of ecoli or choliform at that point in time, whether positive or negative, would be irrelevant by the time the DCT came around. I was told microbiological contamination of the Liffey would ordinarily be quite high.
The organisers of the Liffey swim generally request the water to be analysed a couple of days prior to their race but I have no details as to when this happened or if it did. Its worth noting that Liffey swim entrants must fill out a questionnaire which draws their attention to the potential for water contamination.

In short, if you are swimming in the Liffey during the Dublin City triathlon you do not know the quality of the water.

Oh and no lab tests exist for testing river water for Weils disease.

joey100

I'd be surprised if piranha didn't do some sort of testing on the water before the race.

Kurt.Godel

griffin100 wrote: »

I did the Liffey Swim in the city ctr a couple of weeks ago. It tastes disgusting and visibility is about 3 inches but it wasn't that bad, apart from the tree branches, coffee cups, bottles, etc floating on the top The water quality from Islandbridge down should be reasonable given the tidal nature of the flow I would have thought. Did the water taste salty at the DCT?

DCT swim is upstream of Islandbridge weir so no salt. I've done both a few years back- still trying to spit out that particular vomit/porter taste you get when diving off the platform at Liffey swim, but at least the salt will take care of most toxins; DCT didn't taste too bad but I was very sick for weeks after (ditto half our club) mind you there was a lot of rainfall that year and having read a bit about how the sewer overflow upriver isn't much improved from Victorian times...

Otherwise its a great race and course- was anyone sick this year?

TriFirst

joey100 wrote: »

I'd be surprised if piranha didn't do some sort of testing on the water before the race.

That would involve sampling the water in the days before a Triathlon and employing a private laboratory to run tests which would cost money. I think if they did they would state that they did, so I would honestly doubt they do.

EC1000

Ironically you are far better off doing no testing at all.

Brainz

Found the water pretty OK, could see to the bottom all the way up and back!

Got a mouth full of it around 100 metres out but didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, tbh it was cleaner and tasted better than the barrow for tri athy😂

joey100

http://www.piranhatri.com/forum/topic/dublin-city-triathlon-8th-september-2018/

On their website saying g this year they had the water tested. Doesn't say results but does say they were going to test.

joey100

TriFirst wrote: »

That would involve sampling the water in the days before a Triathlon and employing a private laboratory to run tests which would cost money. I think if they did they would state that they did, so I would honestly doubt they do.

If that's the case for them it's the same for every other triathlon club in the country so how can you say the water is any dirtier in Dublin?

I'm not saying it's crystal clear and nothing to be found in it but I do think it's overstated. If it was as dirty as some people think how would there be canoe clubs, rowing clubs, an international kayak race, a national swimming race and a national triathlon in it? It wouldn't be allowed happen .

griffin100

TriFirst wrote: »

That would involve sampling the water in the days before a Triathlon and employing a private laboratory to run tests which would cost money. I think if they did they would state that they did, so I would honestly doubt they do.

You doubt it but you’ve no evidence of that. Bathing water quality tests cost very little and I’d be more surprised if they didn’t test the water, but I’ve no evidence for this either. If you’re concerned ask them for the results. For our tri we always have the water quality tested in advance and compare against EPA bathing water standards.

I’m genuinely interested as to what illness / pathogen / disease those who get sick after DCT think they have / have been exposed to.

TriFirst

griffin100 wrote: »

You doubt it but you’ve no evidence of that. Bathing water quality tests cost very little and I’d be more surprised if they didn’t test the water, but I’ve no evidence for this either. If you’re concerned ask them for the results. For our tri we always have the water quality tested in advance and compare against EPA bathing water standards.

I’m genuinely interested as to what illness / pathogen / disease those who get sick after DCT think they have / have been exposed to.

The only pathogens that bathing water is tested for are ecoli and coliforms.

EC1000

joey100 wrote: »

If that's the case for them it's the same for every other triathlon club in the country so how can you say the water is any dirtier in Dublin?

Not necessarily. Many open water spots are routinely tested by local councils so the information is in the public domain. If you happen to run an event at a spot that is not tested (not saying that is the case here) then you would have to arrange your own test if you wanted to know the water quality. https://www.beaches.ie/

griffin100

TriFirst wrote: »

The only pathogens that bathing water is tested for are ecoli and coliforms.

What else would you like to see it tested for?

TriFirst

griffin100 wrote: »

What else would you like to see it tested for?

Oh I dunno maybe Salmonella, Giardia, crytosporidium, Spirochaetosis Icterohaemorrhagica (Weils disease).

My point is competitors are jumping into the Liffey with no clue of the quality of the water. I would argue based purely on the numbers of people complaining of gastro issues after exposure to Liffey water on an an annual basis that liffey water is of a vastly inferior quality compared other bodies of water around the country, thats of course not to say they are totally clean either.

The most recent verifiable analysis of Liffey water according to DCC was July 19th, 6 weeks prior to DTC, so its results would have been irrelevant on the day.

joey100

TriFirst wrote: »

Oh I dunno maybe Salmonella, Giardia, crytosporidium, Spirochaetosis Icterohaemorrhagica (Weils disease).

My point is competitors are jumping into the Liffey with no clue of the quality of the water. I would argue based purely on the numbers of people complaining of gastro issues after exposure to Liffey water on an an annual basis that liffey water is of a vastly inferior quality compared other bodies of water around the country, thats of course not to say they are totally clean either.

The most recent verifiable analysis of Liffey water according to DCC was July 19th, 6 weeks prior to DTC, so its results would have been irrelevant on the day.

You done the Tri in Cavan last weekend, did you look for the same info from them about their water quality, did they provide it? Any info on the number of people with gastro problems after this year's DCT?

TriFirst

joey100 wrote: »

You done the Tri in Cavan last weekend, did you look for the same info from them about their water quality, did they provide it? Any info on the number of people with gastro problems after this year's DCT?

Indeed I have done multiple triathlons this summer and I sought no and discovered no results of water analysis, because in most cases there is no evidence anecdotally or otherwise of microbial contamination. My point is the Liffey stands out as a body of water that is filthy, much more so than other bodies of water, this is due to it running through the largest city on the island and being subject to sewage overflow and contamination from various sources. The Liffey is it seems in swimmers circles notorious and it has acquired that reputation with ease. Unless all participants of DCT were questioned in the aftermath of the race its impossible to know just how prevalent gastric problems are so I have to go on word of mouth and anecdotes from recent years and they dont paint a pretty picture. The very fact that the Liffey swim organisers stipulate microbial risks to entrants is itself significant. If people want to swim in the Liffey they are perfectly free to do so but based on the quality of the water and the infrequent nature of its analysis, combined with bathers becoming ill, I wont be dipping my toe in it any time soon.

griffin100

TriFirst wrote: »

Oh I dunno maybe Salmonella, Giardia, crytosporidium, Spirochaetosis Icterohaemorrhagica (Weils disease).

My point is competitors are jumping into the Liffey with no clue of the quality of the water. I would argue based purely on the numbers of people complaining of gastro issues after exposure to Liffey water on an an annual basis that liffey water is of a vastly inferior quality compared other bodies of water around the country, thats of course not to say they are totally clean either.

The most recent verifiable analysis of Liffey water according to DCC was July 19th, 6 weeks prior to DTC, so its results would have been irrelevant on the day.

Testing for coliforms can be used as a marker for pathogens that are associated with faecal contamination like cyrpto. If faecal coliforms are absent or at a low level it can be inferred that other organisms are too. It's not fool proof but that's enough for bathing water quality assessment. If you want to drink the water then there are a couple of other biologicals that are tested for.

It's very difficult to both test for the presence of lepto bacteria and to diagnose infection with same. Diagnosis is usually done on the basis of symptoms and patient history. It's a risk you take when you swim in fresh water, but the risk is lessened in running water rather than static water as in the latter bacterial loading can occur.

All water quality testing is point testing, its valid only for the 30 secs that the sample is being taken at. Overnight rain or a dead animal entering a watercourse can completely change the results.

Every time you swim in any watercourse you take a risk. If entering a tri in a river I would assume that some form of water quality testing has been done for TI, so maybe that's where the question re. testing should be sent. We do it every year for our tri in the Barrow.

Lepto and cypto are notifiable diseases, if there were large numbers of infection with these diseases after any race you would hope this would be picked up by the Health Protection Surveillance Unit.

Simple advice, don't drink the water

mloc123

TriFirst wrote: »

Oh I dunno maybe Salmonella, Giardia, crytosporidium, Spirochaetosis Icterohaemorrhagica (Weils disease).

My point is competitors are jumping into the Liffey with no clue of the quality of the water. I would argue based purely on the numbers of people complaining of gastro issues after exposure to Liffey water on an an annual basis that liffey water is of a vastly inferior quality compared other bodies of water around the country, thats of course not to say they are totally clean either.

The most recent verifiable analysis of Liffey water according to DCC was July 19th, 6 weeks prior to DTC, so its results would have been irrelevant on the day.

I think everyone knows the Liffey is dirty. There is no doubt about it.

It is a calculated risk for most. I was quite sick one year following DCT but fine other years.

panda100

joey100 wrote: »

I've grown up taking part in watersports all along the Liffey and have a group of friends that are the same, it's not that bad. TI have quality standards for water to allow a swim take place, if it was that bad the swim wouldn't be taking place there. Caroline Kearney were unlucky this year with the weather and had to cancel their swim because of the water quality, didn't happen in Dublin so you would have to say the water was above the minimum standard needed. A lot of it is in people's heads cos of what they see in Dublin city centre.

+1. We have people saying the same thing about the Shannon in Limerick city. I've been swimming in it for the last two years pretty much every week during the summer and haven't even got as much as a cold in those two years!

I did DCT this year for the first time. Was by far one of the biggest races I've done. Amazing set up and great goody bags with the hoodies. Didn't notice anything off about the water and was not sick afterwards. Didn't like the cycle much as it was too bendy for me, similar to the phoenix path duathlon, which I also didn't like due to all the bends! Great race though all in all and will be on the calendar for next year.