DCM race series

skyblue46

Murph_D wrote: »

Don't get this? Didn't notice anything different from previous versionsThere was congestion around where I started but that was to be expected towards the back. Nothing to do with the width of the road or the corral!

Mind you, I was further back because I stepped out for a leak and the race seemed to start a couple of mins early! But no harm done, I think - they worked hard to get everyone lined up fairly early (bar the usual stragglers).

Perhaps he means the start line gantry needed to be as wide as the road? Or that the corral should have been narrowed to the width of the gantry? I'm only guessing at this though as spectators pay no heed to details like that

Damo 2k9

Absolute joke allowing cars to park just after the start line, with a race of this size it's a tight squeeze to begin with, can't believe they were allowed park there or not moved before the start.

Burkie1203

Murph_D wrote: »

Don't get this? Didn't notice anything different from previous versions. There was congestion around where I started but that was to be expected towards the back. Nothing to do with the width of the road or the corral!

Mind you, I was further back because I stepped out for a leak and the race seemed to start a couple of mins early! But no harm done, I think - they worked hard to get everyone lined up fairly early (bar the usual stragglers).

Irish runner 10 mile had a corral 5m wide when we started there was no congestion

Today we had cars parked on one side so we went from full width of road into a narrower road as a result

Murph_D

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Irish runner 10 mile had a corral 5m wide when we started there was no congestion

Today we had cars parked on one side so we went from full width of road into a narrower road as a result

Pfft - Irish Runner. Lovely race but this was the Frank Duffy.

History.

Burkie1203

Murph_D wrote: »

Pfft - Irish Runner. Lovely race but this was the Frank Duffy.

History.

And they got the start right. Apart from that the race yesterday was excellent

average_runner

While my race didnt work out, i have no complaints about the race. Thought the finish area was very good, loved the refill cup idea.

rovers_runner

Brilliant organisation, best location on this island for a race, savage weather.
What more could you want on a Saturday morning at the end of the summer.

Slow as hell myself but that's another story, just glad to be enjoying it and taking part.

Kellygirl

Does anybody know if DCM will now be cups rather than bottles seeing as the race series has changed to cups?

yaboya1

Kellygirl wrote: »

Does anybody know if DCM will now be cups rather than bottles seeing as the race series has changed to cups?

Don't think they've changed. Fairly sure race series was always cups.
DCM will be bottles as usual.

Kellygirl

Oh that’s a relief. I know it’s not so environmentally friendly but I carry water bottles from station to station to sip away the whole time so was nervous of the change if there was one.

chris85

yaboya1 wrote: »

Don't think they've changed. Fairly sure race series was always cups.
DCM will be bottles as usual.

The half is usually bottles as well I believe.

Burkie1203

chris85 wrote: »

The half is usually bottles as well I believe.

Map on website says some are cups, some are bottles

ligerdub

I think the last one last year (at around 10 miles?) was a paper cup. I remember this as I have the distinct memory of the road being absolutely soaked whereas the others were not. The rest were small bottles. I think there was an extra water station last year compared to the previous year although I could be wrong on that.

glacial_pace71

chris85 wrote: »

The half is usually bottles as well I believe.

There's also a Lucozade station for the Half.

Hard Worker

Burkie1203 wrote: »

They got the start badly wrong.

It needs to be a 5m wide corral so the wider road is easy to get away cleanly.

Other then that it was excellent stuff

The start worked out perfectly well. The narrower gantry meant that each wave of runners was filtered more slowly through the start line, which meant that once through the start line, you had a less congested run than if the gantry was the full width of the road.

Burkie1203

Hard Worker wrote: »

The start worked out perfectly well. The narrower gantry meant that each wave of runners was filtered more slowly through the start line, which meant that once through the start line, you had a less congested run than if the gantry was the full width of the road.

But we lost a third of the road due to parked cars. It was much more congested for me anyway compared to the Irish Runner 10 mile

skyblue46

Burkie1203 wrote: »

But we lost a third of the road due to parked cars. It was much more congested for me anyway compared to the Irish Runner 10 mile

Ah will ya stop. Most races don't even have closed roads and you're complaining about parked cars? We're hobby joggers and get sections of the park closed off most weekends for races. Cycling which used to have 2 evening races a week can't get permission for any races. We have it great ... be grateful for that

average_runner

Burkie1203 wrote: »

But we lost a third of the road due to parked cars. It was much more congested for me anyway compared to the Irish Runner 10 mile

Well then run the Irish Runner 10 mile, its that simple.

You do know that the road is about twice the size of a normal road where most races take place.

ariana`

Got my number for the HM in the post yesterday.

I'm not very familiar with running in The PP but I have a rough idea of the course. Just wondering what people's experiences/thoughts are on running this particular HM with a Pacer?

TIA.

Explosive_Cornflake

ariana` wrote: »

Got my number for the HM in the post yesterday.

I'm not very familiar with running in The PP but I have a rough idea of the course. Just wondering what people's experiences/thoughts are on running this particular HM with a Pacer?

TIA.

It would be a good idea. It's a bit tough in a few places, so having the pacer should smooth that out, i.e. quicker is some spots, slower in some others.

ariana`

Explosive_Cornflake wrote: »

It would be a good idea. It's a bit tough in a few places, so having the pacer should smooth that out, i.e. quicker is some spots, slower in some others.

Thanks. I wasn't sure if they would do that or attempt even splits. I know the last mile is tough so i don't want to be left in a position where i'm expected to run it at the same pace that i ran down it in mile 2.

Unthought Known

ariana` wrote: »

Got my number for the HM in the post yesterday.

I'm not very familiar with running in The PP but I have a rough idea of the course. Just wondering what people's experiences/thoughts are on running this particular HM with a Pacer?

TIA.

Pretty sure the pacers run even splits, the same as DCM. If you're planning on following pacers for the marathon it might be a good idea to do that for the half. At least you'll get a chance to see if you want to follow blindly or allow them to pull away slightly uphill. You might even get the same pacers for both races.

ariana`

Unthought Known wrote: »

Pretty sure the pacers run even splits, the same as DCM. If you're planning on following pacers for the marathon it might be a good idea to do that for the half. At least you'll get a chance to see if you want to follow blindly or allow them to pull away slightly uphill. You might even get the same pacers for both races.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not doing the marathon, just the half, it's the only race i have planned at the moment so it's bit more important to me than a tune up on the road to DCM. The problem i see is it looks as if the first 3 miles are relatively quick (?) before the drags start for the next 5 miles or so. I'm usually cautious of going out hard and blowing up later but i'm wondering on this course if that's the thing to do? It's well over a year since i've done a HM or a 10m etc so i'm feeling generally a bit under prepared from a race tactics perspective, some nerves creeping in.

skyblue46

ariana` wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I'm not doing the marathon, just the half, it's the only race i have planned at the moment so it's bit more important to me than a tune up on the road to DCM. The problem i see is it looks as if the first 3 miles are relatively quick (?) before the drags start for the next 5 miles or so. I'm usually cautious of going out hard and blowing up later but i'm wondering on this course if that's the thing to do? It's well over a year since i've done a HM or a 10m etc so i'm feeling generally a bit under prepared from a race tactics perspective, some nerves creeping in.

You'll be grand! I'll message you later about the course. I don't think I'd attach to pacers if they do even paces to be honest.

blackwhite

ariana` wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I'm not doing the marathon, just the half, it's the only race i have planned at the moment so it's bit more important to me than a tune up on the road to DCM. The problem i see is it looks as if the first 3 miles are relatively quick (?) before the drags start for the next 5 miles or so. I'm usually cautious of going out hard and blowing up later but i'm wondering on this course if that's the thing to do? It's well over a year since i've done a HM or a 10m etc so i'm feeling generally a bit under prepared from a race tactics perspective, some nerves creeping in.

I've attached the profile from last year below - it's really only the 2nd mile that's downhill in the first section (albeit quite strongly downhill for the 2nd half), with the first mile relatively flat. I tend to try and hold myself back down the Glen Road as it's easy to get dragged along by the crowds.
1st half of Mile 3 is quite a drag uphill, but 2nd half once you reach the s-bends isn't too bad.
Short downhill to start mile 4, before back steep uphill for Wellington Rd to Cenotaph. Still uphill but lesser gradient after that all the way around and onto Chesterfield Ave before the turn in towards the zoo and start mile 5. There's a quick down-and-up as you pass "through" the zoo, but miles 5, 6 and 7 are a very gradual uphill back to the Castleknock gate - doesn't feel a whole lot different to running on the flat.
Miles 8 & 9, once you leave the park on White's Rd and around to Tower Rd there's a fairly stead pull till just before Mt Sackville convent, then a bit downhill to Knockmaroon gate. Other than the dip on Knockmaroon Rd then it's relatively flat mile (slight up followed by slight down) as you head back to the start-line. I find you only really feel the downhill when you turn onto Acres Rd midway through mile 11, but then you've a nice 1.5 mile downhill back to the Glen Rd. I try to take a bit of "recovery" on the 2nd half of this (after passing the pitches and down towards the curves) to keep some wind for back up Glen Rd. Just remember - Glen Rd looks worse than it actually is - the hardest part is at the bottom and once you've passed the branch down to the Furry Glen the slope eases off. After that it's a very slight uphill for the last 3/4 mile to the finish

SeeMoreBut

I found white's road slippy under foot from the sap from the trees.

I was hoping we would be back to farmleigh this year but looks not.

Depending on wind acres road can be tough as wide open.

I always say if you mind yourself till around halfway you'll be fine. It is a negative course. Blackwhite has summed it up well

skyblue46

Yes, blackwhite has provided a good course guide. The only thing I'd point out is that with the odd little exception you are basically climbing all the way from Islandbridge gate to Ashtown gate. The course profile shows this clearly. As he says it doesn't feel a whole lot different to running on the flat but I'd be inclined not to fight too hard on this section to hold any planned pace. It is also a section that is normally into the prevailing breeze. There are plenty of sections later in the race to pull back time.

chris85

Plan to try keep a steady effort to top of Whites Road and I think then will try have enough in the tank to turn it up a notch. Good place to earn some time back with nice downhill, coming back into the park, then the crowds on Chesterfield Avenue. Then recover a little on the back end of the acres road and go for final push up the hill and home. Quite a similar strategy to the 10M. Just may end up pushing from further out due to course profile.

justfortherecor

Does anyone know what the story will be for car parking on the day. Route seems to cover the outer peripheral roads, so presume they're largely unavailable on the day. Lower Chesterfield road a possibility or do they open up anything in the internal part of the park for cars? Thanks

blackwhite

justfortherecor wrote: »

Does anyone know what the story will be for car parking on the day. Route seems to cover the outer peripheral roads, so presume they're largely unavailable on the day. Lower Chesterfield road a possibility or do they open up anything in the internal part of the park for cars? Thanks

Usually parking inside the Ashtown Gate, but it's limited enough capacity