Dublin Marathon 2020

geodesic

Gutted about this year's event, but like everyone else not surprised. Glad they're deferring entries by default to next year.

I hope this doesn't burst the DCM bubble ... it's come at the worst possible time, after the (hamfisted to be fair) strategy to maximize & quantify demand for the 2020 race via the lottery.

rovers_runner

geodesic wrote: »

Gutted about this year's event, but like everyone else not surprised. Glad they're deferring entries by default to next year.

I hope this doesn't burst the DCM bubble ... it's come at the worst possible time, after the (hamfisted to be fair) strategy to maximize & quantify demand for the 2020 race via the lottery.

If anything it will consolidate the interest among new entrants, and also I'd expect the race series will sell out completely for 2021.

If you take into account they don't have any full time staff they aren't exposed for any financial losses given they have acted early this year. I would say the race series excess revenue only serves to bolster the main event pot on a given year.

average_runner

youngrun wrote: »

Understandable and disappointing all in one re marathon .

Govt should at least give some guidance to Sport Ireland re event sizes post August at an early stage, all they have said is events north of 5000 are off , AI should be looking for some clarity otherwise nothing will happen for a very long time outside some small scale track events

The government will give guidance when they see what works in Europe. No point giving some advice and then saying 2 months later its not valid.

youngrun

average_runner wrote: »

The government will give guidance when they see what works in Europe. No point giving some advice and then saying 2 months later its not valid.

How about taking the lead for once we are part of Europe... esp with a renowned athlete at the helm of Sport Ireland...

average_runner

youngrun wrote: »

How about taking the lead for once we are part of Europe... esp with a renowned athlete at the helm of Sport Ireland...

You mean take a gamble?


I don't believe that is the right approach, we are only out of lockdown so we have an advantage to watch and learn from other countries. If results are good there then we can do it. If their method fails, we keep going with our plan and some adjustments.


We could do the Italy approach and just open all up, but if that fails you be the first to moan.



Playing safe is the best approach and other countries are doing that also.

youngrun

average_runner wrote: »

You mean take a gamble?


I don't believe that is the right approach, we are only out of lockdown so we have an advantage to watch and learn from other countries. If results are good there then we can do it. If their method fails, we keep going with our plan and some adjustments.


We could do the Italy approach and just open all up, but if that fails you be the first to moan.



Playing safe is the best approach and other countries are doing that also.

Yes I would go for it , very low risk for anyone fit to take part

Dont see any future in road races in 2020 and unlikely any big events in 2021 with the current strategy of inching along and social distancing.

Time to get an exit plan on the table from restrictions etc and get the country back to sport and keeping healthy . Sport Ireland and AI should be at the forefront of this , every other sector is , why not sport ?????

Zebra3

Just got a mail from the organisers.

Am I right in saying that by doing nothing my place is deferred to 2021?

robinph

Zebra3 wrote: »

Just got a mail from the organisers.

Am I right in saying that by doing nothing my place is deferred to 2021?

That's my understanding of things.

geodesic

The hints about a virtual option are intriguing. The model used by Belfast could potentially work. Pick your own route, email in your Garmin tracking data, and then get a t-shirt in the post.

Probably very shallow of me ... but some virtual togetherness on the day, and of course some nice merch, would take the sting out of the cancellation.

SeeMoreBut

Don't get this virtual runs at all. Paying money for what really is a training run. Maybe for a separate thread

geodesic

SeeMoreBut wrote: »

Don't get this virtual runs at all. Paying money for what really is a training run.

Well the cost should be fairly minimal, just enough to cover a cheap t-shirt and some basic admin. IIUC the Belfast virtual run is a modest £15.

It would allow veterans to maintain their streaks in some sense, also keep a buzz going around the event. Bit of auld craic for everyone involved, some war stories on twitter etc.

Not that fund raising was ever the main point of the DCM, it would allow the charities who normally benefit (Laura Lynn, Simon Community, whatever) to at least get some sponsorship activity going.

London obviously is in a whole other league when it comes to charity runners, and the estimated loss of donations if that event doesn't go ahead is eye-watering (60-70 million sterling).

MayoSalmon

We can all take solace in the fact everyone seems to be of the opinion that the virus will suddenly disappear on January 1st 2021

sdevine89

It would have been my first marathon and I have personally no interest in my first time over the distance not being a proper race. So I'd have no interest in a 'virtual' race.

Would happily do 'virtual' races for the other race series events though.

average_runner

MayoSalmon wrote: »

We can all take solace in the fact everyone seems to be of the opinion that the virus will suddenly disappear on January 1st 2021

Things can change quickly, a virus can go as quick as it comes sometimes.
We can only hope and try to be positive without putting lives at risk

geodesic

average_runner wrote: »

Things can change quickly, a virus can go as quick as it comes sometimes.

Indeed ... exponential on the way up, exponential on the way down.

Also possible there'll be a vaccine and/or an effective treatment available by middle of next year.

MayoSalmon

average_runner wrote: »

Things can change quickly, a virus can go as quick as it comes sometimes.
We can only hope and try to be positive without putting lives at risk

I class it more as naivety than positivity at this stage.

We will all be social distancing well into 2021 and beyond most likely so the race conditions will be no different than today.

We need to start learning how to adapt and live with this virus.

Their is a real possibility of the cure is becoming way worse than the disease if it hasn't already.

BaZmO*

Did everyone get the email for the KBC Virtual Dublin Marathon Events 2020?

You have been invited to enter the 2020 KBC Virtual Dublin Marathon events as a loyal participant of the 2020 KBC Dublin Marathon & Series. It will take place on the October bank holiday weekend, marking when thousands of runners traditionally hit the streets of Dublin. Despite the cancellation of this year’s marathon, the virtual race will ensure you still have a goal to target. There are also options to sign up for the KBC Virtual Race Series distances; 4 Mile, 10km and Half Marathon. Participating with your smartphone you can complete the distances safely in your local area and will be supported by the Dublin Marathon app, which will record your distance and upload your time automatically.

It's €15 for the full marathon and €12 for all the others. I'm kinda confused about this. What's the point in paying? What exactly are you getting for your money?

Casey78

Basically its €15 for a medal for doing a long training run.

BaZmO*

Casey78 wrote: »

Basically its €15 for a medal for doing a long training run.

I was wondering if you actually get a medal as it doesn't mention it in the email.

I wondering if it's a case that the medals are already made and they're trying to make their money back?

healy1835

I do love my DCM Beanies though

ariana`

BaZmO* wrote: »

It's €15 for the full marathon and €12 for all the others. I'm kinda confused about this. What's the point in paying? What exactly are you getting for your money?

A medal and a beanie for the full marathon.

Just a medal for the race series distances.

py

healy1835 wrote: »

I do love my DCM Beanies though

How else will people know I ran a marathon?

robinph

No email for me.

Don't think I'd be wanting the medal anyway, although a hat and a donation of €15 to ensure that the marathon gets to survive a year with zero income I can live with.

SeeMoreBut

You've to run the distance in a day with the app running on your phone also.

rovers_runner

They are discouraging people from running the Dublin marathon route, why say that when there are no movement restrictions....

Threy will only accept your time tracked by their GPS app on your phone, no garmin/strava etc.

Going to be a **** show on the day when the app falls over like their registration system did.


I'll be doing the proper route possibly that weekend in my own time.
Will see how accurate their GPS app is then...

rovers_runner

SeeMoreBut wrote: »

You've to run the distance in a day with the app running on your phone also.

Can't see how people would have a problem with doing the distance all at once, that's the whole point of the race?

The app angle is a strange one mind....

EC1000

rovers_runner wrote: »

They are discouraging people from running the Dublin marathon route, why say that when there are no movement restrictions....

I would imagine they are conscious of people "racing" and having to negotiate loads of busy city centre junctions. Someone running for a time is not going to stop for traffic lights. Recipe for disaster.

robinph

rovers_runner wrote: »

They are discouraging people from running the Dublin marathon route, why say that when there are no movement restrictions....

Threy will only accept your time tracked by their GPS app on your phone, no garmin/strava etc.

Going to be a **** show on the day when the app falls over like their registration system did.


I'll be doing the proper route possibly that weekend in my own time.
Will see how accurate three or GPS app is then...

The same reason that parkrun have been banging on about not doing parkruns at 9am/ 9:30am in the location of the actual parkruns for the last several months. You can't have that number of people congregating at the same time in one location under your brand name, be that parkrun or DCM, and then try and claim no responsibility for the policing of the occasion.

Needing to use their specific app is an odd one though, not difficult to link in with Strava/ Garmin/ etc and get the distances confirmed that way. Well it's easy in that people who know how have it already figured out and have been setting up virtual races using those systems for months.

Not seeing anything on the DCM website yet about this though.

chris85

never seen a virtual run off an app (apart from wings for life race which was required due to the nature of the race). This will definitely put a lot of people off it. Would never normally like to run this far with a phone but will see. Investing back into the Dublin Marathon I think is important also to keep it going. Its only €15 so cannot argue too much. Some great memories doing DCM the last 3 years so they can have my money even if I dont end up running it in the end.

healy1835

py wrote: »

How else will people know I ran a marathon?

They'll tell you of course

Casey78

rovers_runner wrote: »

They are discouraging people from running the Dublin marathon route, why say that when there are no movement restrictions....

...

Probably don't want people organising group runs of the route on the day. Could get very messy if loads of groups all try to run it at once.

rovers_runner

Casey78 wrote: »

Probably don't want people organising group runs of the route on the day. Could get very messy if loads of groups all try to run it at once.

We could see a couple of "necessary" bank holiday road closures so to put people off gathering in Fitzwilliam Sq on the Sunday morning.

Will aim to do it Saturday morning I think for fear of large numbers causing anger on the Sunday.

Not a huge amount of traffic to navigate on the route anyway, few close junctions in south inner city in the first 2 miles.
After that it's handy enough to keep moving with long stretches to manage road crossings.

event

No interest in a virtual marathon tbh, just dont see the point.

positron

Strange email and idea from DCM folks.

If I really miss running DCM, the next best thing would be for me to go out there to rock up there on my own and a day earlier or later, and run the route in reverse - time on watch, results on Strava, I don't care about their app.

But, then again, it's probably easier (and more scenic) to plot a 42.2k out and back route near me rather than travelling all the way to Dublin. Hmm, time to get running again.

rizzee

Got the email too. Would jump on this if I didn't have to carry around my phone! No thanks.

robinph

Just got the email through myself.

Looking through the FAQ most of it makes sense, like must run on that specific weekend, must run outside, mustn't run in big groups, mustn't run the actual route.

The requirement to use their app is very odd though. The only "benefit" I can see that providing is reducing support calls from people who can't figure out their Strava uploads, but it's surely going to create way more support calls from when the app crashes on people, is a massive battery drain and then fails to actually upload the results for some reason. Reading between the lines it seems that it will show a virtual map of the Dublin course whilst you run and where you would then be on the route as you run around somewhere else...but who gives a crap about that whilst they are running?

I'm currently watching a dot move around the Pennines in England as someone trys to break the FKT for that, but the person actually doing it doesn't care where their dot is on a virtual map. It's cool that someone has figured out the software hack to make that happen, but it's utterly pointless for the person running.

I'm certainly tempted by the €15 for a hat and would then send them my Garmin trace after the event so they could do some stats about who and how various people took part for their PR, but running their app on my phone at the same time is a definite turn off. Have various essential for life apps running on my phone and not sure I'd be comfortable with testing their potentially battery draining app for the first time whilst out on a multi hour marathon distance run.

py

Agree with the above about the app, it's a needless showstopper.

The Davestator

robinph wrote: »

Just got the email through myself.

Looking through the FAQ most of it makes sense, like must run on that specific weekend, must run outside, mustn't run in big groups, mustn't run the actual route.

The requirement to use their app is very odd though. The only "benefit" I can see that providing is reducing support calls from people who can't figure out their Strava uploads, but it's surely going to create way more support calls from when the app crashes on people, is a massive battery drain and then fails to actually upload the results for some reason. Reading between the lines it seems that it will show a virtual map of the Dublin course whilst you run and where you would then be on the route as you run around somewhere else...but who gives a crap about that whilst they are running?

I'm currently watching a dot move around the Pennines in England as someone trys to break the FKT for that, but the person actually doing it doesn't care where their dot is on a virtual map. It's cool that someone has figured out the software hack to make that happen, but it's utterly pointless for the person running.

I'm certainly tempted by the €15 for a hat and would then send them my Garmin trace after the event so they could do some stats about who and how various people took part for their PR, but running their app on my phone at the same time is a definite turn off. Have various essential for life apps running on my phone and not sure I'd be comfortable with testing their potentially battery draining app for the first time whilst out on a multi hour marathon distance run.

Surely any fully charged phone battery could handle running multiple apps with location settings on for 3 - 5 hours?

Doesn't seem like that's an issue to be concerned about at all.

Download their app, use it and uninstall it after. Seems fairly straightforward.

robinph

The Davestator wrote: »

Surely any fully charged phone battery could handle running multiple apps with location settings on for 3 - 5 hours?

Doesn't seem like that's an issue to be concerned about at all.

Download their app, use it and uninstall it after. Seems fairly straightforward.

Yep, but fairly pointless.

I'm already running with a Garmin on my watch tracking me, which is then uploading the live data so that the family can see exactly where I am. That can then be linked with Strava or uploaded to any other site which they care to link with.

Why do I need another single use app for doing a virtual Dublin Marathon that's only additional feature appears to be it will show a dot on a map of where I am whilst running, which has to be one of the most pointless features of a running app as who watches their phone screen whilst running?

Burkie1203

The Davestator wrote: »

Surely any fully charged phone battery could handle running multiple apps with location settings on for 3 - 5 hours?

Doesn't seem like that's an issue to be concerned about at all.

Download their app, use it and uninstall it after. Seems fairly straightforward.

Until their app crashes on the day


The irish runner series ran virtual events where you upload your time online and add a picture from your Garmin or Strava

I'd sign up for the half but not if I have to use my phone. I don't run with my phone and haven't done in 3 years or more. Seems a bit daft really

Trampas

Think of all the data they’ll have if you use their app and not some random garmin link

6run28

Im on the fence at the moment..not keen on running with a phone but not the end of the world to stick it in a belt...am pretty desperate to do a marathon run and might be a fun day out

sgal

I've signed up for it, partly because it gives me something to train and aim for and partly because the DCM has been a great occasion over the last 3 or 4 years. Initially I was planning on my usual long run route being what I'll run on the marathon day. However, part of the appeal of the DCM is that my wife and myself get away for two nights in Dublin (a lot of trouble for time away from the kids I guess!). So I'm kinda thinking of trying to do it in Dublin and make a weekend of it. Is it hard to work out a straight forward route? E.g. could I run loops of the Phoenix park or something. I'm not terribly familiar with Dublin so just looking for a few opinions. Thank you.

The Davestator

sgal wrote: »

I've signed up for it, partly because it gives me something to train and aim for and partly because the DCM has been a great occasion over the last 3 or 4 years. Initially I was planning on my usual long run route being what I'll run on the marathon day. However, part of the appeal of the DCM is that my wife and myself get away for two nights in Dublin (a lot of trouble for time away from the kids I guess!). So I'm kinda thinking of trying to do it in Dublin and make a weekend of it. Is it hard to work out a straight forward route? E.g. could I run loops of the Phoenix park or something. I'm not terribly familiar with Dublin so just looking for a few opinions. Thank you.

You could run a mix of the park and maybe the coastal route from Howth, through city and out past Dun Laoghaire. Coastal path most of the way but wind could be an issue. Also depends on where you will be staying.

chris85

sgal wrote: »

I've signed up for it, partly because it gives me something to train and aim for and partly because the DCM has been a great occasion over the last 3 or 4 years. Initially I was planning on my usual long run route being what I'll run on the marathon day. However, part of the appeal of the DCM is that my wife and myself get away for two nights in Dublin (a lot of trouble for time away from the kids I guess!). So I'm kinda thinking of trying to do it in Dublin and make a weekend of it. Is it hard to work out a straight forward route? E.g. could I run loops of the Phoenix park or something. I'm not terribly familiar with Dublin so just looking for a few opinions. Thank you.

Depends a little what you want from it perhaps. If you want a fast time then some loops with a make shift hydration station would be good and definitely could do this in the Phoenix Park. If more just to complete the distance then you could tag some good locations to see in Dublin and do up a route to cover them. But plenty of easy options in Phoenix Park, out in the coast, some good options on the canals. Bit harder in the city with traffic but very doable. I would rather try get out of the immediate city centre to get some decent stretches in for running.

knipper

If they want to raise funds they should open it up to all. No reason not to that I can think of. Loads would apply just to get their beanie.

robinph

I'll give them €15 for a beanie, but not if I also have to run their app inorder to be able to receive it. I'll almost certainly run a marathon distance that weekend, unless London do something similar at the beginning of the month in which case I'll be bored of the idea by the time it's Dublin's turn.

I see no reason so far to use their app for running a marathon distance training run though.

Rega

knipper wrote: »

If they want to raise funds they should open it up to all. No reason not to that I can think of. Loads would apply just to get their beanie.

It's open to the public from tomorrow at noon.

Murph_D

It wouldn’t be a Dublin (virtual) marathon without something to moan about! :pac:

Burkie1203

Rega wrote: »

It's open to the public from tomorrow at noon.

But you have to run with your phone and I would guess most people don't since Garmin and fitbits became widely available. I've not run with my phone since April or May 2017.

If I want to run one of these events I have to pay for the event and buy a new phone cover/strap for a one off. And what if their app crashes on the day?

Seems daft to run it this way IMO.