Dublin Marathon 2022

robinph

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119820404#Comment_119820404

I've bought a set of pictures from a very small number of races.

One Dublin where my wife ran a PB. One three day race series event in Austria which we both did and had some epic scenery. And one London Marathon where I smashed my PB and had remembered to cross the line arms aloft and managed to get a picture with nobody else around me on the line.

They have to be pretty epic events, stunning photos or something really significant going on to bother parting with any cash. Have very good photos from more other events where they were provided "free" as part of the entry, and those type of photos probably get posted around social media by people, and publicise the various events better than any stupid expensive ones that next to nobody buys.

Kellygirl

My report is finally done on my log.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119820778#Comment_119820778

smeal

Well done to everyone who ran DCM this year! Amazing achievement 😊

I didn’t take up my entry this year as I ran Amsterdam two weeks ago instead (which I would recommend). Think I’ll give it a miss next year also and will focus on option A Berlin if I get a spot or Option B, Frankfurt.

As much as I love the crowd buzz of DCM, €110 is very steep for what it is. I’m not saying I’ll never be back to DCM but personally I can’t hack the same route over and over again and knowing every hill and bend! I found the Amsterdam miles flew by with the change in scenery.

Was the refund system only because of Covid and DCM not going ahead last year? If so, I think its unfair to pressurise runners into the guaranteed entry so soon after the marathon. After Xmas would do and then offer up lottery entries in early Spring which is what I think they used to do. It gives people time to recover and decide whether they want to do it next year or not. Training for a marathon is a big commitment for most people and €110 is a lot of money for most people to potentially throw down the drain without the option of a refund or a full name transfer.

FazyLucker

I wonder are they skint and need the cash to pay this year bills? Been a tough few years and maybe they still in bother?

Unthought Known

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119820794#Comment_119820794

For €113 they'd better change the colour of the hat and finishers top next year!

rovers_runner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821217#Comment_119821217

Wonder where the 10,000 unused t-shirts and beanies will end up this winter?

Will be poor if they don't adapt to stop this happening again, free pass given with covid for this year but if they have the same happen again without a transfer system in place it's on them.

event

One thing to ask, was it just me or were the mile markers ages out. Watches aren't exact I know but seemed to beep way ahead of the actual signs

adrian522

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821296#Comment_119821296

I was hitting lap button each mile marker to try and get more accurate splits but yeah a few of them seemed a bit out. You have to remember though that each mile marker needs to go on a lamppost or something so it can't always be in the exact location. Often the actual mile marker is marked on the road and the actual sign a little bit ahead.

omicron

For all the complaints about the price I said I'd have a look around and see what else is available around Europe.

In no particular order:

Berlin - €163

Amsterdam - €105

Manchester - €80.25

London UK resident - €58.14

London international - €169.75

Paris - €120 (average depending on registration date)

Rotterdam - €95 - average

Valencia - €105 average

Rome - €95

Belfast €52.30

Cork (2022) €72.50

And further afield:

New York - €300 (US resident)/€365 international

Boston - €225 us/235 international

Melbourne - €162

Auckland €113

Tokyo - €166

I don't like paying it but I honestly don't think it's out of line cost wise and they have probably incurred massive cost with the 2 deferrals the last few years.

Kellygirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821296#Comment_119821296

The mile 9 one seemed particularly far out and mile 10 and then the others within reason but I think it’s because of where the lampposts are. Apparently the correct markers are on the ground, not that I ever saw one.

event

Good shout on lampposts, hadn't thought of it

Wottle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821388#Comment_119821388

Take Amsterdam for example, you get an Olympic stadium start and finish, a high quality technical T-Shirt, a top class field (Dibaba 1500m WR holder & Rio Olympic gold medalist Ayana both making their debuts) and it's televised and a faster course.

Not to mention a city that has excellent transport and hotels that aren't out to rip you off.

There's no comparison!

racersedge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821388#Comment_119821388

I imagine, like what we saw for the local races, prices are only going to gone way, especially in this post-Covid world, on top of having to deal with the inflation. Yeah, I’ll admit I was initially taken aback at the price - especially as it’s only gone one way in recent years. It’s probably a case of it also been the home one, it’s the first place we look and the last price we pay is the yardstick. Probably sounds a bit hypocritical, but I would find myself more willing to pay a fee for the idea of going aboard and making a weekend of it. Personally, my current thought is to give Dublin a miss in favour of something different, whether that is a marathon or maybe to focus on a half or something. I have until Thursday morning to decide, I suppose! It’s a shame for the tight turnaround. I’d fancy some time to really chew over it and make a proper call on it!

justfortherecor

Have ran both Amsterdam and Dublin and still prefer the latter - crowds much better and I found the section out and back along the river in Amsterdam to be fairly uninspiring (start / finish in the centre is great in fairness).

Can understand some of the frustration being vented here re the cost increase for the 2023 version, but at a time where we're unfortunately dealing with eurozone inflation rates of 10%+ YoY, €110 vs €93 3 years ago doesn't seem wildly out of step.

Personally, I'm still on the fence whether to enter next year but that's more down to finding it hard to immediately consider entering another after still suffering from the physical effects of Sunday!

deconduo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821388#Comment_119821388

Hat, running top, and goodie bag are all included as well. I had to pay an extra €30 for the finisher tshirt in Berlin, and there was no goodie bag 😔

omicron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821401#Comment_119821401

Glad I'm not the only one, thought I was losing the plot at mile 9! Felt like I never got the extra distance back either although ended up veering around the road a bit at the water stop at the chapelizod gate which probably added a few yards to the Garmin.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821565#Comment_119821565

"I ran 26.2 miles and all I got was this lousy banana!" 🤣

event

My biggest question is where is the extra money going? I don't believe there is anyone in the organizing side pocketing money or anything but it's just gone up a lot in recent years. Probably insurance. I wonder are Irish Life giving less than KBC were?

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821630#Comment_119821630

There has been no income at all since 2019, but there still would have been some (probably fairly minimal, but I'm only guessing) running expenses, and costs have only gone one way in the last couple of years.

There were noticeable cutbacks, too - e.g., previous years, volunteers had a staging area in one of the local hotels (I think the Mont Clare), with tea, coffee, pastries, etc., which was useful for signing in at 6:30am (or earlier!) and keeping warm. This year we got teas, coffees and food from a truck, and there were two portaloos... (also, a Mont Clare staff member just inside the door telling us no, we couldn't use the loo - considering the amount of money they were making from runners, that was a bit ****!)

TheRef

I just checked....

I entered the lottery for this year back in January and paid €15 to enter the lottery and another €98 for my place.

So it's the same price in 2023 as it was to enter in January 2022.

ger664

Well done to all that finished.

For me the cost marathon is not the issue. Its the cost of 2 nights accommodation in Dublin. I skipped Dublin this year for Malaga in December. Marathon Entry,7 nights Air BNB (own apartment), flights and herself in tow for €650

If Dublin gave an option to post/collect bibs on the day then I would consider it again.

As regards Bottles/Cups. Bottles are a serious trip sprain ankle issue for runners. Nearly every foreign race I have ran are mostly cups with the odd bottle station early in the race

event

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821757#Comment_119821757

Were there not virtual runs in 2020 and 2021?

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821456#Comment_119821456

Amsterdam has fabulous transport alright. I was there the weekend after the marathon - a fairly short notice trip but the hotel prices were still WAY higher than expected. Definitely plenty of post-covid service-cutting going on (it was the same in Chicago).

First world problems, of course, for relatively affluent marathon tourists, and you have to remember the Dublin hotel market is not in a normal state at the moment due to our f*cked up housing and accommodation ‘markets’. Have never done the Amsterdam marathon but it seems similarly priced to Dublin really for a good second-tier marathon. If Dublin had hosted the 1928 Olympics though, the stadium would probably have been torn down long ago to build a shopping centre and then that would have been torn down to build a car park or maybe a hotel, depending on where the tax breaks were going. So a start/finish there wouldn't be an option. Our own start/finish area, a historic Georgian architectural streetscape, is pretty special too, although we don't really see that as locals.

We have a great marathon in Dublin and it’s never going to be immune to the spiralling costs that are apparent now pretty much everywhere. The root cause of that lies elsewhere. Costs will be cut. And corners will be cut, like the ones already mentioned. The marathon top that I got would be returned to the shop if I’d bought it - very low quality, loose threads everywhere. I hope the pacers got paid the usual stipend, although you could argue they are no less deserving than the people who are on their feet all day (some of them for two days) at the expo.

The world is in a strange place at the moment. I was lucky enough to be in Chicago for the recent marathon and our hotel was very expensive considering the self-service breakfast, which was very decent, to be fair, but very low-rent with plastic cutlery and paper plates, apparently in the name of covid (which has been a big boon for the single-use plastic market). Also nobody cleaning your hotel room unless you booked that a day in advance, by 10am! (The same in Amsterdam with room cleaning being 'overlooked', seemingly by accident). Again, first world probs, but when you're paying through the nose they are hard to ignore. Similarly in Chicago restaurants and bars seemed incredibly short staffed, so long queues everywhere, long waits for your meal, etc - similar to the post-race situation in McGrattans!

So the hospitality industry is in difficulty at the minute, and probably should be factored out of city-to-city marathon comparisons, because nothing is normal.

A bit of an unfocused post, maybe, but just to throw in some semi-related thoughts. I don't want to pay 100+ for any marathon, but I can see why it's now quite normal.

TLDR: Marathon events suffer as much as every other sector from the political and economic pressures evident all over the western world (and maybe the eastern and southern and northern worlds that most of us know f*ckall about, for yet another set of reasons).

Trampas

They’ve to pay for everything barriers, Gardai, portaloos etc.

They don’t get handouts from council. Public transport should be free if you’ve a number. Might encourage a few more people to not drive. A few special buses to drop people near the start area instead of wherever their bus goes.

I was driving in via n4 myself and met the first group of people walking in St. John’s road. That’s a nice warm up

the mile markers where the big things that stand on ground which they have been using for years

Im doing Valencia in a month so be interesting to compare as first abroad marathon since 2014 in Rotterdam and that was cups i think. Hopefully don’t suffer as much

Burkie1203

If they want to cut costs then a route change is probably one way that can be done. Spend more time in Phoenix Park etc to reduce equipment needs etc

Manchester in April had quite a few points you go past twice which was were they had portaloos etc

Cost wise itself it's a reasonable amount but they needed a govt grant about 18 months ago IIRC to keep their heads above water

Entries wise they need a transfer system in place until say July 31st each year

Sunny Dayz

I do think they are going to have to put in some sort of transfer or refund system in 2023. 15k out of 25k entrants showing up on the morning - that (IMO) is a poor show - one third not doing it. There would have been so much wastage of entry packs, finishing tops, medals, goodie bags etc. But then do the organisers really care when they've long since pocketed €90/€100 from these no-shows.

Unknownability

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119822386#Comment_119822386

I'd be surprised if they'd ordered more than 18,000 of anything. They would have had it built in.

FazyLucker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119822328#Comment_119822328

I would HATE to spend longer than needed in the Phoenix Park. My worst nightmare would be a route with more of it.

FazyLucker

Re organising these things, somebody once said "It is easy to organise anything from the fence" and to say "well why don't they do X, Y and Z". In reality, thee is very often a reason why they don't. The logistic effort which must go in to this, for a largely volunteer based organisation, must be phenomenal.

My only 2 gripes are I think a route change would be welcome (even from a "something different" perspective) and a transfer/refund scheme should be added, even if it costs you €20/30 for the refund/transfer to be administered.

sk8board

re the mile markers, we had a large club group and everyone seemed to cover about 42.45 - 42.55km, pretty normal.

i gained about half that before I got into the Park.

however - the halfway mats seemed wrong, it was too far forward.

if you check the app for the split times of any athlete, it shows that their pace dropped hugely between the 20k mat just 1.1km previously, mine too, but my pace was exactly the same, I just had to travel further between those 2 mat’s, about 100m further I reckon.

it didn’t matter to me I had one of those wristbands to check times at the mile markers, and I didn't hear my watch beep each mile anyway with all the crowd noise :)