Running in Ireland: August 2017

Thursday, 31 August 2017

Weekend Races 1st - 3rd September 2017

Races This Weekend - 25 races so far, see below! Where are you Running?

Here's the list of running races on by county this coming weekend. If there are any that I've missed, just chat a message below and I'll update.

Connaught

Sligo	Sunday	The ODubhda Challenge	5K	10K	Half Marathon	Marathon

Roscommon	Sunday	Ros Go Run	10K	Half Marathon

Leinster

Kildare	Sunday	Mondello Marathon	10K	Half Marathon	Marathon

Louth	Saturday	Seamie Weldon Memorial Run	5K

Wexford	Sunday	Tintern Abbey Trail Run	5K (trail)	8K (trail)
		Kilrane 5Mile	5Mile

Meath	Sunday	Ashbourne Road Race	6K	10K

Westmeath	Friday	Streete Parish Park Road Race	5K

Munster

Cork	Saturday	Elaine Lehane Memorial 5k	5K
	Sunday	IMRA, Nagles 18K	18K (Trail)

Waterford	Friday	Cill Barra 5k	5K
	Saturday	West Waterford Greenway Half Marathon	Half Marathon

Kerry	Friday	Kerry Way Ultra	200K
	Saturday	Kerry Way Ultra Lite	60K
		Dingle Marathon	Half Marathon	Marathon

Clare	Friday	Cooraclare Sept 2k Series, Clonreddan	2K
	Saturday	Declan Hayes Memorial fun run	10K

Ulster

Down	Sunday	BK10K	5K	10K

Derry	Saturday	Moneymore GAC Run	5K	10K
	Sunday	Waterside Half Marathon	Half Marathon

Antrim	Saturday	Run for the Hills	5K	10K
	Sunday	Laganside 10k	10K

Donegal	Friday	CLG Sean MacCumhaills 5K	5K

Fermanagh	Saturday	Garrison Fiver Miler	5Mile
		Stairway to Heaven	7K

Wednesday, 30 August 2017

The Irish 3/4 Marathon

The Irish 3/4 Marathon - an essential step on the road to the Dublin City Marathon

If, like me, you are one of 20,000 people signed up for the Dublin Marathon (or the other marathons around the same time) then you are likely dreading the thoughts of your "Long Run". Well, in this post I'll cover 'the answer to your prayers'......The Irish 3/4 Marathon.

This race was first run in 2010 as a way for runners to prepare for the Dublin City Marathon and it has grown in popularity since then. It is 19.6 miles and on 3 weeks before Dublin, so it corresponds with most training plans that recommend doing that distance 3 weeks before the marathon (and the last significant run before tapering). The race is on Sunday 8th October.

I've run this race twice, when preparing for Dublin and for New York (and I'll be back again this year). The mantra of the organisers is not to treat it as a race, but rather as training. And thus, everything is set up in this way. For example the pacers will run 5% slower than your marathon race pace, as that is considered the ideal way to train at this time (you don't want to burn out before the big event).

Atmosphere

All of this creates a unique atmosphere of camaraderie. Nobody is really there under pressure to perform, so are in the mood to just have an enjoyable run and chat to new people along the way. I've spent both my runs there just talking to different groups about how their training has been going and what they expect in Dublin......the miles just fly by. And the alternative (which I've also done before) of doing the long run on your own pales in comparison.

The Course

This race is run on very quiet country roads, but is pretty scenic also. There is no major hills to worry about, just a couple of small climbs over river/canal bridges. It's only an 88m gain spread out over the entire course. Actually the 88m gain is 3/4 of the gain in the Dublin Marathon, which has a gain of 119m (again ideal preparation). Here's the course:

What you get

All finishers get a nice long sleeve tshirt, a medal and running gloves, all pictured below:

Register

This race will Definitely Sell Out well in advance (it has the last couple of years), so if you can see the benefit the race to your training plans, don't leave it to late, register now. Also, keep in mind the price increase on 1st September, so try register on or before Thursday 31st. See you there......here's the link:

irish3quartermarathon.ie/

Wednesday, 23 August 2017

Weekend Races 25th - 27th August 2017

Races This Weekend - 38 races so far, see below! Where are you Running?