New Forest Marathon 2013

13»

Comments

  • Ran the half - superbly organised and amaxing volunteers.

    Had only one gripe - the mile markers were hopelessly inaccurate according to my GPS and that of others around me. First mile was long, I think, and then the rest were long after that.

    Poor guy next to me thought he was on for 1.30 as we passed the 12 mile marker if he really pushed the pace but I reckon we were more than 300 metres behind where he thought we were. Made me doubt my GPS - but sure enough that last 1.1 miles went on for a hell of a long way.

  • I also ran the half and the miles were not in sinc with my garmin, anywhere from 0:2 to 0:3 miles out, i also missed the 12 mile marker. 

     

    I really found this course hard, I was so hot and even though I always carry water topped up at every water station, if I do this next time I will practice hills!

    gosport half for me nextimage

  • I did the half a few years ago and the first mile marker was out and some others. It comes down to availability of somewhere to put the marker and also somewhere it will not be tampered with, hence why some are not quite right, I prefer to have a late marker than none at all.

     

  • E mmyE mmy ✭✭✭

    I thought some markers were out but not all of them. Mile 12 /mile 25 were spot on. 

  • Emmy H wrote (see)

    Mile 12 /mile 25 were spot on. 

    Not my experience or that of those running around me - 0.2 to 0.3 miles out.

    (I should add that I only started doubting the Garmin towards the end because (i) I don't have much idea what I'm doing; (ii) a guy running next to me convinced me the mile markers were right and the GPS wrong. image)

  • I suspect, that as the start/finish were both moved from previous years, that they may have put some of the markers down in the old spots, rather than the new as the amount they were out by was consistent in the main.

    Anyway, it's irrelevant surely, as:
    a) if you knew the markers were out then you were wearing a GPS watch and knew what pace you were running, and
    b) most importantly, the overall length was right.

    Well organised and supported as always, though I very nearly got hit by a local idiot in a pickup who couldn't wait to turn into his drive, but given he also nearly ran down the marshals they can't take the blame for not stopping him.

  • TippTop wrote (see)

    I very nearly got hit by a local idiot in a pickup who couldn't wait to turn into his drive, but given he also nearly ran down the marshals they can't take the blame for not stopping him.

    If it's the same incident, I heard about that afterwards from one of the spectators who took a picture of his number plate. Sounded horrendous - was told the guy kept pushing forward even with a marshall stood right in front of his car.

  • Interesting points about the distance. I use the Nike plus app on my iphone which measured it at 28.7miles !  As I've also used this for training its no surprise that I found it such hard work. I must admit that a 10% error does seem a lot. Anyone got any points ? I'd be grateful to hear your thoughts. Thanks

  • I don't think it is the same incident DavidIsRunning, as I remember there being 2 or 3 marshals on this part of the course, but no spectators. It was downhill and the guy's driveway was almost next to where the marshals were, so it would be easy for them to find him if they had wanted to rebuke him.

  • I never get why people have such blind faith in their GPS Watches ..... for one, everyone knows there is a variable margin of error. I have one type of my garmin, my gf has another type of garmin, and we have run side by side for a few miles and they still say slightly different distances in the end. Also for those moaning, I assume you of course followed that imaginary racing line that didnt exist in the New Forest HM, so how people can be quite so confident in their own watches and ability to find the ultimate racing line for miles and miles with no deviation at all is beyond me.

  • Mr A nonymous wrote (see)

    I never get why people have such blind faith in their GPS Watches ... For those moaning, I assume you of course followed that imaginary racing line that didnt exist in the New Forest HM, so how people can be quite so confident in their own watches and ability to find the ultimate racing line for miles and miles with no deviation at all is beyond me.

    I didn't have blind faith, which is why - wrongly - I began to assume towards the end that the mile markers were right, not the GPS.

    But you could hear lots of Garmins beeping as they passed each mile, not at exactly the same time, but fairly close, and some 300-400 metres after passing the official mile markers. Moreover, as I have pointed out the finish line was back in sync with the Garmins - with a difference of 0.02 miles in my case.

    And I was not moaning - just saying that everything was excellently organised, but that one detail seemed a bit strange. TippTopp's suggestion that they may have inadvertently used the 2012 positions for the markers despite moving the start/finish line makes sense to me.

  • I am pleased mile markers were used, I have done races before where it has been measured in kilometres, my brain can't work it out!

    i did see one person after the 11 mile marker who had pulled out and was sitting on the floor, they had 3 people around them, looked like maybe the heat got to them?

  • Great race and esxceptional marhalls. I agree that most of the mile markers were 0.2 short, however, I was aware of it and they are only for guidence purposes. Near the end they appeared to be spot on and my garmin measured 26.4 which is what I would expect with an element of weaving out and overtaking people.  

  • Definitely the toughest marathon I've done sofar (this was my 3rd)!  Managed to add on 17 minutes to my two previous marathon times so was a little disappointed but had been expecting it after people's reviews on the difficulty of the course.

    Awesome marshalls and support though! Such good banter amongst the other runners and of course beautiful scenery image

  • The majority of mile markers were definitely consistently around 0.3 miles out... time after time my Garmin beeped at around .7 of a mile. The giveaway was after I passed the "20 mile" marker with 19.67 miles on my Garmin, then when I got to 20 miles according to my Garmin I looked down on the road and "20" was spray painted in orange on the road.

    A minor gremlin in an otherwise very well-organised race. Marshalls were great as ever, and the crowds were wonderful. Other runners very friendly too. A much nicer experience than a big city marathon.

    My only gripe is the traffic in the latter part of the race. There were times when I felt in danger and others when I felt intimidated by the traffic behind me, forcing me into running in the gutter or on the verge (especially the mile immediately after Holmsley and the one after the Rising Sun). Not sure what can be done to solve this other than an earlier start, or a different route (I guess complete road closures have already been ruled out) but I think the organisers will need to do something before someone is injured or worse.

    Personally a slightly disappointing outcome - was aiming for around 4h25 and was bang on target after 20 miles (3h19) but then got a big leg cramp at Holmsley and another in my calf at mile 25, and hobbled home in 4h44. Still a PB by 4 mins but could have been so much better !

    But as my sister-in-law said, those last 6 miles in a marathon are like the Wild West - anything can happen !

    Well done to everyone who took part and thanks for making it such a great experience and atmosphere...

  • image Had a rubbish race but that was down to my own lack of training, got a but lost around the 22 mile part just after the hill which didn't help but I should have just kept up with the pack at the end of the day.

    Never been round your part of the world before and would happierly come back. image

  • E mmyE mmy ✭✭✭
    Dent Arthur Dent wrote (see)

    The majority of mile markers were definitely consistently around 0.3 miles out... time after time my Garmin beeped at around .7 of a mile. The giveaway was after I passed the "20 mile" marker with 19.67 miles on my Garmin, then when I got to 20 miles according to my Garmin I looked down on the road and "20" was spray painted in orange on the road.

     

    My only gripe is the traffic in the latter part of the race. There were times when I felt in danger and others when I felt intimidated by the traffic behind me, forcing me into running in the gutter or on the verge (especially the mile immediately after Holmsley and the one after the Rising Sun). Not sure what can be done to solve this other than an earlier start, or a different route (I guess complete road closures have already been ruled out) but I think the organisers will need to do something before someone is injured or worse.

     

    I completely agree with this. Regarding garmins and. Distance - I never trust it entirely. If I can get between 26.0 and 27 miles in a marathon I'm happy That I have covered the entire distance.

  • I do find it a bit funny how some people are affected by the traffic worse than others. 

    All of my training is done on country lanes exactly as we ran on and I was unphased by the traffic. There was a lunatic moment where a white van overtook me and pulled in behind the runner on front of me. There was just enough room so he was right on the tail of the runner and I was right on the van's tail. The runner looked a bit uncomfortable. 

    Personally as a car driver I suspect a lot of drivers 'panic' when faced with a large group of runners in a race. The marshalls aren't just there to help guide runners but also guide the traffic.

    Maybe signs o the road reminding motorists to obey marshalls near the junctions might help. I found most drivers were ok. The last mile was interesting because we were all hemmed in together by the cones. 

Sign In or Register to comment.