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Dublin Marathon 2014
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Not long now. I've been believing the blurb that it is flat,the but I found the actual race profile yesterday. Not so sure now!
any new people got tips about the race?
I ran Dublin last year, great event, well organised. Fairly good support in pockets. Some quiet sections and a drag along the main road (Think dual carriageway!) towards the end which totally sapped me. I managed 3:16 last year which after a 1:27 first half was a bit of a disappointment. Last 6 miles was murder, ended up doing the survival shuffle. I have cracked a 3:03 since then in Taunton so hoping for good things....
The course has changed a bit since last year. The course now seems to steer clear from the centre of the city for the first 5 miles or so. Last year we did a loop of trinity college and then straight up O'connell street, over the river and past the spire before heading west towards the phoenix park. This year we are heading along the southside bank of the river before crossing over into phoenix park. Call me cynical, but I should imagine that it's a cheaper option not to close O'connell street which is the main artery into the city centre. Seems a shame not to take the run past what is one of the city's major sights (The spire!)
There is a steady climb between mile 3 and 4 which wont seem to be too bad but may come back to haunt you if you take it too quick! A bit of an upwards drag at the halfway point and then another steady hillock at the 20 mile-ish point. I live and train in Cornwall so welcome hills, long flat stretches kill me, simply not accustomed to them!
The finish line in Merrion Square was buzzing last year, great atmosphere and lets face it...is there a better city in the world to celebrate in. It's also the Bram Stoker festival on the bank hol weekend so expect some ghosts and ghoulies
around the castle area!
The 2014 route is timelapsed on Youtube - Search Dublin marathon route 2014
youtubedotcom/watch?v=7tnKDmq8FPA
good luck all.
I am flying on the Sunday morning so will be carb loading for the best part of a full day in Dublin. I am staying at the Gresham Hotel which is a four star hotel so don't really want to be eating all my meals there particularly as I will only be eating carbs so not really worth the likely cost.
Can anybody give me some ideas where I can go to eat carbs on race day eve please?
cheers
Thanks Baldini... I was happy to read your descriptions of the hills being steady... until I got to the bit where you said you love hills. So maybe your perception is not the same as other people's!
So.... just seen the BBC 'week ahead' weather forecast. Around the weekend, the low pressures edge north, high pressure edging up from the south. From this forecast, the high looks like it will win.
forecast is 14 and the wind is 14mph. It is windy here today which is 15mph. oh well
As others have said before, Dublin is pretty flat and always week supported. The start and finish have both changed quite a bit this year due to works being carried out in the City Centre to the Luas (light railway) line. It has made the opening few miles a little trickier, but the finish looks much nicer, as two nasty little inclines that always hurt a lot in the last couple of miles are now gone.
Here's a very in-depth breakdown of the course from a discussion thread on boards.ie. The official race Pacers are drawn from members of the boards.ie community and many of them comment throughout the thread if anyone is interested.
" DCM 2014 Course breakdown - by Tunguska
I'll get straight into it........
Miles 0 - 1.5:
The start is the same as previous years, in that it gets going on Fitzwiliam place, then swings right onto leeson st. Its a fast start and before we'd swing right at the end of leeson st and by stepehens green. But this year you keep going straight ahead all the way down kevin st, through the lights and into the coombe.
Miles 1.5 - 3:
You turn right up Meath st and thats a drag all the way to Thomas st. Its about 300 - 400m. Its not a bg incline but that street is very narrow.......even more narrow with cars parked on the left hand side, so there could be some congestion. Then you turn right onto Thomas st and its a fastish section which gets even faster when you go down the hill at christchurch. At the end of this hill you go left along the quays.
So basically the first 3 miles are fast.
Miles 3 - 7:
At the end of the quays you turn right over the bridge, then left and straight ahead onto parkgate st. This is where a drag starts that goes from here to castleknock. From here to the phoenix monument its quite sharp(as far as drags go anyway) and then flattens out for a bit, but then as you hit the castleknock gate it goes up again. This is around the 10k mark and I have to say that stretch out of the park is the worst of the drags (so far). This section I think will cause a some problems for people in that tyring to maintain marathon pace will leave you fried.........but not straight away. And thats the devious thing about it, if you try to hold MP here you wont feel the bite until later, but it will take a bite. Best thing to do is to drop the pace back a few seconds per mile, let yourself be comfortable and tuck in behind a group let them do the work. And I have to mention the wind.......it'll be in your face all the way up, for sure.
Miles 7 - 9:
You go left from castleknock onto college road, which surprise surprise, is another drag........but its a short one, about 200m. But I'd still hold back and not try to fly up it. But this is where the fun begins because theres a good mile of downhill. And its really fast........I know a lot of people say you should be careful on fast downhills but personally after the time you've lost on the 4 mile drag it makes sense to let rip. A bit. And being careful of course not to top yourself over a pothole. You swing left back into the park and this will be a bit of a shock to the legs after the speed of the down hill. But it doesnt last long because you swing right onto the upper glen road which is another fast section that goes as far as the Chapleizod gate.
Miles 9 -12.5
Out of the park and past Donore Harriers HQ, then you go left into the village and its fairly flat. The road surface though is in a jock so be careful.
And then theres the Hill up st lawerences road. Like the drag in the park its early enough in the race to be tmepted to just blast up it. But I'd advise against that. Again, death by a thousand cuts, that kind of thing. You blast up that hill now and I promise you it'll take a bit a few miles later. Personally I think the best thing to do is to slow right down and stroll up it.
Then youre onto sarsfield road which is flat, you go right under the bridge and theres another drag. This is a sneaky one because it doesnt look like much but again if you try to maintain Marathon pace here you'll put a dent in yourself. Then after that youre by kilmainham and swing right where theres (yet) another incline. Its short and sharp though. The section after this aorund the south circular road is a strange one. It always seems very quiet, like a ghost town.......but in the distance you can hear the rumble from dolphins barn. The road surface here is in an absolute heap and there seems to be a big camber(from right to left as you go towards Dolphins barn). Its flat but because of the dodgy surface and the camber, it always seems like a hard section to maintain MP.
Miles 12.5 - 15
When you turn right at dolphins barn theres always a massive crowd waiting and its actually awe inspiring(double if the weather is good). So You do get a lift from the crowd and you can find your pace quickening as a result, but its best to maintain your composure, not get caught up in things because this is actually a pretty tough stretch that goes on for over 2 miles. And you can be guaranteed that the wind will be in your face......even if it seems like theres no wind and everything is calm, there'll be a wind. In your face. So again, tuck in behind some man mountain and conserve your energy. Dont try to maintain marathon pace on this stretch, like the drag in the park, ease back a few seconds per mile(a good few seconds). Halfway point used to be outside superquinn but its now out side a chipper called Mona lisa.......classy.
Miles 15 - 17
Once you hit the walkinstown roundabout thats all the big energy zapping drags done and dusted. You turn left onto Cromwellforths road which is a long straight stretch thats more or less flat. Fortfield road at about 17 miles is a drag. Its not a very long section but I always find it hard to turn from the relative flatness of the previous section to the drag up this road, it can kind of bring you to a standstill. So best to take it handy and not try to flog the pace. Actually the next section at the back of Terenure college is deceptive, its not flat even though it might appear to be but anybody whos run the sportsworld race will know that its not an easy stretch.
Miles 17 - 20
You turn left onto the terenure road and thankfully this is a nice fast section. Actually from here to milltown is fast so this is the time to really go for it and take advantage of the downward drag.
Miles 20 - 22
Theres a hill in Milltown and personally I really hate this one. Its nothing major in the grand scheme of things but its sharp and at this stage of the race can take a bite. After that though its flat to downhill for a bit and then the hill at clonskeagh. Or to be more accurate, the series of hills and plateaus at closnkeagh, because you go up for a bit, it flattens, you go up again, it flattens and you go up again. Then its by the mosque and you turn left up roebuck road. Its flat enough but then at the end, just before you turn onto fosters avenue theres roebuck hill. This has been discussed before and for whatever reason its gained a rep as being the course bad boy. Its not really. Its sharp and it will put the hurt on you but its short and its over before you know it.
Miles 22 - 24
Fosters Ave. This is a very quick section and you can just let fly. 4miles to go and you gotta start emptying the tank here. Left and the end onto stilorgan dual carrigeway, still fast, then right over the UCD flyover and onto nutley lane. So 22- 24 is fast.
Miles 24 - finish
Left at the end of nutley lane and onto merrion row which is a long straight stretch. The road is wide and exposed and I personally hate this part. Up by the British embassy then the RDS, you swing right onto shelbourne road. Another long stretch thats fairly quick.
The old course would have you continue on over the canal, but with the new course you swing left up haddington road. Its a bit of a drag but nothing killer, and then you turn right onto Northumberland road. And from here its a long straigth run to the finish. And it is long........
I have to say I prefer this finish to the old one. Before the hump at the canal and the stretch up Pearse st were pretty horrible. This way it seems to be over quicker.
And thats it. I was talking to a friend the other day who said that after a while everybody becomes an expert. I dont claim to be an expert but I'll say how I think this course could best be run and you can do with that information as you please.
I think you should start off easy, really be careful on the section from the pargate st all the way to castleknock, like dont try and run maraton pace, slow it down. Ditto for crumlin road. I think a negative split of at least 2 minutes is the way to go, trying to run even splits on this course is nuts. Maybe the course profile doesnt look so bad but theres a profile and then theres the real thing. Hold back on the hills, dont try to blast up them, you'll pay for that later on. Wait until the walkinstown roundabout to make a move, its about 11 miles to the finish from there which is perfect for negative splitting. Respect the hills, make hay on the quicker sections, run very comfortably over the first half and go for it after walkinstown. And especially go for it once you hit fosters ave, thats 4 miles+ of Gold."
Good luck everyone!
Johnners... that's fantastic. I just pieced it together, correlating it with the course map and course profile from the official website. I made a mile-by-mile pace plan (ranging from 8:05 for the fastest, with a few at 8:40/8:45 - hoping to average 8:23. Although, in my heart of hearts, I know I'm very unlikely to take it with me on the run (and if I do, I'll not look at it... and even if I do that, I won't be able to read it without glasses!) , it will surely help me gauge the race much better.
It certainly don't have the impression of the 'flat' marathon I thought I'd signed up for! Not at all bad though.
Johnners - thanks for posting that great course description.
Am looking forward to the weekend in Dublin
and weather conditions look good, not too cold.
And here's the visual guide ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tnKDmq8FPA&feature=player_embedded
Here's another quick 3 minute video guide to the course from The Irish Times with some comments and tips... He describes it as "a tough enough course". I didn't think the changes would make that much difference, but the consensus from people who have checked it out seems to be that they have made it a stiffer test.
Great videos... thanks for posting. To show that I've used them, here is my mile-by-mile plan. Let's see how close I get to this....
8:20 8:20 8:05 8:40 8:35 8:30 8:40 8:00 8:05 8:20 8:35 8:20 8:20 8:25 8:35 8:20 8:30 8:15 8:15 8:15 8:30 8:40 8:20 8:20 8:25 8:35 1:44 (adds up to 3:39:59)
(I have a short note for each mile too).
I'm sure that will do me some good (but yes... I'd have gained more if I'd gone to bed 2 hours ago... but that's my nature!)
Weather forecast is deteriorating. Possible showers... but the big issue is wind. Now forecast to be SW winds between 17 and 20mph, depending on where you look. That's not good at all. Mind you... in Brighton in April the forecast was getting progressively worse for high winds, but on the day, there was barely a breath. So fingers crossed.
Two more sleeps....
Went to pick up my number today. What a complete and utter pain in the h0le !
Four hours of my day (including travel) wasted doing something they could have posted to me.
how hard was that bloody course?
Hard to say Pete. I thought it was a fair course.. but a combination of heat and humidity didn't help at all. I slowed down pretty badly in the last 6 miles.. but the fantastic support lifted me enough to still get a decent time.
Having said that, I seemed to pass quite a lot of ambulances and busy medics in the last 3 miles!
Hi Northend, I was a little p*ssed with some of the inclines which I felt were damn steep, two in particular were quite bad and then there were the ones that were less steep but quite prolonged in distance. the run through the park being one in particular that seemed to go on forever.
Did you manage to get your 3:39 target?
I was happy with my run. I came in at 3:50 which although it's not a PB, I felt was good considering the course. I actually feel that this was my strongest marathon of the year and should put me in a good place to start next year strong.
When I started I wasn't too confident how it was going to go as I'd missed some of my longer runs as I was doing other things, so was pleased that I didn't blow up. I didn't hit the wall anywhere nearly as badly as before and even kept going up the hill at mile 22.
I was thrown a bit by the last stretch which seemed to go on forever and I started my sprint finish (hahaha
) far too soon, but felt I couldn't slow down in front of all those people.
Hi Jeep,
I got 3:50 too. was hoping for much closer to 3:30 so have been a bit pissed about it. I do have sprinters thighs tho so it could just be my genetics which meant that the course was tougher for me than others!
I also missed a water station which on reflection meant I worked too hard mid run which knackered me out a bit too much, on reflection.
Which is your next marathon?
I thought Monday was very tough. I missed my sub-3.30 target time by 31 seconds last year in Dublin, mainly because I was following the Garmin instead of the Pacers, and left it out on the course when I definitely had it in me on the day to go under 3.30. Was so annoyed I had to do it again this year.
Trained well, did long miles but probably not enough hard fast ones. Was pretty confident of hitting 3.29.59. At halfway felt good, at 18 miles felt good, was with the Pacer all the way.
Hit the wall bigtime at 21, recovered a bit, hit it again at 25. Got going at the top of before the finish and struggled to the line in 3.31.08. Guess I'll be back next year...
Couldn't believe the amount of collapses and distress out there on Monday, the heat humidity and wind caused all sorts of problems and the changes to the course definitely made it a bit harder. Even though I was going backwards in the last 4 miles I finished in 1766th place after placing 2808 at halfway, so others must have been suffering badly.
The supporters were incredible, kept me going several times when it was so tempting to bail out. They make Dublin very special.
The long finish was a killer alright. I saw the 400 metre sign and looked up but the finish line was only a dot on the horizon that didn't seem to be getting any bigger.
Pete.
Not sure. I have no plans at all at the moment as I've just finished a very busy 2 month period of events and couldn't really think past DCM. It'll probably be Manchester unless I can get a pass from SWMBO (and the inclination) to go and do Clonakilty in December.
What about you?
Hi Jeep, Manchester is my next Jaunt.
Planning on taking a full week off resting, then a gentle week of running before looking to improve my 5 and 10k times, ready for a mid December marathon training plan.
My approach will be slightly different in that normally I would work up to 40ms before starting the marathon training. But this this schedule my base will be about 30 miles per week. Last time round I peaked at 65 miles which I do not think benefited me whatsoever.
3:39 for me ... a hard day out on a tough course in tough conditions. I also couldn't believe how may folk were coming apart! I wanted 3:32 but decided by 3 miles that I was going to run to feel and not to pace ... legs weren't feeling good and the conditions were far from ideal. Paced it well and managed a strong last 1.3 miles, especially the last 800m. I also did 2 sprint finishes ... a real Usain Bolt stormer to the clock at 26 miles ... and then when I realised it wasn't the end, I did had to muster some composure ... luckily I had enough in the tank to do another one!
Johnners - how did you find you half-way position? I had been looking to get this too.
They're available here Dr. Dan, with 10k, halfway, 30k and finish times. From the sounds of it you should have passed a hell of a lot of people over the last few miles.
Johnners - thanks!! Yep, 3607 at halfway, 3249 at 30K and 2432 at the end.
I went out and did a very steady 2 miles yesterday and feel 100% better today. I'll be going out with the club tonight, but only plan on a nice easy run.
I'm thinking of taking it easy for a few weeks, maybe do some other stuff (cycling, core fitness etc) and then will step up to a full plan in about a month. If I decide to do Manchester then I think that I'll probably go all out for a PB as it'd be a good course to get one on.
hi Jeep, Manchester is nice and flat. Comparing the garmin graphs of Dublin and manchester in terms of the terrain is chalk and cheese. Manchester's is like a snooker table in comparison to the Dublin graph.
I think we're all in the same boat - missed out on my target (sub-3) when the legs shut down at 20-21 miles. The hills, breeze and pace beat me this time. I did Manchester in April and found Dublin twice as tough. If you want that PB Manchester is ideal I'd say.