Sunday, September 13, 2009

Kerry...Results of the Dingle Half and Full Marathon - Sat 12th Sept 2009

What an amazing event! In terms of weather, it couldn't have been any better....sunshine, blue skies and a gentle breeze. It all made for what was probably the best Half and Full Marathon in Ireland this year.




So, what was it like?


The start was pretty normal for the start of any big race. Once the race got under way, it was pretty obvious why the roads had to be closed as the runners filled the narrow road out of Dingle. As the route wound it's way through Ventry and on towards Slea Head, there were plenty of small pulls. As we gained height, the view out over Dingle Bay was incredible. Ireland's highest mountains on the next peninsula were all clearly visible as well as the Skelligs in the distance rising out of the sea.

Past Slea Head and onwards to Dunquin with the Blaskets on the left. In terms of weather and scenery, it really was at it's best. At Dunquin, the vast majority of runners peeled off left to finish their half Marathon while the Marathon runners carried on towards Ballyferriter. The field was now pretty stretched out with big gaps in between the runners. Along this section, it was sheltered from the breeze and at times, it almost felt as warm as the Cork Marathon!

After the 21 mile mark, there was a serious climb but once you reached the highest point, it was all downhill into Dingle. Overall, a very well organised event. It's not a course for fast times but in terms of quality, it is way ahead of any of the city races.

On a final point, it will be on 1 week earlier next year so it won't clash with the Cork Half or the Triathlon in Kenmare.

Results.........

1) The full marathon results are HERE.

2) The half-marathon results are HERE.

Photos.......

1) There are some commercial photos at marathon-photos.com

3 comments:

VentryVic said...

Your post sums it up perfectly, gr8 weather, gr8 runners, gr8 day.

FYI: I have put some low-res pics of the Dingle Marathon on Flickr.com at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ventryvic/sets/72157622366910370/

Well Done, VentryVic

Anonymous said...

Dingle Marathon

I didnt do a PB
I spent to much

Yet
That Marathon, on that Day

Simply the best Marathon EVER

Well done to organisers and runners and the people of Dingle

Michael
(London Clarion)

Anonymous said...

Great day out alright John, Really enjoyed it. Weather was very warm though. I would certainly put it similar to Cork on the day. Maybe it helped to make that hill at 22M seem a little too much. Looking forward to next year though. Scenery needs to be seen to be believed. Well done to Jerry Forde for getting to the top of that hill. It couldn't have been easy getting up there with the condition of the road surface leading up it. And then to compete in Cork the day after.Well done to Ken for making it the success it was.