This evening race at dusk in Killarney attracted a total of 348 runners. For a road race in Kerry, that's an impressive number and I heard that the event was good....excuse the pun!
On the other hand, I have received an e-mail from a Cork runner who made the long trip to Killarney who raised a few issues.
In the mail, the person in question mentions that they arrived late in Killarney....i.e. after 7pm.
They wrote...."For registrations, they directed me to the Feet-First shop, where I was told in a rather gruff manner "You're too late, entries closed 7pm". It was the way he said it that really annoyed me.
At the same time another lady came in, who had pre-registered, but not paid. Her entry seemed to have gone missing, and they didn't seem to care in the least. So she politely announced she was going to run anyway, and keep her 20 euros. I quietly decided to do likewise.Their loss, not ours!"
Now in fairness to the organisers, they had specified that the closing time for entries was 7pm. However, I was also given the impression, especially from the website that the reason for the very high entry fee of €20 for what is only a 5 mile road race was because it was for charity. Would it have taken that much effort to take those people's entries? To be honest, if I heard that someone had driven up from Killarney for one of the Cork races and had been refused entry because they were after some 'official' closing time then I'd be appalled. After all, was the money not for charity???
In the mail, they also mention the distance of the route........"When I checked my watch, I saw only 4.98 miles, and that was starting from the very back, and not benefiting from taking the shortest path around curves, etc. Normally, I might see up to 5.05"
The thing about GPS watches is that people seem to have a blind faith in them yet they have a limited accuracy. It's possible with the trees and buildings that errors build up. It would be interesting however if anyone else wearing a GPS watch measured the course to be short. According to the organisers website....."The route has been measured and approved by the AAI. "
For those of you who don't know, the way to measure a course properly (ie...shortest possible route....corner to corner) is with a Jones counter and then a small percentage is added to make sure that the route is not too short. So for example, a 5 mile route might be something like 5.05 miles in reality. By the time you add in all of those corners you run wide then the distance is even further. For someone to get a figure of 4.98 miles sounds a bit suprising. Did anyone else measure something similar?
I do not know how long after 7pm this runner was, but with regard to the 7pm close off time, I guess it is a question of where do you draw the line. The starting point was not where you registered, as with the other races organised by feet first, the race started on time. If you continue taking registration and start the race on time, then it is possbile that the last registered people may not make the start on time....and then they've taken 20 euro from people who miss the start! Which obviously would be a reason to complain! That is just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI did the "Good Friday Run" and really enjoyed it. A great event with lovely atmosphere at half way mark and finish line. Well done Feet First and Gneevaguilla AC for hosting such an event.Travelled from cork county and proud to have been there. Kerry always offers a warm welcome to visiting runners
ReplyDeleteInteresting point about the race distance - it came up yesterday after the ballybunion half, a number of us who ran with gps watches clocked the course at 13.04 and the mile markers seemed off significantly. At one point a 3 miles to go sign appeared before the 10 mile marker.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it was an 'officIal' race or not though
Hi, Just responding re the Ballybunion Half. One of the organisers advised that the mile markers had been placed correctly on Friday night, but it was discoverd about an hour before the start that they had been "rearranged" by some pranksters. The organiers didn't see the funny side and signs had to be recovered and replaced in a rush before the start. GPS watches are not always accurate but I do know event had an AI permit
ReplyDeleteMY Garmin 310XT GPS wach showed 8.06km so 5.01 mile and from first line on start.
ReplyDeleteMY Garmin 310XT GPS wach showed 8.06km so 5.01 mile and from first line on start.
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify a point....I asked the person in question by mail what time they were in the shop. It was 7:15pm, 45 minutes before the start of the race.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to registration with that person who is a complainer-surely its not the organisers fault that the person in question didnt register on time-with so many avanues to register through for so many road races i personally think that 1)its her own fault 2)surely if she was so interested in doing something with her 20eu why didnt she not give it to the charity in question!!!sounds like a stinge if you ask me. I thought it was a fantastic race with so many top athletes showing up-its fantastic for kerry runners as we havent had much down here...keep up the good work people!!and i forgot to mention the kids race- which started at 7.30-it was great fun to see.
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