After the runners were transported to the start line up high in the hills by a fleet of buses, the showers had passed as 8am approached and the race started in bright but dry conditions.
Initially, the first mile or so was slightly uphill until...
...we reached Molls Gap and then the descent began. From here, we could see the upper lakes of Killarney in the valley below with the clouds only obscuring the tips of the nearby mountains.
There was one light shower on the way down but nothing serious. If anything, the weather conditions were actually ideal for a race. The wind was behind the runners for most of the race and it was nice and cool.
It was actually strange to be running on this twisting road which would be normally be busy with traffic. Running past the many lakes and open woodland, it made a nice contrast from the usual type of race. It is a really scenic route and it would be a great way for any tourist to see the countryside from a unique viewpoint.
Once the runners reached ~10.7 miles, we turned off left into the park proper with narrow little tracks....not really an issue as the field was well thinned out by this stage. There were some small climbs here, most very short but certainly not as easy as the downhill running of the previous few miles.
From here, we ran through the park until the finish line near Muckross House.
Overall......a well organised event. The initial thought might be that the course is just one downhill long easy run but there are plenty of sections in the 15 miles that make the race a challenge in it's own right. By using buses to transport runners to a remote start location, they have devised a route where runners get a wide variety of views on what is one of the most scenic roads in the country. I'm not sure if it could live up to it's claim to be the 'worlds most beautiful road race' but on a national level, it certainly is a contender.
Results......the overall results can be seen HERE
The category prizewinners can be seen HERE
Photos......there is a gallery of 189 photos mostly near the finish line that can be seen HERE
Hi, did you know that everyone's mobile number was posted online Saturday night with the results. Was taken down by the following morning.
ReplyDeleteI and probably others were able to download the full list.
Not very happy about that.
This was a mistake made by the organisers. It was immediately taken down and reloaded without details. Apologies
ReplyDeleteIt was unfortunate about the mobile numbers but in fairness they got back to me straight away when I raised it with them on Sunday morning and were quite apologetic.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty bad about the scum who stole the mile markers, I was lucky I had my Garmin, 15miles is tough to run blind.
otherwise it was an excellent race with brilliant facilities at the end, was also glad to see they had more toilets at the start line, still 6 doesn't seem to still be enough for 500+ well hydrated runners :-P
I rang them when I saw the mobile numbers on the website and was really annoyed about it but in all fairness, he was really sorry and had already been told by other poeple and I do believe so it was a genuine mistake......
ReplyDeleteI have to say it was the best event by far that I have done, it was organised to a tee and the entrance fee was worth every penny,teck t-shirts, pasta, goody bags, physio, hot tubs, free BBQ, defo making a full weekend out of it next year, great atmosphere and professional race with amazing scenery. I had only ever driver this road as part of the Ring of Kerry so to be able to run it was amazing, will defo be back, thanks guys....
The race was excellent, one of the better races I've done. The set up at the finish line was brilliant and seemed to run very smoothly. The only criticism I have is I am pretty certain that the route was slightly short of 15 miles. I clocked 14.84 on my GPS. I was also talking to a few different runners along the way who said the same so it wasn't just me.
ReplyDeleteI still give Dingle the award for most beautiful race but Killarney was fabulous on Saturday!!
ReplyDeleteI love the national park so it was incredible to be able to run the route without cars. The stolen mile markers really did my head in between 10km and 9 miles - I hadn't realized that there wasn't a timing mat at half way so miles 6-8 went on forever!!! Brilliantly organized - even had small t-shirts for ladies (am still holding out for XS some day).
A wonderful day and will definitely be back next year!!
Great race with no stress, everything prompt and professional from coaches to water stations to finish line facilities and topped off by a brilliant night in the Ross, was great to be able to go somewhere after the race that you knew there would be fellow runners, great night had but was paying for it Sunday. Roll on next year, well done everyone involved...
ReplyDeleteSame here, my Garmin 610 read a distance of 14.89. Set watch going at buzzer, I was back a couple of meters from the start line.
ReplyDeleteStrange as courses are always supposed to be a little bit longer than the set distance. All recent races i have ran with the same watch clocked between .1 & .2 of a mile longer that the set distance, and this is being very careful about the lines I run.
Overall I really enjoyed the run, happy with my time and the facility’s at the end.
On a side note, anyone else get covered in midge bites? I assume it was from the last couple of miles through the woods :-(
I'm not sure what the story is regarding the GPS watches showing 14.9m? I know the course was measured by Jones Counter so it should be spot on. It's possible that the trees over all those twists and turns on the road played havoc with the GPS coverage??
ReplyDeleteAs for the midges....usually not a problem when you are running. I didn't notice any around the finish area.
I started my watch just at the line. Any races I've been doing have been reading probably .1 or .2 over aswell but this was one was short but a good bit.
ReplyDeleteI dont think it was a GPS issue but I could be wrong as I'm not an expert on the technicalities of these things.
At the 5K mark I was only after clocking around 2.8 miles. Just to back it up too I hit the 5K mark at around 19 mins, where as my 5K race PB is 20mins flat and I was going a bit slower on sautrday then when I did my 5K PB. This could all to be to do with the signs being stolen though.
In saying all the above though it really doenst bother me if the course was slighlty short because the run was excellent! Well done to all involed !
14.91 miles. Unless the "tunnel" was 0.1 mile long ;)
ReplyDeleteIt definitely was not the tree coverage, or even the "remoteness" as one of the organisers bizarrely claimed.
ReplyDeleteMy Garmin was 0.1 miles ahead right from the first mile marker and it stayed that way until the end. I suspect the start line was in the wrong place.