The route for the full Marathon headed north-west to Ardfert before heading south-west towards Fenit and then back east towards Tralee. Overall, it was suprisingly tough with a lot of small hills along the way.
Most of the roads were not closed although this really didn't cause much of an issue except perhaps for the section between Fenit and Tralee. There were so many runners on the road that the traffic that was there wasn't going anywhere fast. I'm not sure if any of this traffic could have been diverted but it did have a feel of there being no traffic management along this section.
The course mile markers were clearly visible with most of them in the correct spot. However, the ones from about 15 to 18 miles were certainly out, some probably by as much as 200 metres.
The finish was as good as you could get in any Marathon as it approached Tralee along the canal and great support on both side close to the finish line.
No doubt some things could have been approved upon but for the first event, it seemed to go very well. With the sun shining, it really is a very scenic route with all of the mountians along the Dingle peninsula clearly visible. Unless you are from the area, the area to the north-west of Tralee is probably one that most people won't have visited and it's really nice.
At present, there are no shortage of Half-Marathons and full Marathons in the country. With this full being in March, it seems to have have found it's own niche in that it's not really clashing with anything else. Whether it loses some of it's novelty in future years remains to be seen but at least it got off to a fine start.
Results...
542 finishers in the Marathon HERE
741 finishers in the Half-Marathon HERE
Photos...(Updated 17th Mar @11:30am)
1) Thousands of commercial photos from the Kerry Eye HERE
2) Peter Mooney has a small gallery HERE
Video...(Updated 19th Mar)
1) In the first mile...
Comments.......Did you do this event? What did you think of it? Leave a comment below...
28 comments:
As you said,a tough course but so well organised.Plenty of bottled water,fruit and gels.The support along the way was magic.Of course things could be improved on,lack of sizes in t shirts being one,but overall great day,great weather great challenge.
Hi, overall a fantastic atmosphere, well organisied and a tough enough route.I have ran in Cork ,Galway, Dingle and Bandon before but the support from other runners and the people on the side of the road was amazing yesterday.Thank you to my fellow participants for making it a wonderful day. Tralee crowds are special.
I was at the finish line yesterday and I saw something absolutely disgraceful,a young lad was running on behalf of the gardai for a member of the force who committed suicide recently.Upon entering the finish line, someone pulled the medal and the goodie bag off him like a bitter old man.IT was absolutely shocking,I was and still am disgusted.FAir enough the lad was underage but there is a time and a place for that behaviour not opposite everyone at the finish line.It was for a good cause and that lads half marathon was ruined and he will always remember that.If I was a man I would have done something I would of regretted.
I was one of the last 20 coming in,no water in fenit on the return leg,very isolated for the last 7miles.badly needed water.tough route definitely not for beginners.didnt get a time as I think timing mat was taken up! not a happy camper
Great weather. Crowd support excellent. Volunteers helpful plentiful and plenty of water, gels. Tough course and Barrow hill seems unnecessary to me. Took it out of my legs too early on a full marathon. Traffic a problem that needs sorting for next yr. But take out Barrow hill and id return every yr. Good attempt for first running of the race.
I did the half and really enjoyed it. Great support on the route. Few small tweaks could be made eg water stop in ardfert not in grt location just after turn. Great to see an event like this being run in Tralee though and it was great to finish in the heart of the town. Have been running for a year and it has amazed me how few runs there are in the town in comparison to Killarney.
I participated in my first half marathon, I really enjoyed the experience and would definitely do it again next year. I think full road closures should have been organised, hopefully this will be sorted out for next year.
i did the full. it was a good course but at 20 mile we were running into the slower half marathon runners on a small road which not good for any one,they stated on the web site and on the irish runner that prizes were for 1st ten then back tracked and only give out 1st 3 which is very very small after paying 60 euros. also could not find the tea ets as well
Great marathon, as people have written the atmosphere and support were fantastic all the way round. Apart from the traffic around miles 22-23 coming in and out of Tralee in the full, my only other gripe is that water stations seemed very scarce in the last 3rd of the full marathon, definitely one more station around mile 17-18 would have been very welcome. But otherwise a great experience, tougher than I expected but still a nice course and great finish in the town.
For an inaugural event it was well organised. I'm sure the glitches will be sorted out for next year. Lovely course (not sure about the idea of switchbacks though). Weather made it a real treat. But most of all the crowds and general support along the route made this a great event . It's a definite on the calendar now. Well done Tralee!
Well done to Marcus and his team of organizers. Tough but beautiful route.Plenty of water stations and support from people along the way. The scene running in the canal with backdrop was special. Thanks also to maim sponsor Kerrys Eye newspaper.Town of Tralee owe them and Marcus a hugh debt. Rock and Roll and on to 2014.
Did the Full- Great route, great local support, and on the whole I found it well organised. Stewarding great until the last few miles! Foil sheets great, general atmosphere great. Brandon hotel facilities great.Hope it becomes a regular fixture.
Things to improve- stewarding seem to disappear after mile 22 in Tralee town and left runners navigating busy traffic on both lanes which felt unsafe.
Coming into the Brandon from the side road(think it may be James St.) no obvious direction as to turn right past the front of Brandon, I know this may seem obvious but after 26 odd miles the mind needs simple clear directions and no guessing.
No Bananas at the end, must have Bananas at end.
This was a super experience. it was my 15th marathon and I really enjoyed it . The course is quite tough but fair. Running along by the canal is a novel way to finish. The weather was a big factor on the day, Fenit Pier isn't usually so benign. I don't think there is much that needs improving here. I found there were plenty water stations but some of the volunteers were overworked at some stations. The water stations need to be marked in advance as if you were on the other side of the road it was hard to get across without having to stop or break stride. Crowd support was excellent along the way and there were many people giving out sweets. The atmosphere was great as the finish line approached. Overall a fantastic marathon. Well done to everyone involved.
There was meant to be squuzy gels on the route as advertised?! the ones they had killed me half way through,also only x large thirsts left at registration on Friday,pity about the traffic had to weave in and out of cars near the big hill part as there was some sort of golf classic on,next year try and close roads.Otherwise it went well.Cant beat cork marathon though!i think it might go a bit like dingle, numbers high for the first 2 years and then dwindle unfortunately.Tralee does not have much to offer in terms of spending the full wend there.
No clock at finish line for half marathon!!!! Were the half m runners just there to make up the numbers, and increase the receipts? At €50, that is just lack of respect to the half m runners.
I think the water stations need to be longer and better organised as the runners were bunching and stopping to get water.
Whilst very scenic the canal section was extremely isolated and had a significant lack of support, a street section for the last 3 miles would work much better. Overall congratulations on hosting such a successful event. I definately will return next year. Well done to all who participated both runners and volunteers.
Email your query to info@sportstiming.ie and hopefully they may have a time for you.
Great day - weather and support made it a really enjoyable race.
I ran the half lots of water stops & stewards, traffic not an issue really.
No t shirts or goody bags at €50 you would expect that to be a given.
Went to the aquadome after for shower and dip in the hot tub. They gave a massive reduction in entry price to runners so big thanks to them also.
Having the race the on the saturday was a good idea, nice to be able to celebrate for 2 days.
Donall
Danall where were u. There was goodie bags and t shirts. Now there was a prob with the half they ran out for some reason but took names and will be posting out. I did the full well done all great day out. Be back next year
V Tough course well done to organisers for first effort.
Down side lack to T shirts for 1/2 marathon runners & for the full marathon the gravel track on the way in by the canal.
A lot more positives than negatives though well done Tralee.
the marathon was 26.43 miles long according to my garmin and my buddys as well. we didnt run together. this .2 of a mile was the diff between getting a sub 3.40 time in my first marathon and not. v dissapointing. my only other gripe was the gap between water ststions from about mile 16 - oyster tavern. there was a murderous hill at about mile 19 and there should have been water at the top of it. it was a beautiful scenic cousre but very tough esp barrow and hill at 21 22 miles. good achievemnt for all who completed it
Just 2 points...
1) Canal finish. It's a real problem for race organisers to find suitable roads for a race, especially near a town. Walkways are an attractive alternative as they don't have traffic to worry about.
It might be nice to have some loops around the town near the finish but it almost certainly won't happen. They can't effectively close down the town of Tralee for a few hundred runners. The canal section brings the runners almost into the heart of the town with minimal disruption.
2) GPS....If you measured 26.43 miles then that it a good sign that the course was actually measured properly. When you run a Marathon, you never run the shortest possible route. If your watch had said 26.2 miles then the course would have been short.
"1) Canal finish. It's a real problem for race organisers to find suitable roads for a race, especially near a town. Walkways are an attractive alternative as they don't have traffic to worry about.
It might be nice to have some loops around the town near the finish but it almost certainly won't happen. They can't effectively close down the town of Tralee for a few hundred runners. The canal section brings the runners almost into the heart of the town with minimal disruption."............
I accept what you've said the downside is the isolation and the damage to your feet on the last stretch I just think it would be better to find this distance elsewhere & on a better surface. As I said well done to all concerned tough but rights than wrongs...
Can understand the reasoning of using the canal path but they might look into putting better surface on it.Tough going in last few miles when you are not used to gravel.
Did the half and really enjoyed it, only 2 small issues my watch came in actally 13.1 for the race and my finishing time by my watch was 1:26:12 were my offical time came in at 1:26:01 would have expected a slightly slower time( not complaining).
What a brillant event,so many high points that i am unable to list them all, barring the hills! The crowds on the streets were fantastic,the encouragement given by the children in Fenit with "high fives" will be burned in my brain forever.I could not pick a fault with any part of it from start to finish, congratulations to Marcus and Kerry's eye.
Regards Ed Dalton.
"Did the half and really enjoyed it, only 2 small issues my watch came in actally 13.1 for the race and my finishing time by my watch was 1:26:12 were my offical time came in at 1:26:01 would have expected a slightly slower time( not complaining)" - time was measured from crossing the timing mat and not from gun start. Maybe this was the difference in timing?
A Great day with a great atmosphere. The only thing that was in my opinion a major letdown was the prizes only given to 1st in each category when it was stated top 3 for each age category were to be awarded a prize. A number of people were disappointed with this and quite rightly so. Why advertise this and then not deliver??
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