1 Michael O'REGAN 15:47 Senior (1) Male (1)
2 Cillian TIERNEY 16:47 Under 18 (1) Male (2)
3 Tommy OBRIEN 17:15 Ages 40 - 44 (1) Male (3)
12 Sharon CAHILL 21:01 Ages 50-59 (1) Female (1)
13 Catherine O SULLIVAN 21:04 Senior (1) Female (2)
18 Fiona KAVANAGH 21:55 Ages 40 - 44 (1) Female (3)
The full results can be seen HERE
Video...
11 comments:
I have to make a few points about these run the kingdom events
First i have to give to give Marcus Howlett credit for what he has done for running in tralee pretty much there was never a race there until a few years ago now the town has a full and half marathon and many 10k events organised by his company lots of people have taken up running because of him
Unfortunately greed is something that has crept in these races which are well overpriced. The full and half marathon are 60 and 50 euro each. You do get a t shirt medal for that but the rest of the races you just get a medal. 10ks usually cost between 20 -30 euro and this 5k was a crazy price at nearly 17.
Bad news for them is that there will be a new 5k parkrun starting this saturday in tralee for free.
I agree with this poster, alot of club athletes are staying away from Run The Kingdom events because of the cost of each race.
Lets be honest here, Marcus is a business man and is in this to make a profit simple as. now the next question is do all these racing franchises that have sprung up over night in the last couple of years have a tax number?..........the revenue seriously need to look into events like this.
also some events that say they sponsor or donate money to charities never actually state how much of the entry fee or percentage of profit goes to the Charity. John can you open up a discussion on this or a poll on how people feel about races been ran as a business
As someone who was at the this event and has been at every single Run the Kingdom event since it was founded; I must wholeheartedly and yet respectfully disagree with both the above posts, posted by individuals who will freely comment on an event and an individual’s personality and motives to the point at which they are close to libel and defamation of character, and then not having the courage to even assign their own name to their vicious comments. To post Anonymously on this blog actually takes more work than posting with ones name as one has to specifically request for their post to be but up anonymously. This to me says they know that they have included inaccurate and hurtful information in their post.
Anyway; as someone that has been at this and every Run the Kingdom event, I disagree with the poster(s) who have clearly not thought things through with objectivity.
First off; each event has been organised and held to a high standard. to do this costs money and there are many costs when organizing such events: medals, t shirts, advertising, water, other items at aid stations, timing chips, bib numbers, etc There are also many hidden costs associated with organizing events such as road closers, music (imro, equipment, dj for example), first aiders, ambulances, doctors, barriers, insurances, transport costs, other equipment rental etc. etc. All these and other costs drive up the entry price of the events, have you asked yourself what is the profit margin in these things?? the answer is very low and therefore they depend on a high turnover to even break even. I do think that the poster will find that as a registered company, the books of Run the Kingdom are available through the appropriate channels.
The price for this event was 15 which was available for every entrant; however those who decided to enter online using the service provided by a third party to the event did have to pay an administration fee to THAT company and not Run the Kingdom. Also when one considers that with these costs, low(ish) turn over and the need to have some profit for the named charity,a fee must be agreed on, which is most probably done in association with the charity in question. This is all a type of a gamble as such because if the numbers are too low it results in a deficit rather than a profit.
Secondly, the prices of all the Run the Kingdom events I have taken part in were comparable with other events which were being run elsewhere across the country and in some situations they are more competitively priced such as the price of the Marathon against the price of the Dublin City Marathon. Internationally speaking prices fluctuate based on local economic situations and local regulations such as the Malta marathon being priced at half the cost to the entrant. However, look at the Paris Marathon which I will be taking part in in April. It was priced at €99 and that was for early entry. One individual I know of was blessed to gain entry to the NY Marathon for this coming October and the race entry alone for this was $347 which is remarkably higher than the cost of the Tralee Marathon. In essence the larger the marathon the higher the profit is at the end of the day. And the three examples I have provided are NOT fly by night races which have only just sprung up.
Thirdly, Greed; if one is to accuse Marcus of greed they should consider the following. Run the Kingdom and Tralee International Marathon provided an extremely generous discount to all Marathon Club of Ireland members. Now we turn to Born to Run (tralee marathon club) while most running clubs request some form of membership fee or subscription fee on a weekly basis; there are NO FEES with BTR, of which yes i am a member. Not once have i ever had to put my hand in my pocket in terms of anything to do with BTR. Marcus donates serious amount of time and effort into this club. He has been out on the road with its members SEVEN days a week and often on some of
....these days he is out twice a day as there are often various groups on different programs. He also has other commitments in his life the same as everyone and yet he still finds time to get out there and help bring running to the non-elite. He has changed not only the hearts, mind-sets and lives of so many people through running and his generous nature but has also singularly brought a change of landscape to Tralee. is it even possible to venture out in Tralee and its environs anymore without seeing a runner? His commitment has brought many people to the town and has had a positive economic impact as well. Marcus is anything but greedy he is a humble and generous man. He hates to ask anything of anyone and never puts himself in the spotlight if he can help it.
Lastly, the Park Run; This is fantastic to see. It is another opportunity to get out in the air and live a healthier lifestyle. I do not think however that it is bad news for anyone. It is a completely different kettle of fish, people still like to sign up to races for the buzz of a crowd and the sense of satisfaction of earning a medal or a tshirt (or both).
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Kind Regards, Brian O'Shea
Have to agree with Brian here - once-off volunteer run events are great, but Marcus organises an entire race series, including a half-marathon, marathon, and ultra and this is pretty much a full time undertaking. He does all the training for these events for free - like Brian, I have been lucky enough to benefit from this. He has trained hundreds of people at this stage, many of whom have gone on to run multiple marathons, and even ultras. I would say the events I have run in have been very well organised, and have been value for money.
Randall Wharton
some interesting points made there, firstly to refer to greed creeping in with regards to Marcus. This comment is just unfair and disrespectful. I have known the man for many years and help him with the training as well as the marathons and smaller runs for the last three years.He is not money driven, just look at the Born to run club where he has trained runners for years and not a cent has been asked for. This dedication to running in Tralee and his character was highlighted and honoured in a civic reception last year.
With regards to the comment of a medal and tee shirt for 60-50 euro in the marathon and half marathon, I would like to point out that there are many expenses in organising an event, ones that are obvious as in the t-shirt/medals and then there are things like rent of the 800 barriers for 3 euro each, 18,000 bottles of water were bought, 9 first aid vehicles at 250 euro each, 50 radios were rented, 1000 euro in sound equipment rental, rental of porta loos on the course, signs for the course, 700 euro for road closures to the town council and let us not forget insurance, and the list goes on...these costs also come into the smaller races. It should be noted that all of the above except insurance were sourced locally.
With reference to transparency Kerry eye published an article outlining the finances of the marathon.
I agree it great news that a 5k run serious has started in the park the more events on the better for everyone who runs are the staff form sports partnership been paid ?who is paying their insurance ect. let me say for a fact that Marcus or any of the staff of run the kingdom revised one cent from that 5k it was a charity run
Jim Mc Neice
guys the question mark on these events and events of its kind are the following:
why are we not told how much "the Charity" actually gets!........an amount of the entry fee should be displayed on the entry form. Example race fee €15.00 €5.00 donate to Charity "X"
Also Ballycotton 10 Mile road race organised by a running club can run this event with the same over heads as the 5km road race that was ran in Tralee and do it for the same entry fee. So the idea of costs etc.....dont wash with me. Bottom line is that Run The Kingdom events are organised as a form of income/profit.
Fairplay to Run The Kingdom if they can make profits but people should stop running in such events if they keep coming on here giving out about the entry fee. Simple do not enter the event if you feel its over priced!!!!
alot of good quality events can and are organised at a value entry fee.
To talk about another person under the anonymous guise is both cowardly and unfair especially when these people question someone's character and motives without a mere fact in sight other than the price of races. Marcus Howlett has done so much for so many people in Tralee and beyond. It saddens me to see people attempt to blacken his name. I'm sure if you were a member of Born to Run you would know that what Marcus has done for most of us is priceless and doing his races is a small way to thank him.There are many running coaches in Kerry doing 'pay as you go' speed training sessions but of course there is no mention of that here.If we paid Marcus 'as we went', we may as well take out another mortgage!So please, less anonymity and more facts!!And if you don't want to do the races, well, don't do them! Marcus has huge support in this town and beyond and always will. Helen Tansley
It is so easy to come and make comments under the cloak of Anonymous. Get your gripe off your chest and walk away. You can guarantee if praise was being handed out, the name would be there in big bold letters. If you are going to make a comment, at least have the decency to put your name to it.
I have run races in Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Dublin and I have heard plenty of stories about poorly organised races - not enough water on route, no after run refreshments for later finishers or poor stewarding. I have not had any experience like this at any RTK event. Marcus Howlett, as a race director, is very thorough and leaves no stone unturned to ensure entrants have a good race. As a person, he is a perfect gentleman. He does so much for charity and does not seek recognition. With the events he has organised, he has brought many benefits to Tralee businesses.
Why is there always someone waiting in the wings to have a pop at someone who had the foresight to step out of the crowd and actually do something with their talents - for the benefit of others?
To anonymous poster 1, I got a medal and t-shirt for the Half on the Head last year. The majority of 10k races around the country will give a medal or a t-shirt so RTK events are no different
Marcus Howeltt has done so much for Tralee and the people in it not only has he trained hundreds of people to run marathons to which I am one of got inspired us off our sofas and get fit .and that evidence can be seen anywhere around town we are a much fitter town because of him. He has trained us from never been able to run to completing 100ks ultra marathons all in two years he alone gave us the belief and know how to do this all without ever charging us for his time to which he has given a hell of a lot of ALL FREE and you have some cheek to make him out to be a money grabber. Obvious to me you don’t know this man because this is one man that isn’t
.I am a local lady that loves the joy of running and if I can do it in my own town better for me. He also has put Tralee back on the map, people come far and wide to run here he selects routes that show of our towns and its beautiful scenery. He has set up a marathon club that I am very proud to be a part of I have accomplished things in the last three years that I never thought possible. i could and never put a price on my health and the friendships I have made as a result of doing these events I run with people that on a day to day basis would never come in contact with.
As for the cost I’ve personal been to many different counties and find all prices very similar and have also gone abroad and found much more expensive. At the end of the day there’s cost to putting on these events big or small, runners get medals and or t-shirts so he holds events for clubs .charities that want to fundraise to bring in much needed money what’s wrong with that I’m sure it’s all sorted between them and all understand before event goes on. And if he gets any money form event management these events then good for him. His s earned it who these days goes to work and gives there time for free do Anonymous? I very much doubt it YOU won’t even put your name by your comments if you ask me you’re just jealous of his success and his achievements. I personal don’t need to know what the club /charity gets as far as I’m concerned that’s between them as long as I run and enjoy the experience and finish then I’m happy, its always states what you’re getting for our money so if you’re not happy with the price than simply don’t enter.
As for 5k park run in Tralee I wish them well and may join them on the odd sat as some of our club members have this is all training and I’m sure most of them will also run in Run the kingdom events one day.
I say good luck to Marcuss Howlet and Run the Kingdom and thank you on behalf of all runners that enter your events
Marilyn O Shes
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