Hi All,
Just a word of congratulations to Simone Grassi , the full marathon winner.I was lucky enough to run some of the course with him and he is a true sportsman.Thanks to everyone for a great day and well done to all who competed.
"NICE GUYS DO WIN".

Shane Boyle.

Well I ran the full and had a great day. The only issues I had were that only managed to get sport drink at one station and the bottleneck at the end waiting for medal. Was cramping up big time there where everyone was bunched up getting into the tent and was haging for a drink :(

Other than that I loved the day. Great stuff and a big thanks.

Thanks for a great event guys. 2nd time running the Full and enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.

brilliant, brilliant day. my first time running a half-marathon, the start of a beautiful love affair with distance running methinks! will definitely be back again

Congrats on the organising of the marathon. I only have one gripe. At the start I went towards the back (as directed)however the bridge at the start was too confined and there was car parked outside Linanne. This left it very difficult to run and therefore the first mile took me over 11 minutes.

I thought th race would have been better started from the Clifton side.

Otherwise I enjoyed my day and took 20 minutes off last years time which I am delighted with.

Only problem I had was at the finish line with cars on road, bottle neck into the tent and lack of water - would have made more sense to have two entrances to the tent and run the stalls (t-shirts/medals/etc) up the middle rather than on one side. Other than that it was a very well run operation, well done to organisers.......

What a great day, Weather was not too bad with the wind in your back all the way, hail-stones is not really all that bad considering you don't get soaked from it. The male runner who was giving abusive gestures and banging the side of the silver land cruiser along the way was a bit out of order - perhaps if everyone actually stayed in the left lane as was asked of us at the start that wouldnt have been an issue - being almost taken out by a car 200 metres coming towards the finish line was unfortunate though! Its not easy to get out of the way quickly of a moving | swerving car when all you can actually see is a finish line. One slight problem I encountered was the lack of water at the finish line - i queued for 20 minutes before a few bottles was eventually passed around in the que. It might be an idea to have bottles handed to participants after crossing the line next year. Spectators along the course were brilliant and thanks to those along the hell of the west who trekked out to cheer people on! Congratulations to Ray and his team for all their hard work and dedication, shelly

Hi Alan

Can I firstly thank all the marshalls and volunteers for help and assistance, without these people the event simple wouldn't happen.

2nd time of running this one, and encountered the same problems. As mentioned above the traffic at the end was somewhat ridiculous, Serious consideration must be taken in closing off this section of the road. I feel there is a real danger of somebody getting seriously hurt if this isn't done.
Also, whilst the support of the spectators is gladly recieved, is there nothing that can be done to keep them off the road as you approach the finish line, last year I had run around spectators, and this year had to scream at someone to get out of the way, (which was ignored) as they casually strolled only the last 100 metres of the course. I'm sure that if I ran into them they would be hell to pay..

I also have to agree with the comments above, the queuing at the end was unacceptable, the 3 lane system which was suggested would ease the overcrowding considerably.

One final request, any chance of running the course in reverse direction next year?? Didn't think so !! :)

Cheers
ES

Dear oh dear.

My Connemaraton diary 2008

[We'll skip over the lousy handling of chips and numbers, which has been discussed before, and cut to the day]

Got there at 11. A lot of people milling around, but no indication of a start line. A toilet queue about 100 yards long. The first question was the actual start time. It might be me, and the other four runners I was with, but noone seemed to have been told the start time. It's not on teh website, or if it is, it's well hidden. It's not on the email telling you your code number and the hoops you have to jump through to get a chip. There's no contact number to ring on them either.

Nobody seemed to work for the marathon - every attempt to get information (even hard questions like "what time will it actually start", and "where is the start line" elicited answers like "I don't know, I'm a volunteer" or "I'm wearing this big yellow coat to keep me warm, not because I work here").

Eventually, the consensus seemed to be that the main run would start at 12. Around a quarter to, I worked my way towards the newly-painted start line, from behind. There were hundreds and hundreds of people still being shepherded back over the start line, from the front. The bridge was explained to us "Nobody's looking for a PB, so take it easy and walk over the bridge". What a crock - everyone who drove 200 miles and paid 70 euro and trained for weeks and weeks is looking to do a good time. This isn't a fun run with the kids.

12.00 came. The milling crowd in front of the serious runners at the front line just faced about and started to shuffle off. The main pack started to follow. After a minute or two, someone thought to blow an air horn. No count-down, no nothing. Just a vague "ah sure, I suppose ye can head off now" sort of vibe.Was there a chip reader at the start? I didn't see one, and my finish time was suspiciously close to the clock time as I ran under it later on that day. I really hope there was, and that you're not just allocating times based on a notional 12.00:00 start time and then the under-the-clock chip reader. When every minute counts in sweat and blood, that's a crap service. Dedication, volunteerism, a lovely venue, excellent weather... spoiled by rampant screwups at the start of the run.

I was lucky - I ran fast and got over the bridge early. Two of my mates walked over it, in a pack situation that cost minutes. All runners deserve respect - the notion that it's good enough to let them walk across a bridge, half a KM into the race is grossly disrespectful. Many were forced to cheat and leap the barriers. Is there a good reason why the start of the race was not back at the church, allowing some space to allow runners to spread out before hitting the bridge? It might have been mass, since that ended a bit before 12. Here's a radical idea - start the race at 12.30. That way, the fast marathon men are long gone, the walkers have an extra half an hour to straggle a bit more, and you can start the race half a K or a K closer to Westport. Yes, you'd have to walk that bit extra to get to the carpark at Peacocke's. But ask any serious runner yesterday which he'd prefer - a minute off his time, or a half-K less walking after the end.

We ran. Endless walkers, in twos, threes and fours, strolling along. Why not release the walkers after the serious runners? Is it more important to have everyone finish around the same time, than to enable serious, paying customers to achieve their full potential in your event? Endless cars. I was forced to stop behind walkers because to weave around them would have involved my being rundown by some eejit in a 4x4. Some other considerate fellow crawled along belching fumes in my face while filming us. Lovely. For goodness sake. Close the road. Close the road. Close the road. All the way to the crossroads at Peacockes.

The water stations worked well. Fair play to all involved. It was a shame though, that 60 euro didn't merit a few bottles of lucozade sport or high 5 - the one wee plastic cup you did get, you had to stop to drink, unless you wanted a sticky face and chest for the remainder of the day.

The real nadir, the worst piece of race mismanagement I have ever seen, was the finish line. I was lucky - I was ahead of the main pack, and finished smoothly, with no issues about crowds, queues, or cars. Then I went to cheer on the rest. You saw the scene - runners in groups and bunches, all out for the last 100 yards, pulling out all the stops. Then a car pulls out, IN FRONT OF THE RUNNERS. Runners have to stop, to swerve, to slow down, to lose places, to kill their last and final efforts, while some inconsiderate so-and-so drives his car the 50 yards to the main road. Someone let them do this. Someone let them park their cars ON THE RACE COURSE, and then let them drive their cars INTO THE CROWD OF RUNNERS, serious competitors who put weeks and months of effort into this. You know who you are. Yes, the issue was also the spectators - cars could have gotten out much faster, if they weren't slowed down by the many family and friends who had the bad manners to turn up to cheer their loved ones on their big day. This must have been a real shock to the organisers, having spectators... otherwise how could you let cars run along beside runners at the finish line, knowing the cars would be blocked, and then so would your runners, the ones you claim to be serving? I was so angry, for all the other runners, who had trained and worked like I had trained and worked, and who were so badly treated.

I didn't even see the mess in the tent later. Sounds savage. But I've been in much bigger races, and never queued for more than a couple of minutes to get my goodie bag.

A final diary entry - the Tshirt is the same as last year. Identical in every way. No, wait, there's an '8' this year. For God's sake, lads. Not even a different colour? How about a running t-shirt, you know, that newfangled stuff that wicks away moisture? Too much to expect? Then at least a different look.

I'm delighted that so many people on this thread had a good day. How they can imagine this was in any way well organised is a mystery to me. Perhaps they've never run any other race?

OK, I'm signing up for next year. Here's why: the location is fantastic. The time of year is perfect - you and your mates can run a lovely run and have a good weekend down the West; getting everyone together in June or July is much harder. But, NEXT YEAR, I'm hoping for

- chips and numbers by post,either as an option, or for everyone.
- division of runners into 'sub 1.25, sub 1.30, sub 1.45, sub 2, the rest', to let everyone do their best. I know, people are optimistic, or lie, but it's got to be better than this years mess.
- a countdown to the start.
- space between the start and the bridge, to let people run.
- a closed road. OK, the odd ambulance, no hassle. The real issue is at the end. See above.
- no parking on the race course.
- no moving of cars on the race course, except for official cars.
- multiple lanes for finishing, to get people through properly
- better bag management.
- clocks on the course
- KM markers, for those of us who think metric.

Please please please, don't reply or respond to this post with "you should support the organisers, they work hard". I'm sure they do. But whitewashing and saying that everying was lovely isn't right. In several key ways, they did a crap job this year. One that they should feel bad about, and should aim to improve on next year. What a shame to work so hard, and have such an unhappy customer base. This is a serious run. People pay good money and come a long way to do the run; they train hard,and deserve to be treated with respect. That wasn't evident yesterday. If you suggest "look at all the positive comments", really you have to wonder if that was people who had a great day despite the screwups. I had a good day. But in a number of ways, it was despite the organisation, not because of it. "Ah, no-one's looking for a PB today, so just take it easy and walk across the bridge" - that really kills me.

Ciaran

Mother did it have to be so hard?

Hi everyone, cramps for the last 6 miles of the full marathon so I was too dizzy from the pain to notice much. I walked 5 miles and did 3'58" so Im rather pleased with that. Last year I did the half and the first thing I noticed this year was God love those Ultra guys with Buses shoving past them at 9.30 am. Secondly, God love those Ultra guys zig zagging through the marathoners and buses at about 10.20, I'd suggest the race director uses a mega phone next time to give due warning. Thirdly, the scenery for the first 13 miles of the marathon is nothing short of stunning, breathtaking in parts. You run in awe and barely notice the miles go by. This is the first reason I can point out why this marathon can be a serious international marathon contender and rank among the top in the world. Despite the last few very painful miles. I enjoyed my attempt at the 26.2 miles of the Connemarathon. Overall it is hosted and participated in great spirtits. The encouragement on the course is fantastic and the volunteers greet you with smiles. There is something so very 'Irish' about his international marathon. So Thank you for everything again.

I believe the main criticism about this event is congestion. If the event is to continue to grow this needs to be given some serious consideration and planning. It is not like an urban marathon where you can simply close a few streets for half a day. There is basically one road circulating the marathon area so what do you do with cars? Its all good asking the marathoners and ultra guys to stay to the left hand side but I had to run right in the middle of the road to get around the crouds after Leenane and did have my elbow clipped by a wing mirror. There is a lot of respect shown to the runners coming through the field but in fairness you have your back to these guys. Is it fair to have 1/2 marathoners constantly step aside in the first half of their event? Is it fair to have full marathoners side stepping and shouting continuosly after the midpoint of their event? Is it fair for an ultra runner who has already put down 30 miles to have to jockey for position on the road with groups of happy walkers?

In short there needs to be more of a stagger or the 1/2 to be run on a different day. I am not going to reiterate the previous feedback about the bottle neck at the end but I was not happy about queueing for 25 mins after running a marathon! The channel is too tight for so many people.

Lastly, Is it fair to have cars on the road driving towards runners in the last few hundreds yards of a marathon. Seriously,

This event has definitely the feel of something special. Please take traffic and congestion as a serious point for improvement on organisation for next year

My 3 Conn full. 4th Conn in total considering a half the first year.

Well done to all competing athletes. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the volunteers on the day. Your day was a lot longer than ours in many ways and at least we were moving and keeping warm - in theory that is :-)

Personally I'm estatic. I PBed not only for Conn but for any marathon so I'm still in shock. I'm still in pain but that will ease.

What a day. The weather was something else. We had all weathers really. The views (if you could take them in) were stunning. Those doing the half were lucky - :-), ye didn't have hail stones into the face on occasion which to me was like God playing a nice joke on us.

There are so many positives about Conn. The beauty, informality and friendliness of the place being to the fore of those.

Some gripes? Minor in the face of the huge organisation that goes into this but here goes.

- After all the messing with the chip collection they didn't work.... I looked in vain for the chip mat at the start
- Because Leenane accomodation is left out of the 'accomodation loop' we had a ridiculous situation (sorry Ray and Alan but its true) where no one had any idea how many marathoners were staying there. There should be something on the registration form to capture an idea of where you'd be staying, for planning purposes. I was picked up promptly at 9.30 at Leenane (thanks for that!) to be brought to the marathon start, but I was the only one on the bus. Another bus behind us travelled empty!
- Having run the first half I got to Leenane in good nick aprox 5 mins after the half started. The km out of Leenane was chaotic and I reckon I lost a minute with the bobbing and weaving around the crowds. Apologies if I bumped into anyone - on a few occasions I went for a gap which closed as I was half way through it with the inevitable bumping of elbows
- walkers, almost linked in arms, stretched across the road... why???
- wearing ipods when you're taking part in a race making you immune to anyone and anything going on around you... why?
- my gps showed I ran about 300 meters more than the standard marathon. Most of that I reckon was the weaving around people and cars on the 2nd half of the race.
- the finish. Please could we have separate chutes for each race. After a 'sprint' finish I was fit to drop and I thought I was going to faint at one point in the tent. A few seats wouldn't have gone astray. I eventually found a brick to seat on having luckily found my bag quickly enough. On the upside I could warm up with a cuppa in the reopened Peacockes.
- the tee-shirt. I now proudly have 4 Conn tee-shirts. For the money a higher tech, wicking tee shirt of a different colour should be the order of the day?

To balance my comments off again, on the way back to the hotel on the bus we passed volunteers clearing the course and collecting litter etc. A thankful task which many runners didn't help by discarding their water bottlers anywhere and everywhere. Thanks again to the volunteer crews and to those runners who littered this beautiful place shame on you.

One thing i forgot to mention to my earlier post...
The baggage area was unsecured (at least when i picked up my bag) and basically anybody could have picked up few bags and free running gear in the process....As this race grows, there should be some people handing over the bags after having checked the bib. Would be nice for next year.

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for organising this year's event.
It was my second time in Connemara. I am aware of the limitations due to the location of the marathon and that you cannot expect the same from this race as from races organised in cities. However there are two things I would LOVE to be looked at.
1) Over 26 miles there was not a single energy drink - powerrade, lucozade, gatorade, tea even. I found it very difficult to have only water. Would it be so much more expensive to provide perhaps 2 stations with energy drinks?
2) Finisher's T-shirt - as beautiful as it is, it would be fantastic to provide runners with a technical polyester t-shirt. Small thing but makes a huge difference. Cotton is good for few days and then you use it for sleeping.

Oh one last thing - the finish is way too narrow, I was finishing on my own but with few people side by side it is a struggle

Thanks again for a wonderful event,
Grzegorz

We ran in the Half Marathon, and literally ran over the line, into a huge queue for the Tent to collect our medals - and it was all over the place, we queued for over half an hour. Two people fainted.....

The event is amazing, fantastic scenery!