The Drought

Take it easy

After the exertions of the 10 in 10 I had decided to take a break from running for a few weeks. Legs had felt really zapped over the last number of easy runs. Then I get a text message from Tom with a requirement to fill a pacer gap in Killarney for the half marathon. After much toing and froing I eventually get the call up on Friday morning to do the 2 hour slot. Traveled to Killarney with Paul who was on the 4 Hour slot and arrived to register pick up gear and acquaint ourselves with the other guys. Meet up with several of the 10 in 10 legends that evening for a few sociables before hitting for the bed. I was rooming with John Desmond and we ended talking about the lack of club run races in Clare and Limerick. Rose next morning to the magnificent view of the National Park outside the window. Ireland is the best place in the world when we get weather like this, more is the pity it only happens every twenty or so years. Quick breakfast, collect balloons get the pacer brief from John and bus to the start. Decided to join the portaloo queue in case of any movement from down below. It was quite long but passed the time chatting with some fellow runners of which two would be starting with me. Plenty of males and females jumping the wall to do paula radcliffe's. Could really have done with some more portaloos at the start. Not long before the start and we line up just behind the four hour guys Brian and Paul. My partner in Crime for today was Roger O'Mahony so with introductions done we set about our task. We had a big group at the start but even though the course is nett downhill there are 2 climbs in the first Three miles which broke up the group pretty quickly. First water station not a sign of a water bottle empty or full or even a volunteer. This was as cause for concern as temperatures were starting to rise. Pace wise it was difficult to hold the pace on the downhill sections and we had built up a cushion of 40 seconds. At mile 4 a support vehicle past us and I asked if they could get more water up to the stations as no one from here back had got any water since the start. He said he would, whether it materialised or not is another thing. When we got to the second station they had just ran out of water. As we passed some irate runner was giving  the guy at the water table a right earful, I left at this point before I blew my top with the wally. Picked up as many half empties as I could hold and gave them out amongst our ever dwindling group.

Courtesy of Kerry through a lens

Finally between Mile 9 and 10 we came across water and sponges, a welcome relief for us all, but in these temperatures for runners that are not used to running in this heat or distance it was really too little too late and they were already feeling the effects both physically and mentally. From here to the finish we kept a group of 6 to 8 runners going, my watch for some unknown reason reset itself shortly after at mile ten. I had a backup standard watch and Roger did a good job in keeping an eye on the average pace to the finish. We hit Miles 10 through 12 bang on bang time according to the pace bands. Finished 1:59:35 job done but a lot to ponder on with regard to the race itself. Post race atmosphere at the finish was quite good, and I availed of the leisure centre for a wind down. Paul wanted to get get home quickly after finishing his run so we didn't hang around but it looked like the party was getting into full swing. From a personal point of view I was royally treated on Friday and Saturday but I cannot ignore the fact that the paying runners around me were left with no water for 3/4 of the race when running in temperatures in the mid Twenties.

Getting the basics right

It is sad to say again another all sing and all dance race with scenic views, medals, goodie bags, burgers, bands, pacers and crack, fails to get the basics of a race correct. The lack of or no water in the early parts of the race for the majority of runners is unforgivable regardless of how much I personally enjoyed this event. All too often basic mistakes are been made in Marshalling, course measurement and delivery of promised facilities during these events. Afterwards we get an apology and reassured it will be better next year. While some people are of the view that voting with our feet will make these races sit up at do things right, I think this is not the case. There is sufficient numbers of non club runners who prefer these events to club races which will ensure their survival until they figure things out. This is something that clubs will have to address, why do these runners feel that they don't belong at the start line of many club races. Maybe Johns views on the lack of club races in certain areas of Munster is contributing to this. By getting more casual runners into the club running scene then maybe we can show them what is the difference between a good quality race ran for runners and razmataz event that loses sight of the basics. Its time for clubs to step up and take running  to the next level.