The race organisers have now launched their website for the event and we can put some 'meat on the bones' so to speak and see exactly what is on offer.
The full Marathon seems to be mainly on country roads to the south-west of Clonakilty and part of it takes in some coastal roads. It certainly doesn't look like a flat fast route! It would seem to be more of a scenic type Marathon with some 'challenging' hills ;o) Indeed if you look at the route profile below, there would seem to be a good steep climb between miles 17 and 19.
How many runners is the Marathon likely to attract? It's very hard to predict. It doesn't look like a fast course so it probably won't attract those going for personal best times. It's on in the middle of December and if the weather is wet and windy, it will be a very exposed spot. Yet despite that, it is still a Marathon and the Marathon is the ultimate distance for a lot of people and they will travel long distances to do them. If the weather is nice....i.e. a nice cold sunny winter morning with blue skies then this Marathon has the potential to be a really stunning one.
The full Marathon route can be seen HERE
The Half-Marathon follows much the same route as the Marathon except that it doesn't get as far as the south coast. Around the 8.5 mile mark, the routes split as the Half-Marathon heads back towards Clonakilty. Again there are a few pulls but nothing as demanding as the Marathon.
The Half Marathon route can be seen HERE
10 Fun Run......With a €25 entry fee, this one is going to be a hard sell. I was telling someone today about the events coming up in Clonakilty and that the fun run will cost €25 to enter. The reply that I got was that they could think of better ways to have fun with €25 :o)
I guess people will have to see whats on offer and make up their own mind. The route map is HERE
............and finally, the website for all 3 events is HERE
5 comments:
That's a very hard Marathon course, just spent this summer training for Dublin on most of that route. Section around Inchydoney hotel is a tuff section, hard hills from mile 7 to 9, around mile 13 is hard but good sea views, 14 to 16 has a few hard pulls, long tuff drag from 16 to 20, from 20 is nice with good sea views. If your not looking for a PB and would like a challange near the coast, it's worth a go. Outside of the course and price, I hope the event is run correctly not like the Galway City Marathon recently which left the organisers with a task for next year. Best of luck to the Clon event and nice to see the effort to stage a big event in West Cork.
Hi John.
This year has seen some troublesome races that for one reason or another just haven’t gone to plan.
The one thing I notice is that races with problems are usually the events that mix more than one distance into the race.
This looks like it could be a nice marathon but with all the races starting at 9am I would think that it could lead to some confusion. The marathon and half marathon start in the same place at the same time. No doubt people running the marathon will get caught up in the half marathon pace being set. The 10k looks to be starting a little bit away but joins with the marathon route. No doubt the runners doing the 10k will catch up with marathon runners in no time and add another pace to the mix. With the first break on the course around the 4.5 mile mark for the 10k runners and the second break point at around the 8.5 miles for the half marathon runners I feel this could easily lead to confusion for the runners. Looking at the experience of the Limerick marathon and the Clonmel half marathon this year I think it is best that the fun runs are kept well away from the course of the marathon event.
Don’t get me wrong. I really hope the race works and I hope the organisers have a successful day but these things can very easily go wrong. Fingers crossed and hopefully I will do one of the races myself.
I agree with Paudie, it's very ambitious to try and stage so many events the first year. They might be better off having just a full marathon, with a 5km fun run/ walk that could set off an hour after the marathon, which could be done by families, etc. of the marathon runners and neveryone would be back at the finish line to cheer the marathoners. I really do hope it goes well for them, but I remain sceptical....
Hi All, My name is Fiona O'Donnell, one of the Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon organisers. It's so great to check in here every now and again to get peoples feedback on the route, starting times etc. We are runners ourselves (joggers!) and are aware of the challenges that face us in ensuring that the faster paced mini marathon runners do not run into the back of the full and half marathon races. We are currently exploring a number of options to alleviate this. Constructive feedback like this is always welcome and we are very grateful for any and all snippets of advice that are sent our way.
Hope to see you there.
Kind Regards, Fiona O'Donnell
Hi All,
Niamh here, running the half marathon route for this event ran most of it today and it was fantastic with beautiful views and sunshine. this event has been extremely well organised so far with loads of info, e-mails, freebies etc. I like the fact it is catering for different types of runners from basic to the more professional, as I am somewhere in between like most of the other runners I know who are running it. It also is fab to have a marathon close to home and on a route I know so well.
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