The organisers of the Dingle Marathon have announced that they are going to cancel the 50 Mile Ultra-Marathon due to the current low number of entries. They issued the following
....."Bit of bad news RE 50 mile ultra. This race will not be going ahead this year. The numbers for this distance are just too low, the demand is simply not high enough. We would need at least 100. We got 70 last year but this year is has been well down. It is a great pity as it was very successful last year and was an amazing experience for all involved."
The 50 Mile Ultra was introduced for the first time in 2010. It started near Castlegregory.....went up and over the Connor Pass....through Dingle...and then followed the 26.2 mile Dingle Marathon route. The organisers are currently looking at the option of holding it every 2 years.
The Dingle Marathon and Half-Marathon will be going ahead next September as normal.
considering you did very well in connemara john were you going to consider it?
ReplyDeleteconnemara was excellently organised. looking forward to dingle but half marathon only !!!!
I would have been interested but would have decided a lot closer to the date.
ReplyDeleteThe thing with the Dingle Ultra is that you are running on your own or with a few other Ultra runners for most of the 50 miles.
In Connemara last Sunday, I hit the back of the Marathon field ~mile 14/15 and the Half-Marathon field ~mile 29. It makes a huge difference when you are running with so many other people.
Dingle is a money making event. The organiser has publicly said that he eventually hopes to draw a salary from it. The event is a blatent attempt to take advantage of the current running boom. It's not an event I want to be part of.
ReplyDeleteDingle is a commercial race that obviously takes a lot of effort, time and money to organise. It's up to individual runners whether to take part or not. Looking at the numbers that Dingle get compared to other commercial races, people seem to be happy with it.
ReplyDeleteValue for money ? NO
ReplyDeleteThe yard stick I use is between 1 and 2 Euro per mile. - O.K.
The Cork Marathon is the only exception for me @ 2.3 Euro p/mile.
Cork to Cobe is by far the best value for money @ .6 Euro p/mile.
Like 5 Euros last week for the U.C.C. 10k versus 15 Euros and more for some 10K`s is not acceptable in my opinion. More and more people I know are now just penciling in the Bhaa races , its a shame because if there was a 5 euro race every weekend I bet you`d get 300 +
Even if it is a commercial event, I have to say that of the various runs I've done over the past 3 years of running, Dingle half-marathon stands out as being the best organised I've experienced - by far. Ken does an amazing job of pulling it all together, good on him!!
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to agree with Eileen. Having been to quite a few races, I feel that Dingle was a fantastic course and ample supply of refreshments on the course. The whole event was very well organised. I will be back this year. I know the cost may be an issue with some people but that is the choice everyone can make on their own. Look at the cost of doing Dublin this year. And that will draw over 10,000 people in October. The scenery alone in Dingle is worth it. Well done Ken. Sorry to hear the ultra has been cancelled though.
ReplyDeletei did dingle half last year and the cost i felt was expensive. that said it was very well organised and it was a very challenging course.also for many years it was even more expensive to go abroad for half and full's such was their rarity. for a lot of people it's also a social event also at the end of the day people will either support or not support these things, the market is the final decider!!! still hard to beat ballycotton 10 for value for money and excellence of organisation. of course dublin marathon deserves a mention too. looking forward to the cork full this year. how does the course compare to the old cork marathon course in the 80's. my uncle claims the 80's marathon was harder. any ideas?
ReplyDelete