Saturday 28 April 2018

Day of Irish PB's

An exciting and interesting new event has just been announced by Pop Up Races, the "Day of Irish PB's". This event is aimed at runners of any level who want to break their 5K PB (personal best). It will be held on Saturday 14th July on the Le Cheile AC track in Leixlip, Co. Kildare.



How it works

Encompassing 12 and half laps of the track, each 5,000m race will provide the competitor with the ideal conditions to secure that elusive PB. Each race will be paced by experienced athletes, including Olympians and elite level Irish runners, with the mission of bringing the competitor to their target time. The aim is to provide a family friendly and exciting race day experience that will be one to live long in the memory.

Beginning at 2pm, the first paced race (30 minutes) will start proceeding. The day will build with a crescendo, deploying an all-action packed timetable of graded races.

The Attraction

I'm sure most of you that, like me, are keen on any opportunity to hit a PB, but if it's not immediately obvious how this event can get you there, let me give you a couple of main attractions:
  • International Standard Track - this is built for speed, and obviously no hills to worry about!!
  • Paced Groups - If you've ever trained on the track, you'll know that running with the group is easier than on your own if you are chasing a time. Added to this is the benefit of the experienced pacers for each group, and this is a unique opportunity
  • Track Setting / Atmosphere - with most races the crowd usually gathers around the finish line. This event gives your family / friends the unique opportunity to support you all the way around (12 and a half times). This will also surely encourage better performances. 
  • Camaraderie - With numerous paced groups, there will be lots of other runners watching events either before or after their run. Again adding to the support.


From the Organisers

Anthony Flannery, Race Director said: 'As a keen runner, I wanted to create the ideal conditions for athletes of all standards to compete and thrive. We at Pop Up Races are devoted to the athletics' community, constantly seeking to help each and every athlete achieve their goals. It is my long-held belief to make track and road running accessible to all, within a friendly and exciting race day environment. This truly is an event organised by runners, for runners.'

This is yet another step from Pop Up Races towards improving running in Ireland. At the end of last year, the launched the Kia Race Series, which injected money and an exciting format to a Nationwide series of races. With this new event, they are further adding to the diversity of races available to the Irish runner, helping improve times across the country.

Registration and Group Times:

Follow this link to register, and to see the different pace groups.

Thursday 26 April 2018

Weekend Races 27th - 29th April 2018

Races This Weekend - 21 races so far, see below! Where are you Running?




                                                                                                                               


Here's the list of running races on by county this coming weekend. If there are any that I've missed, just chat a message below and I'll update.


Connaught

  • Roscommon: Friday 27th - Roscommon Harriers AC series - 5K
  • Galway: Saturday 28th - Connemara Adventure Challenge
  • Galway: Sunday 29th - Fr Micheal Mannion Annual Road Race - 5K / 10K
Leinster

  • Dublin: Sunday 29th - Rith Cois Life - 5K
  • Wexford: Sunday 29th - Pettitt’s SuperValu Wexford Half Marathon - 10K / Half Marathon
  • Meath: Sunday 29th - Duleek Cystic Fibrosis Remembrance Run - 10K
  • Wicklow: Sunday 29th - Rith na Lochanna - 5K
  • Kildare: Sunday 29th - Sallins National School Community Fun Run - 5K

Munster

  • Limerick: Friday 27th - Michal Rejmer Memorial - 5Mile
  • Waterford: Saturday 28th - West Waterford AC Series, Waterford to Tramore - 7.5Mile
  • Clare: Saturday 28th - Clare Island Adventure Race
  • Cork: Sunday 29th - Ballymore Cobh AC, Sonia O'Sullivan 10 mile - 10Mile
  • Kerry: Sunday 29th - Tarbert Run - 5K / 10K / 10Mile

Ulster

  • Down: Friday 27th - Scrabo Striders, Run the Runways - 5K / 10K
  • Cavan: Saturday 28th - Run with Catherina - 5K / 10K
  • Derry: Saturday 28th - Rampage, Adventure Race
  • Tyrone: Saturday 28th - St Ciarans run - 5K / 10K
  • Armagh: Saturday 28th - Almac fun run - 5K / 10K
  • Antrim: Saturday 28th - PAT 2018 Run - 10K
  • Tyrone: Sunday 29th - Killeeshil Road Race - 5K / 10K
  • Down: Sunday 29th - Seapatrick run - 5K / 10K

Thursday 19 April 2018

Weekend Races 20th - 22nd April 2018

Races This Weekend - 20 races so far, see below! Where are you Running?




                                                                                                                               


Here's the list of running races on by county this coming weekend. If there are any that I've missed, just chat a message below and I'll update.


Connaught

  • Roscommon: Friday 20th - Roscommon Harriers AC series - 5K
  • Galway: Saturday 21st - Hurt Locker Duathlon
  • Mayo: Sunday 22nd - Run for Boylo - 5K / 10K
  • Roscommon: Sunday 22nd - Athlone Run - 5K / 10K
Leinster

  • Longford: Saturday 21st - Royal Canal Run - 10K / Half Marathon / Marathon / Ultra
  • Kildare: Saturday 21st - Clane GAA Run - 5K / 10K
  • Wicklow: Saturday 21st - Roundwood Reservoir Run - 10K
  • Wexford: Sunday 22nd - 5 for the Dive - 5Mile (postponed)
  • Dublin: Sunday 22nd - Sumo Run - 5K
  • Kildare: Sunday 22nd - Newbridge Educate Together fun run - 5K

Munster

  • Limerick: Friday 20th - Michal Rejmer Memorial - 5Mile
  • Cork: Sunday 22nd - The Great Railway Run - 10K / 25K
  • Kerry: Sunday 22nd - Kingdom Come Run - 5K / 10Mile
  • Tipperary: Sunday 22nd - MMRA League, Silvermines - 7.4K (trail)
  • Waterford: Sunday 22nd - Angela Burns 10K, Ferrybank - 10K

Ulster

  • Tyrone: Saturday 21st - The Cormac Run - 5K / 10K
  • Tyrone: Saturday 21st - Gortin Run - 5K / 10K
  • Down: Saturday 21st - Ballynahinch Lions - 10K
  • Armagh: Sunday 22nd - Run Armagh - 10K
  • Derry: Sunday 22nd - Run DC - 10K

Thursday 12 April 2018

Weekend Races 13th - 15th April 2018

Races This Weekend - 27 races so far, see below! Where are you Running?




                                                                                                                               


Here's the list of running races on by county this coming weekend. If there are any that I've missed, just chat a message below and I'll update.


Connaught

  • Roscommon: Friday 13th - Roscommon Harriers AC, 5k Series - 5K
  • Mayo: Saturday 14th - Up and Over Challenge - 14.5K (hill running)
  • Galway: Saturday 14th - The Delphi Tri Event
  • Galway: Sunday 15th - St. Olivers Family Fun Run - 5K
  • Galway: Sunday 15th - New Inn Run - 5K
  • Sligo: Sunday 15th - Easkey Castle Run - 5K / 10K / 10Mile

Leinster

  • Wicklow: Saturday 14th - Festival of Running - 5Mile / 10Mile / 15Mile/ 20Mile / Marathon
  • Dublin: Sunday 15th - The Great Ireland Run - 5K / 10K
  • Kilkenny: Sunday 15th - The School Run - 5K / 10K
  • Meath: Sunday 15th - Lismullen races - 3K / 10K
  • Kildare: Sunday 15th - Kildare 5K

Munster

  • Limerick: Friday 13th - Michal Rejmer Memorial - 5Mile
  • Waterford: Friday 13th - Butlerstown - 4Mile
  • Cork: Saturday 14th - Cork BHAA, Gas Networks - 5Mile
  • Tipperary: Sunday 15th - Killea Road Run - 5K /10Mile
  • Clare: Sunday 15th - Run Clare, Tuamgraney 10 - 10Mile
  • Kerry: Sunday 15th - Cromane family fun run - 1K / 5K / 10K
  • Cork: Sunday 15th - Rathpeacon NS run - 4Mile
  • Cork: Sunday 15th - MMRA, Trail Race, Curragh Woods - 7K (trail)
  • Cork: Sunday 15th - Karen Fenton Memorial - 5K
  • Cork: Sunday 15th - Firmount NS fun run - 6K

Ulster

  • Antrim: Saturday 14th - Glenarm Castle Challenge - 5K / 10K / Half Marathon
  • Antrim: Saturday 14th - Run round the Castle, Randalstown - 5K /10K
  • Tyrone: Sunday 15th - Creggan Road Race - 5K / 10K
  • Derry: Sunday 15th - Garvagh Trail Run - 21K (trail)
  • Armagh: Sunday 15th - Portadown - 5K / 10K
  • Antrim: Sunday 15th - Centra Run Together Pairs Event Queens

Wednesday 11 April 2018

ASICS Gel Nimbus 20

Product Review - Asics Gel Nimbus 20 - 28th March 2018



When taking advice about any runner or reading review like this, you should always consider the perspective that the writer is coming from when doing a review. Mainly for runners, you need to know what runner the writer regularly runs in, this will give you an idea of when he/she says "soft", "spacious" etc, how that compares with your definition of the same.

For me, although I have around 5 different runners, at present, my 'go-to' runner for the past few years has been the Asics Cumulus. I will include this in comparisons below, along with other runners.

About the Nimbus

The Nimbus has always been Asics soft runner and probably the choice runner for marathon runners around the world. In the last version, the Nimbus 19, Asics introduced their Flytefoam technology to the Nimbus and made it a much firmer runner. So if you have been running in the Nimbus for years and have yet to make the move to a pair of 19's or 20's, you might need to prepare yourself for a change. It's not the soft cushion it once was.

Narrow vs Wide

I'm told also told that the latest Nimbus is much narrower than previous versions. This is one of those situations where perspective is important. To me the Nimbus 20 feels like a wide base runner, this would be compared to the Cumulus and especially the GT-2000. I've actually put them all 'sole-to-sole' and it's especially true in the forefoot.

So if you are used to Nimbus, it's narrower, if you are used to other runners, it's probably wider. But what does that mean? Well the positive is more stability on the longer runs. The negative, but maybe this is in my head, is that the others would be better for speed.

Airy vs Porous

The engineered mesh is a very open, designed to be more breathable and flexible. And it certainly delivers on this. So if you are a runner who suffers from heat in your feet, and there are many, this is a brilliant update.
A word of caution though, it's not just the air that gets through, I took them out in the rain one day and my feet were soaked!

My Nimbus 20's in the cold weather in Cork, then in the very hot temperatures in Florida, the famous 10 mile clay loop. The airy structure was good here. See Instagram for more.

What I liked

These are a great runner to take out on longer runs. Although they may not be as soft as previous versions, they had plenty of softness for me. And they have a good solid structure, so still an ideal runner for marathoners. 

What I didn't like

I won't be using them for short races, but to be fair I don't think that's where Asics are positioning them. There are far better runners in the Asics line that are built for speed. 

I also wasn't mad about the wet weather performance, as I'm ok with the standard level of ventilation of other runners.

Final Verdict

There's not a huge difference between Nimbus and Cumulus, but you can expect to see these Nimbus 20 on my for the Dublin Marathon this year!


Saturday 7 April 2018

Run Kilkee

New Race - The Run Kilkee Half Marathon and 10K




The team that organise the Dingle Marathon and Half Marathon have decided to put their efforts into a new event, the Run Kilkee Half Marathon and 10K. Similar to Dingle, they've selected another spectacular route for this event, Kilkee, the picturesque coastal town in Clare. These guys have won our "Half Marathon of the Year" Award for the last 3 years in a row, so you can be sure they'll know how to put on a great event in Kilkee as well.

The race will take place along the spectacular Loop Head Peninsula in Co Clare on Saturday 14th July 2018. The course consists of a 13.1 mile Half Marathon and a 10km route set along the stunning sea cliff panoramic views of the Loop Head Peninsula. This is a 'must do' event in one of Ireland's must beautiful locations on the Wild Atlantic Way with the course designed for runners and walkers to enjoy its breathtaking scenery and beautiful rugged coastline.



The event opened for registrations on Thursday this week, and by Friday registrations were already into the hundreds. With spaces limited for safety reasons for the first year, this is one to book sooner rather than later.

There will be a finishers medal and t-shirt, the design for these will be released soon. (But have a look at what they provide for Dingle, and you'll get an idea of what they give!)

For more information and registration, check out their website: www.runkilkee.ie

Routes:




Friday 6 April 2018

West Waterford AC Summer Race Series

Below is details of the annual Intersport Elverys / Asics Summer Road Race Series. This is a great series, organised by West Waterford AC, for anyone in the South East, and has been running for 24 years. But with 12 races on the list, and the most of these being Friday or Saturday, if you are taking a weekend break in the South East during the summer, it's worth making it down in time for some competitive action!



Race Entry

Online entry for each race is €7, or on the night entry is €10. Or you can enter the entire series of 12 races for €40, which is great value. Here's the link to register for the full series.

There is also a "rewards scheme" in place, any runner that completes 7 of the 12 races in the series will qualify for an Intersport Elverys/Asics voucher to the value of €30 (redeemable at the Intersport Elverys Sports store in Dungarvan for Asics product).

Thursday 5 April 2018

Weekend Races 6th - 8th April 2018

Races This Weekend - 24 races so far, see below! Where are you Running?




                                                                                                                               


Here's the list of running races on by county this coming weekend. If there are any that I've missed, just chat a message below and I'll update.


Connaught

  • Roscommon: Friday 6th - Roscommon Harriers AC race series - 5K
  • Sligo: Saturday 7th - Chartered Accountants Run - 5K
  • Mayo: Saturday 7th - Clare Island Run - 10K
  • Roscommon: Sunday 8th - Marie Corcoran Memorial - 6K
  • Mayo: Sunday 8th - Liquid Motion Duathlon
  • Galway: Sunday 8th - Ballinderry Run - 5K
  • Galway: Sunday 8th - Rembering Aoibhe Renville Challenge - 2.5K / 5K / Duathlon
  • Mayo: Sunday 8th - Belcarra 8K
Leinster

  • Dublin: Saturday 7th - BHAA, DCC Raheny - 10K
  • Dublin: Saturday 7th - Rás UCD - 5K
  • Wicklow: Saturday 7th - Jack Whites Run - 5K / 10K
  • Kildare: Saturday 7th - Donadea Castle Run - 2.5K / 5K / 10K
  • Carlow: Sunday 8th - Run With The Lions - 2K / 5K / 10K
  • Dublin: Sunday 8th - The Grocers Fun Run - 5K / 10K
  • Kildare: Sunday 8th - Newbridge Hockey Club Run - 5K / 10K
  • Offaly: Sunday 8th - Edenderry AC Race Series - 5K

Munster

  • Waterford: Friday 6th - Ballinroad - 5K
  • Limerick: Friday 6th - Michal Rejmer Memorial - 5Mile
  • Cork: Sunday 8th - Cork BHAA UCC - 10K
  • Cork: Sunday 8th - Duhallow AC road race - 10Mile
  • Tipperary: Sunday 8th - MMRA, Slievenamon - 10K Trail Race
  • Clare: Sunday 8th - Sonny Murphy Memorial - 10Mile

Ulster

  • Tyrone: Saturday 7th - Spar Omagh Half Marathon - 5K / Half Marathon
  • Antrim: Sunday 8th - TQ10K - 10K