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Dublin Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Dublin Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 4.2
Number of comments: 267 [displaying comments 171 to 181]
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A Runner from Astoria, NY, USA
(12/11/2002)
"Interesting Locals" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Loved it... especially the street kids who came out to add some real Dublin experience for everyone, trying to give runners wrong directions, trying to sell the Adidas baseball caps to runners, trying to steal food from volunteers, offering water to a runner and then spraying it in their face instead, mooning female TNT volunteers... i think the Garda spent more time chasing them down than they did looking after the runners. The expo was very poor. All the stalls given to major sponsors. Where were the cheap running item stores loved so much at expos, selling cheap, necessary gear, like cheap gloves, nose-strips, water bottles, cheap hats, etc. Instead, it was all expensive Adidas stuff only. Good expos allow both. The start was awful; couldn't get down the side streets to the race due to all the spectators in the area, please courdon off this area from spectators! The course was faboulous; a wonderful trip around a wonderful city. The finish was strange; much better to have the finish on a straighaway rather than 'just around the corner'. Having a plaque instead of a medal is a very bad idea. Overall - still loved it! | |
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Colm Mulcahy from Madrid (this week!)
(12/5/2002)
"a trip down memory lane" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 As a native Dubliner, long based elsewhere, it was a treat to run through so much of the city I know so well and love so much. Especially as I would not have been able to run 1 mile when I last lived there! The route was excellent. What were they thinking of in recent years, starting and finishing on the quays and not taking in the Park?! We were very lucky with the weather, considering that the days before and after were wet, windy and miserable. The organization was much better than I expected, having read reviews here. Good refreshments (but orange power drinks only is a mistake, as was pointed out at the RDS pep talk session, because of 'digestion issues' with one of the two types of glucose found in orange). GREAT crowd support, virtually every inch of the way. Dubs, Americans and Canadians in abundance. (I´m used to the Atlanta marathon, which is a hermit-like experience for runners...) I heard rumours of a hill in the Phoenix Park, but can't say I noticed it. Overall, it was great training for the Atlanta marathon a month later, where I finally came close to my personal holy grail: sub 4 hours.(Now THAT´s a run with some serious hills, especially miles 20-25!) 3 gripes however, in descending order of importance. Fix these, and you have a first rate marathon. Is anybody in Organization Land listening?! The start was a shambles, the street much too narrow for one thing. Why not START on Merrion Square around the corner?! Also, runners were treated like second class citizens: I know many thousands of people come across the Atlantic to walk this course to raise money for very worthy charities, but the indesciminate mixing of walkers and runners AT THE START LINE was an insult to those of us who hoped for a PR (and were provided with high tech chips!). The plaque is a joke: I can only assume that somebody in HQ has a contract with a pal who makes them. That, or the person deciding on them is not familiar with standard protocol (M-E-D-A-L!). They must have had a lot left over from last year: the depicted Custom House was not on this year´s route! It doesn´t even list the month/day of the run... The one size (huh?!) T-shirt is branded 'finisher' which sounds like a consolation prize.... That said, the organisers did a terrific job overall and Dublin should be proud of this fabulous event! It was a great weekend home and the pints at the Porterhouse afterwards never tasted better! | |
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A Runner from Boston,MA
(12/2/2002)
"People Great-Course Good-Organization Poor" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Having run NYC and Marine Corps (Wash.D.C.), I guess I was spoiled when it comes to organization. The Dublin Marathon has a lot to learn if it wants people to take it seriously. The start was a joke. Walkers all over the place made for a very disorganized start with people bumping into each other and runners looking like football players dodging tacklers. It was exhausting trying to sort out the first couple of miles. What's availble to the runners are the bare necessities, if you are lucky. Water stations ran out-can you believe that! The support staff on the course were great people as were the spectators. Nice finish. Keep the plaque and the tee shirt; amaturish at best. The organizers could really make this a nice race. However, I think they are taking the money and giving the runners little in return. There are too many great October marathons to bother coming here, unless they work to improve the organization. Too bad, because I love Dublin and Ireland! | |
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A Runner from USA
(11/28/2002)
"great race but the plaque is a sorry joke." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Enjoyed the 2002 race and appreciated the improvement all round on 2001. As others have said; no walkers to the front, staggered starts, better drop off space- nearly missed contact/meet-up with friends before the race- and strongly discourage cyclists. The absolute bummer for me was the god-awful plaque I had been warned of. No choice but to buy a bird cage to put it in. Wrote Dublin earlier of many who despaired of not having a medal to hang with the standard US and worldwide marathons. No answer. Problem solved by faxing a design to a Dublin jeweller. The front of ours had a laurel circular border, inside around the edge 'DUBLIN CITY MARATHON' and in the centre a colorful City of Dublin crest. On the back; the laurels, an inner script of BAILE ATHA CLIATH and in the center, the back of an Irish euro coin which has a harp in the middle and is flanked by the words EIRE and 2002. This left space at the bottom for future engraving. Of course Eire means Ireland, Baile has a stroke over the E and refers to Dublin and for next year put in 2003! The medal is strung on a green/white/orange ribbon. The sweetest note is that you carry your medal all of over 26 miles and you and your medal are marathoners. Better do it folks. I guess they will never run out of all those recycled aluminum beer cans they have for the plaques. | |
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A Runner from Reading, England
(11/13/2002)
"Start, middle and end" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Having read most of the comments already written, I wont repeat them but agree fully with the poor organisation at the start (congestion around the bag drop-off and walkers mixed with runners at start line). I must be one of the few people to have actually enjoyed Phoenix hill, it was a beautiful park and a joy to run through. The end was terrific, great crowds, great photo finish etc, disappointed with the plaque - runners like medals! And my final comment is that I am 5ft tall, my brother and father also ran and they are both 6ft+ tall - how on earth are we expected to fit into the same size t-shirt? On the whole I had a fantastic day and thought the Dubliners were great. | |
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A Runner from Dublin, Ireland
(11/8/2002)
"Excellent day, but Christ I hated that hill at 19!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Good day but they need to stagger the start to prevent walkers becoming another hurdle for the runners to overcome. | |
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A Runner from Dublin
(11/7/2002)
"Runner living near that mile 19 hill!!!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 As a first time marathon runner, there wasn't anything at the time that I could complain about. The day was an extremely memorable experience that I'll never forget! Looking back, the only things I would comment on was those walkers who seemed to start right by the start line and then walk shoulder to shoulder accross the road! Also the cyclists, who might have been encouraging a friend, but were certainly no friends of mine on the day. Organisation was great from the expo the day before to the very end. Bags, bogs, beautiful babes and bottles of water were all planned well and those guys in the red tops. I think they must have either been paid a lot or were still plastered from the night before, because I do not recall one of them who did not offer runners a word of encouragement. After this marathon I am addicted and have been searching for other marathons to run. If they are half as good as this one then I'll be satisfied. Will definately be running next year! | |
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A Runner from Munich, Germany
(11/6/2002)
"Great first marathon" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 As a first timer i was impressed with the overall course (phoenix park hill was a pig !) and organisation of this event.The only thing i would change is the start. They start the runners and the walkers together and this invariably leads to bunching with runners getting stuck behind lines of three and four walkers abreast across the road. I would suggest starting the walkers maybe 15 - 30 mins after the runners. Apart from that, a great day and the crowds were excellent. When you get a group of young lads shouting at you 'where are you from mister ?' and then encouraging you with 'come on England' when i tell them where i was from, this was the boost that got me through the final mile.The crowds at the finish were pretty amazing too. Well done Dublin ! | |
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A Runner from Oregon, USA
(11/4/2002)
"Great race; Great fans; Crappy T-shirt" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The race was great -- beautiful route (although I could've done without the Phoenix Park hill), wonderful supporters, great city -- and the overall experience was terriffic. My only complaints are that the organization was so-so (too many slow runners at the start rather than organized by pace times) and the awards left a lot to be desired (the plaque was weird and the T-shirt completely generic). Even so, this was a great marathon, and I highly recommend Dublin and Ireland as great places to visit and to run. | |
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A Runner from Surrey, England
(11/4/2002)
"A fantastic day" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my second marathon this year (the first being London) and was a much more low-key affair. However this makes Dublin a more intimate marathon than the bigger events where you can actually see your supporters! I can safely say I enjoyed every minute of the race. Drinks were plentiful, as were vaseline and even energy bars at the later stages. One word of advice is look out for the walkers at the beginning (everyone starts at the same time, there's no staggered start times) which I didn't expect and can cause some congestion and confusion. |
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