Seefingan
Forum Messages
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Conor O'Meara | Jun 1 2010, 9:39am | RUNNERS MUST CARPOOL. There is no designated car park at the race start, and there is limited parking only along a narrow country road. There is plenty of parking at Aherns Pub in Oldbawn, Tallaght. Please ensure all cars have 4 -5 runners approaching race start. The route is an extension to last years Corrig race, with 2.3km out and back to Seefingan summit from the summit of Corrig. This is a long hard route on open mountain (12 km, approx 550m climbing). The winning time is expected to be just under 60 mins. Runners should be suitably attired and well prepared for whatever the weather brings on the day. Trail or mountain running shoes are advised. Not to be discouraged, Seefingan is a spectacularly quiet summit, with great views over West Dublin. There will be an organised early start at 19.10. Runners who have an average finishing time above 170% should consider the early start. Registration will be at the race start. |
| Alan Ayling | Jun 1 2010, 6:22pm | Quick clarification: does the route visit the summit of Seefingan only, or the cairn, or both? Wouldn't want another cairn debacle after Mullacor! :-) |
| Conor O'Meara | Jun 2 2010, 11:42am | Summit of Seefingan only. The large Cairn (possible prehistoric Passage Chamber) is for another day. |
| Torben Dahl | Jun 8 2010, 4:51pm | Hi, Is anyone going past the Airton Road/Belgard Road/Greenhills Road to this race? Thanks Torben 08nine Four3373eight1 |
| Colm Moran | Jun 9 2010, 11:49pm | Hi, I would like to volunteer for this race, does somebody need to invite me to MyIMRA or something like that? If yes, would somebody be able to do so? Thanks, Colm |
| Colm Moran | Jun 9 2010, 11:52pm | Hi, I would like to volunteer for this race, does somebody need to invite me to MyIMRA or something like that? If yes, would somebody be able to do so? Thanks, Colm |
| Conor O'Meara | Jun 14 2010, 11:07am | Colm Please email me your mobile number at Conor.O'Meara at Jacobs dot com, and I will invite you. Thanks, Conor |
| Niamh O'Gorman | Jun 14 2010, 2:46pm | Hi, If you still need people, I would like you volunteer for this race please as a running volunteer. Thanks, Niamh |
| Conor O'Meara | Jun 15 2010, 10:48am | Hi all, I'm looking for at least 6 Non-Running Volunteers for the Seefingan Race on Jun 23rd, including a Laptop Operator, a First Aider and a 2nd Race Marker/ Summit Marshall. Please Volunteer at myIMRA or contact me directly at Conor.O'Meara at Jacobs dot com. Thanks, Conor |
| Jim Fitzharris | Jun 15 2010, 3:09pm | Despite the increase in the numbers racing each week in the Leinster League, every race director this season has had to issue numerous pleas for non-running volunteers. While it is probably too late this year, surely the time has come to stipulate that one of the two "mandatory" volunteering sessions (needed to qualify for an end of league prize) must be in a non-running capacity? Were it not for the dedication of our President and several other prominent IMRA members, one wonders how some of the races would have been run this year. I do recognise that many "newbies" have stepped into the breach but it is incumbent on ALL members to play their part. Full participation in IMRA cannot be judged solely by the number of notches on your hill running shoes! While on the subject of volunteering, it is worth reminding people that writing a race report qualifies as a volunteering task (although unfortunately not as a non-running one!). While many of the stalwarts have posted excellent reports this season, it would be nice to see some fresh authors sharpening thir quills. Cheers, Jim. |
| Padraig Reilly | Jun 17 2010, 10:10am | I am thinking of cycling to this race . Could someone give me some directions and the approx distance from Ahern's Pub in Oldbawn. Thanks , Padraig . |
| Mirjam Allik | Jun 19 2010, 11:01am | Hi - me and another volunteer would need a ride from south dublin, UCD or Donnybrook to the race start. Is anyone going early enough from those places to pick us up? Mirjam and Ty |
| Mirjam Allik | Jun 19 2010, 11:01am | Hi - me and another volunteer would need a ride from south dublin, UCD or Donnybrook to the race start. Is anyone going early enough from those places to pick us up? Mirjam and Ty |
| Wayne Jenkins | Jun 19 2010, 1:59pm | Hi Conor, I just put myself down as a non running First Aider. See you Wednesday. Regards Wayne |
| Eavan Casey | Jun 19 2010, 5:06pm | Hi Mirjam, I will be leaving from UCD at 5.45pm and can give you both a lift.Saw your number on myIMRA so will contact you Monday about where to meet. Eavan |
| Rosalind Hussey | Jun 21 2010, 2:14pm | Eavan, Could I get a lift from UCD also, please? Rosalind |
| Mirjam Allik | Jun 21 2010, 4:52pm | Hi Evan we would like the ride, but can we leave earlier? Me and Ty are supposed to volunteer. Mirjam |
| paul keville | Jun 21 2010, 8:17pm | im looking for a lift to race on wednesday.if anyone can pick me up at either at the old mill or aherns pub where i think there will be car pooling there i would be greatfull.my number is 0863547433 im aware there's very little parking up past stones cross |
| Eavan Casey | Jun 21 2010, 9:08pm | Hi Mirjam, I'm now volunteering too so can leave from UCD at 5.15.I'll meet you on the steps outside the sports centre. Rosalind- if that time suits u, you're welcome to a lift too. |
| Mirjam Allik | Jun 22 2010, 10:34am | Evan - Great! text me so I have your no too! |
| Rosalind Hussey | Jun 22 2010, 7:23pm | That's great, see you there, thanks. |
| Anthony O'Reilly | Jun 23 2010, 8:53am | Hi, I can carpool or drive to the road/lane at the start. If I am driving, there is 3 spaces available. I am leaving from the Long Mile Road beside the Kylemore Luas stop or can leave from Ahernes pub. Let me know if anyone has a space available or wants a lift. Thanks Anthony. |
| Billy Alexander | Jun 23 2010, 9:01am | Could someone please advise details of the Junior course? |
| suzanne kenny | Jun 23 2010, 10:10am | hi conor, just wondering in tonights race if we will be following a marked route from corrib across to seefingin? walked up there yesterday but wasn't sure where to go or how!?? or will it be left unmarked? thanks! |
| Tim Flaherty | Jun 23 2010, 12:23pm | Suzanne, The route'll be marked fine. I'm taking care of that personally, and like Sure bodyspray, I won't let you down! Tim |
| suzanne kenny | Jun 23 2010, 12:25pm | LOL! brilliant! |
| Edward Bateman | Jun 23 2010, 2:12pm | Can someone give directions to Aherns Pub please, or is it one of those circles on the map? |
| Cormac MacDonnell | Jun 23 2010, 2:24pm | Hi Folks, I`m travelling from the city centre via Canal and KCR out if anyone wants a lift. I have space for 2 more ! Text Cormac on 0876101658 |
| Gavan Doherty | Jun 23 2010, 2:37pm | It's not quite one of the circles on the map... Take the N81 for heading west for Tallaght. 2.5km after the junction with the M50 you come to traffic lights at Tallaght village (on your right). Turn left here off the N81 heading south along Oldbawn Road. Ahern's is about 800 metres down this road on your right. If you reach the Old Mill pub you've gone too far (the Old Mill pub is the northmost circle on the IMRA map). Coming from the Old Mill pub go north along Oldbawn Road (heading for Tallaght village) and it's about 500 metres up this road on your left. Handy map thing on: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3829186 |
| Ger Power | Jun 24 2010, 12:13pm | Hi My result is missing my time was 108.27. Can the results be updated please Thanks Ger |
| Paul Gunning | Jun 24 2010, 3:53pm | Hi - I appreciate that these races aren't easy to organise but a number of people were given faulty directions at the last marker last night. I ended up going half way across Wicklow before finally finding a main road and making my way back to the cars and I wasn't the only one. To cap things off, the terrain was so rough that I went over on my ankle. It shouldn't be too hard for the people directing traffic to point runners in the right direction rather than telling them to take turns they shouldn't take. Paul |
| Eoin Keith | Jun 24 2010, 4:02pm | Paul, when push comes to shove its your own responsibility to know where you're going at any IMRA race, whether unmarked or marked. The buck stops with you. I was in the lead group and came accross 3 locations (the 3 peaks) where there were marshalls directing runners. They directed us correctly on every occasion. Personally I very much doubt that they directed susequent runners in a different direction. |
| Paul Smyth | Jun 24 2010, 4:39pm | Paul, I have no comment to make about directions given other than to agree with Eoin that any marshals I came across were giving correct directions. Hill running is not cross country running and it is generally impractical to thoroughly mark a course such as last night race route. IMRA goes out of it's way to provide adequate information for competitors to assist them including race descriptions, maps etc. Frequently there are also offers from people to do reconnaissance runs over race routes. IMRA races can take place in poor weather and visibility and it is essential that competitors are prepared for that both in terms of equipment and ability to find the correct route. I see from your record that you are a relative newcomer to the sport and I know that it takes a while to get up to speed in any sport but it's essential that people spend time carefully studying the information provided so that they are adequately prepared and can avoid problems. This is just a learning experience and if you talk to most people you'll find they have also been through similar experiences in their early years. Last nights race is rated 7 out of 10, the description for the race clearly stated: "This is a long hard route on open mountain (12 km, approx 550m climbing). The winning time is expected to be just under 60 mins. Runners should be suitably attired and well prepared for whatever the weather brings on the day. Trail or mountain running shoes are advised." This clearly spells out the seriousness of the route. With regard to your comment about the roughness of the terrain I'm not sure if you are referring to the actual race or to where you were off-route but if you are referring to the race route I'd have to say that if you think that is rough, you don't know Wicklow very well. Many of us would consider that to be pretty "runnable". It's a pity you went over on your ankle last night but unfortunately that's a risk associate with hill running in general. Not that that's any consolation to you but I also went over on my ankle last night (I can at least sympathise with how you feel) although in my case my ankles have received so many injuries over the years that I can easily go over on them running in a park. For some of us, races like Seefingen, Fraughen Glen etc. are "real hill races" not the gloried track races that take place mostly on fire-roads. It must be at least 15 years since Seefingen was last used and I must say I'm delighted it's back. |
| Paul Gunning | Jun 24 2010, 5:19pm | Last marshall: "Take the first left" Me and a few others: "Thanks". I'm not sure how someone who wasn't there can offer an opinion as to what was said. Clearly the buck stops with me but in light of the above I doubt anyone would have gone the "correct" way. As I said, several people went astray. Its just some constructive criticism in light of a personal experience to make things better for everyone. I could have said nothing but thought that considering I wasn't the only one, the obvious and intelligent thing to do would be to bring this to people's attention on this forum. I would have thought that would be welcome and not provoke a reflex "you're wrong and shut up" response. Paul |
| Paul Smyth | Jun 24 2010, 5:45pm | Hi Paul, That instruction is not just misleading but totally incorrect since that would bring you down along the wrong side of the forest. I don't think that either Eoin or myself are are telling you to 'shut up' or that you're wrong. We're trying to be constructive in pointing out the dangers of not being familiar with the route of the race rather than relying on route marking and marshals which it is often not practical for IMRA to provide. Having said that - you were directed wrongly and that is definitely something that you should raise. To me it would seem to indicate that better briefing of marshals in advance of the race is required. A marshal misdirecting people in poor weather further out could potentially be a serious problem. |
| Greg Byrne | Jun 24 2010, 5:55pm | Paul, you need to understand that this forum is a passive form of communication, thus the tone is not always conveyed in a message and will be interpreted by the reader depending on their view. In this case I did not think either of the two replies were telling you that you were wrong, or to shut up. Both tried to inform you of how the races work and what you could do in future to try and avoid a similar situation. At the same time your message could be taken as more then a friendly update on what happened during your race last night.. |
| Colm Hill | Jun 24 2010, 5:57pm | Paul G proves the point that the Leinster League is a trail league if runners think Seefingan is rough. More open mountain routes! How about extending the route over to Kippure? Add a few km and a few meters extra climb. (plug over) Any race reports in the pipeline? Aidans report from FRG was a very good read. How about a few some newer runners? Paul Gunning? Write about your extra few km added in your trip to wild wicklow? |
| Colm Hill | Jun 24 2010, 5:58pm | Paul G proves the point that the Leinster League is a trail league if runners think Seefingan is rough. More open mountain routes! How about extending the route over to Kippure? Add a few km and a few meters extra climb. (plug over) Any race reports in the pipeline? Aidans report from FRG was a very good read. How about a report from some newer runners? Paul Gunning? Write about your extra few km added in your trip to wild wicklow? |
| Brendan Lawlor | Jun 24 2010, 6:20pm | Paul G Assuming the marshal you are referring to was the one up on Seehan( which was the last peak coming back) and he told you to take the next left coming down off Seehan, then if you had followed these instructions you would have stayed on the correct route - have a look at the map to see what I mean. If you missed the turn left (which was down by a forest, and was marked) and continued on straight then you would have ended up on the road, which was where you came from when you finished if memory serves me. Last nights route was adequately marked and well marshalled - its very unusual to have so many marshals on the course. I appreciate your feedback and stand to be corrected if there was some other marshall / official who sent you astray - going astray from time to time is part of hill running and as a few others have mentioned here, both the weather and the conditions underfoot were very benign last night |
| John Greene | Jun 24 2010, 6:27pm | sorry to hear you went astray. i was the last marshal. anyone who asked me i told them follow the path and then down on the left which i think is fair enough but maybe i'm wrong? i would have thought if you stay on the path you couldn't but reach the next red/white tape and from then on there was red/white regularly. i'd be interested to know if/where other people got lost and what other instructions i should have provided. most people followed the path or group in front of them and seemd to have no problems that i've heard anyway. it's my 1st time non-running volunteering too. i wanted to run but gave it up so as to help out. maybe i bit off more than i could chew in this case but i don't i gave you incorrect information. |
| Paul Smyth | Jun 24 2010, 6:39pm | Brendan, after you leave the summit the first left you come to is the track junction at the fence corner. The correct route there is straight followed by a left turn further down. |
| John Greene | Jun 24 2010, 6:46pm | at that turn i believe you a referring to there was red/white tape on the corner then red/white tape specifically further down about 15metres the correct path to emphasise the correct path. i don't think "follow the path and then down on the left" from seehan is misleading. |
| Paul Smyth | Jun 24 2010, 6:50pm | But if you were told to take the next left and saw the tape on the corner would you look to see a tape on the straight on route or would you just turn left? Remember that this is all happening while you are running... |
| Stuart Scott | Jun 24 2010, 7:19pm | To add to Colm's suggestion, how about starting the race about 2k further along the road? Then up Seehan and over to Corrig, Seefingan and Kippure. It would replace about 5k of boring fireroad with fun wet rough marsh and bog - all the proper ingredients of a mountain race. Great race Conor and team. I'm enjoying the longer rougher races of the LL this year, long may they continue! |
| John Greene | Jun 24 2010, 8:16pm | "...would you look to see a tape on the straight on route or would you just turn left?.." if you weren't sure you should have a short glance and you would see the red tape less than 20m away staring you in the face. a cursory glance at the map beforehand aswell as the markings should have been adequate to get you home. "down to the left" which is what you were told Paul is the instructions everyone who asked got. i'm sorry if you misinterpretted them but they were general directions (considering the course was marked) and not meant to guide you through every nook and cranny. if it was a major problem for you could have emailed me instead of making accusations here. are you blaming me for your injured ankle too? |
| Gavan Doherty | Jun 24 2010, 10:17pm | Hi folks, Firstly, thanks to John/Tim/other guy on Corrig for giving up a cracking race to stand up there freezing so the rest of us eejits could enjoy it... It's not up to John or any summit marshall to give detailed instructions to tired runners as they pass. Ideally runners will take his encouragement and keep an eye out for the left turn described on their way down. That said, I reckoned there was possibility for a few errors on the way back down, particularly at the junction in question. There was a tape on the left turn, but if you were looking at the ground (good idea if running downhill), you might have missed it. Fair play to Tim for taking on marking - it can be tricky to get the 130 above-mentioned eejits around 12km of bog and forest with a few plastic streamers. The Volunteer section on imra.ie mentions "IMRA Race Marking Guidelines" but I suspect these aren't written anywhere. In some ways it's not a bad thing when a few people go wrong or something's not 100% perfect at a race. It highlights that this is a mountain race in open/exposed terrain and you should be prepared for that. It also highlights the work that goes into organising the race (laptop, parking, marking, registration etc) is all done voluntarily by our own fellow runners. If you think you can improve things, please do so by volunteering. I'll kick off a thread on IMRA Marking guidelines - if you have any ideas/opinions, feel free to join in. |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Jun 24 2010, 10:29pm | Personally, the race marking is one job I always stay well clear for fear of messing things up. You'd be days trying to make the course totally foolproof. "It also highlights the work that goes into organising the race (laptop, parking, marking, registration etc) is all done voluntarily by our own fellow runners. If you think you can improve things, please do so by volunteering.". Couldn't agree more. As for twisting your ankle on the terrain, that's just the nature of the sport. Over time, your ankles will develop and strengthen and that won't be so much of a problem. |
| Colin Jennings | Jun 25 2010, 7:31am | I also followed the route Paul took and having been told "down and sharp left" or words to that effect. I was confused at the left turn in question point, so stopped, saw the cars parked, but never saw the tape that was 20m down, perhaps through fatigue, perhaps because it was becomming dark, perhaps because after 120 other runners, it had become hidden, perhaps as I didn't know where to look but in any event when I passed it near the end of the pack, I did not see it. I remembered the map, which had a sharp left turn on the way back down. Sadly the turn I took was at about the 530m contour, not the 480m contour. Talking to some people afterwards in Ahern's, they all recognised the turn in question and some even recalled calling a number of people back who had taken the wrong turn. Sadly at the back of the race there are no others around you to give such helpful advice or to follow after. "if it was a major problem for you could have emailed me instead of making accusations here. are you blaming me for your injured ankle too?" That is highly unfair as Paul clearly stated that he was merely mentioning it to prevent someone else taking a similar wrong route in the future and to address the issue of marking a 'fully marked' route. As a newbie to mountain running, I don't have the advantage of knowing all the routes (other than Djouce, which I climbed many times with my scouts) it certainly took away from my enjoyment of the race. The incorrect route was much rougher than the boggy open land or trail that most of the race was over. In reply to John's question of what he could have said to give clearer instructions to tired runners, perhaps mentioning running by the forest might help, as would follow the markers, but they might be too much to say as people are running past. I don't know, I've never volunteered, but this was only my third race. |
| john Greene | Jun 25 2010, 8:10am | Colin, the words "sharp left" were most definitely not used for anyone. misquoting me is highly unfair and i don't take kindly to it seen as i gave up half the day to help out. I did tell people to go left which if taken in general context was not misleading. i should have marked that junction more clearly but it was marked with 2 bits of tape which i thought was adequate. i've already apologised if this wasnt adequate for you. everyone got the same instructions and i think most found it sufficient. as someone also said, marking a long course like this isn't foolproof withh runners well strung out and fatigued. |
| aidan roe | Jun 25 2010, 9:00am | Apologies for cutting in like this but may i say that I thoroughly enjoyed the race. Well done to all who helped out and can I suggest after reading race reports and talking to others after race that its renamed 'Seefingen - Eater of Shoes', I lost both of mine on seperate occasions. Thought this a schoolboy error until I read Micks report. He didn't use the same point-loading I did. Probably would have made more sense depositing shoes on Seehan and running barefoot to pick them up on return. ahhh! lovely muck. Thanks to Eamonnn for post race refreshments and congratulations to Alan Collins on popping his cherry. For me, its only a matter of time. Final point. I object to Gavan describing me as an eejit. I definitely am not:). |
| Eva Fairmaner | Jun 25 2010, 10:57am | Who was the very cheeful marshall at the top of Seefingan? Wide, sweeping, animated gestures to turn at the top, congratulations and encouragement offered all in the musical tones of Manuel of Fawlty Towers fame. Thank you to the good natured chap who even managed to make me laugh despite praying that my trail shotes wouldn't come off and my misery at not being able to hang on the back of the aul fella O'Gorman! |
| diarmud O'Colmain | Jun 25 2010, 11:02am | Aidan, in all fairness Gavan did not pick you out in particular as an eejit! And, in all fairness, let's face reality - eejit is a very mild description for all of us lunatics who career throught forests, frightening the daylights out of the wildlife in our pursuit of what? - glory, pain, enjoyment, or just something to talk about in the pub afterwards? Speaking of terrifying the wildlife, better keep quiet or we might become the subject of green legislation for causing undue terror to said creatures - stag hunting today, hill runners tomorrow, it could be a slippery slope (pun intended). |
| Justin Rea | Jun 25 2010, 11:22am | Spookily enough, as we were running back along the ridge, there were a number of gunshots. I imagined some crazed environmentalist taking pot shots at us for damaging the bog. Although, given the obvious damage quads and scramblers have done to this area, our footsteps left no comparitive trace. There may have been an odd shoe though . . . |
| CaitlÃn Bent | Jun 25 2010, 4:46pm | I hold my hand up and admit it was I who suggested, when the Race Director asked what former races we would like to see revived, that Seefinán be 'run' again. What a great true Hill Run. Thanks for all the planning that goes into these events. People will always go wrong no matter how carefull the marker is. Hill Running is a adventure sport. 'BE prepared for the unexpected'. CaitlÃn |
| Brian O'Meara | Jun 28 2010, 9:47am | It was a very enjoyable run and I thought the marking was fine. Too much marking santises races. The less sanitised and the rougher the terrain, the better, in my humble opinion. |
