Events Calendar 2015
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| John Kehoe | Oct 1 2014, 2:33pm | When can we expect the provisional events calendar for 2015 to be posted. |
| Rachel Cinnsealach | Oct 1 2014, 4:47pm | The AGM is on the 22nd Nov. After that it will take a few weeks to put the calender together, get agreement from the committee, get permissions from NPWS and Coilte, and since we are getting into "silly season at that stage, it is quiet possible that the winter league races will be announced before Christmas but the others may not be announced until January. |
| Peter O'Farrell | Oct 1 2014, 4:59pm | Silly season is a good time for discussion about the 2015 calendar. Some events were cast to the wind Sugarloaf from Calary was dashed Carantoohill's concrete path eroded The Djouce drop? Let's not go down that route :) Croagh Patrick out and back croaked it. How 250 Wednesday night runners dwindle to 25 souls on a Sunday in Wicklow has occasionally vexed me. The lyrical race reports from the weekend races suggest those that partake truly enjoy their weekend in the hills. The bigger disconnect is the one between the domestic hillrunner and the international version. A vanishingly small amount of runners attempt to be both. It is next to impossible to be competitive in the Irish Championship and make International teams. The 2015 calendar could attempt to keep IC events and trial races apart by at least two weeks. In 2014 the world trial was on the day before a very important IC race in Galteemore. This can be avoided. The current disconnect between the international races, the Irish Championship and the evening leagues may benefit from a more obvious path to progression. And finally..................do we really need a winter league? This is a serious question by the way. I have both volunteered at and participated in winter league events and always I wonder about hypothermia as I jog about frozen mountains in a t-shirt. If we are to keep the winter league there should be a mandatory kit to be carried at all events. |
| John Kehoe | Oct 1 2014, 10:55pm | To Peters point I think it would make much more sense to have the Winter League on forest trails and not mountain, ie.. a Winter Trail League. Then progressing to the Spring League on to open mountain. Also it would be worth amalgamating the WL and SL, these had 5 and 3 races respectively, an 8 race league from January to March is much more appealing. And how about trying to keep the race distances for the Leinster League to roughly 10k. I know this is a challenge for obtaining permits from NPWS but worth considering, sometimes its hard to justify travelling to Howth or Carrick to run 6km. |
| BrÃan O'Meara | Oct 2 2014, 8:38am | I'd keep the winter league with as much open mountain as possible if it were me- but mandatory kit would be a good idea. Taking it further, has there ever been any thought given to any winter IC races? You couldn't ask people to summit marshal in winter, so perhaps just rely on runners honour and runners being sensible as to the limit of their abilities, with a stringent kit requirement, but a winter Carauntoohil or Lug race would be savage.. Secondly, how does one go about offering possible new routes for the calendar? Presumably ground needs to be walked, and a map, route and provisional timings etc should be provided. Anything else? The Sorrell Hill race this year topped it for me. What a route for an LL race... |
| John Richie | Oct 17 2014, 12:02am | How about we scrap the Spring league, increase the size of the Winter league and have the runs in the dark. Make the only mandatory kit headtorches, a sense of humour/adventure and a faint memory of what it was that made is want to take up this sport in the first place. |
| Pieter van de Wiel | Oct 19 2014, 5:49pm | In 2010 we participated the WWR with two Dutch teams. For all of us this was an impressing experience. It’s now the time for us to discuss our foreign race for next year and we have the idea to come to the WWR again (with one or two teams). We have to book flights and hotel rooms as soon as possible (to keep the costs low). I would appreciate it when somebody can inform me about the race details for 2015 as soon they are available. Thanks in advance and I hope to see you all (again) at the next WWR. Best regards, Pieter van de Wiel, AV Hollandia, Hoorn, The Netherlands. |
| John O'Brien | Oct 21 2014, 11:20pm | @Peter Farrell, one reason why the numbers dwindle to a handful for weekend races is that the races tend to be on open mountain and unmarked, most people dont want to spend a race slopping through the bog. This type of 'mountain' running bears no similarities to mountain running in the uk or on the continent and for anyone who is serious about qualifying for european or worlds this type of race is of no benefit from a training point of view. Take this years Leinster Championship; only 14 people ran 3 races or more, with only 80 runners in total running in the champoinship. This compares to over 600 runners in the Leinster league which is run over the same months (April to July). |
| Paul O'Donnell | Oct 21 2014, 11:28pm | Was there ever a survey of member asking them what kind of races they would prefer, rather than a handful on the committee deciding. Add to BrÃan O'Meara point, how does one go about suggesting a new route or is this the preserve of the committee. |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Oct 21 2014, 11:34pm | Anyone can suggest a new route. Posting on the forum is probably the best bet, although you can also email the committee directly. The probability of having your route accepted is very high if you also agree to direct the race :) The more unmarked, open mountain races the better is my input to the "survey". Doesn't have to be slopping through the bog, daredevil descents through scree and heather are good too ;) |
| Ken Cowley | Oct 22 2014, 3:33pm | Variety is the key to an enjoyable calendar, and the IMRA calendar generally achieves that |
| Rachel Cinnsealach | Oct 22 2014, 5:31pm | @ John O Brien, I think Peter O Farrell is aware of what is needed to qualify for European or world races. @ Paul O'Donnell, there has been forum discussions on what races people want. If you want to carry out a survey of the races people want then set one up and carry it out. Good luck to you suiting everyone, I did my absolute best last year and to be honest I think I did a pretty good job. There were more new races on the calender last year than there has been in years. In order to get a race onto the calendar you need to recce the route and record a gpx track(Or have some record of it). Post the details to the committee, the length of the route, the height gain, the terrain. The committee needs to get permission from Coilte/National parks. You can't have more than 200 people running on a route in the national park and you can't run an out and back route. Other factors such as parking and a suitable place for prize giving need to also be considered. Gareth Little is our safety officer and he will check out the proposed route. Routes should be emailed to the committee after the AGM, and before the new calendar is put in place. Suggestions for races that people would like to see on the calendar (and those races that people don't want to see on the calendar)are most welcome. The committee work really hard over the course of the year, to ensure these races go ahead and that IMRA maintains it's high standard. If you want to have your say come to the AGM. There will be soup and sandwiches for all those that attend. We would love to have ore people attending this year. |
| CaitlÃn Bent | Oct 24 2014, 11:34am | Well said Rachel. Might I suggest having the soup and sandwiches + prize giving AFTER the AGM:) Let's not dumb down our championship races to facilitate people who do'nt want to get their feet wet:). |
| Brian O Murchu | Oct 24 2014, 4:49pm | A winter trail league sounds awesome! |
| Alan Ayling | Oct 26 2014, 5:52pm | Maybe I'm missing something here, but isn't our existing winter league a trail league in all but name? Well said above Rachel! |
| Jeff Swords | Oct 28 2014, 3:26pm | @John O'Brien, it has been discussed before but I don't think the lack of numbers is down to the terrain involved. More so the fact that it's simply the weekend and many/some people don't want to/can't spend what will be basically be the whole afternoon away from family time. It's easier to get out for an evening when the kids are going to be in bed anyway. |
| Mick Hanney | Oct 28 2014, 4:08pm | I'll RD a WL race down south Wicklow way. Annagh or Croghan perhaps. |
| John J Barry | Oct 28 2014, 11:01pm | Good point Jeff. That's certainly true for me. It be great having a championship race on a Friday for two hours. Up Mount Leinster or Lug. |
| John O'Brien | Oct 29 2014, 9:31pm | How about starting the races earlier rather than the usual 12pm start, 9am start would mean most would be back home by lunch time. |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Oct 29 2014, 9:55pm | Boo, some of us like our lie-ins. We're not cyclists :) |
| John O'Brien | Oct 29 2014, 9:57pm | Best time to get up the mountains is early morning before the hill walkers and scramblers. |
| Ken Cowley | Oct 29 2014, 11:03pm | Yes, earlier the better for weekend races in my opinion. The one I Rd'd this year I deliberately went for 11am rather than 12, but yes, what'd be wrong with 10, or even 9, for the races not too far from greater Dublin area (which is where the majority of people are travelling from |
| Pól Ó Murchú | Oct 29 2014, 11:16pm | eh its the weekend...that's what's wrong with 9 or 10! ;-) |
| aidan roe | Dec 9 2014, 2:22pm | Not sure where to post this so i'll put it up here.Altough I've been out of the loop for a while I'd be happy to do RD for Vale of Glendasan next year if the comitte want to put it on calender again for Leinster Champs Aidan |
| Gary Hanrahan | Dec 14 2014, 8:26pm | When will the 2015 events calendar be online3 |
