Dublin Marathon 2013: Race Day and Review

• Big Changes are Coming! New Job, Dublin, and Auckland Marathon!
• Dublin Marathon 2013 Trip Introduction
• Flight Dublin-Sydney Update – 11 hours in Lufthansa New First Class!
• Layover at CDG, The Louvre and iPass Lounge CDG
• The Louvre in Paris
• Diverted Flight and First 24 hours in Dublin
• Dublin Marathon 2013 Expo and Packet Pickup
• Temple Bar, Guinness Factory, Old Jameson Distillery
• Cheap Eats: Hot Wok and The Italian Connection
• Dublin Marathon 2013 Race Day and Review
• Irish Food: Quay’s Restaurant and Oneil’s Pub
• National Museum of Ireland
• Clarion IFSC Dublin Hotel Review
• Clarion Dublin Airport Review

Below is a timeline of my race day.

Race Day and Review

• I woke up around 6:30am for a 9am start. I was concerned about road closures so I made sure to get there before 9.
• Did my race prep and left the hotel around 8am. It was only a 30 minute walk but it was quite chilly that morning. I wore my long sweat pants and my long Nike technical shirt and long sleeve cotton shirt. This proved to be too much for the race as it warmed up nicely during the day once the sun was out. The continuous breeze cooled me down during the second half of the race.

• The start was near Fitzwilliam Square. It is about a 10 minute walk from the Westin.
• The city center is small with narrow streets so there seemed to be many more people than there actually were.

Eventually I found where my coral was. There weren’t clear signs for it in the area I was in. I asked around to find out.

There were some interesting costumes as it was very close to Halloween, like the guy above in the chicken suit. His wife was in a wedding gown. There were also a pair of astronauts as well.

• I eventually found my way to the very slow seeded start, which start at 9:20am. The elites start at 9am and people who can run under 4 hours can start at 9:10am. Everyone else and walkers can start at 9:20am.
• I found an alleyway to hide out in to avoid the wind. There were about 20 of us in there so we kept each other warm. There were a good number of American runners also hiding out here.

• The corral wasn’t very large so I cross the line a few minutes after the 9:20am start. I was running in between the 4:50 and 5hr pace groups. I ideally wanted to finish closer to 5 hours to save my legs but I feel into a good groove with the 4:50 group.

• There weren’t many spectators cheering us on during the race. There were occasional groups cheering us on, but they were far and few in between.

The pace signs were on a backpack and they wore it the entire time. It is much more visible than other pace signs I have seen and doesn’t require someone to hold it.

• The course was very scenic. It took us through many parts of the city, including the Zoo and Phoenix Park.
• The aid stations were set up well. They were giving out small bottles of water and also large bottles of the sports drink. I usually held onto a bottle of water in between aid stations and skipped a few towards the end.
• I was keeping pace with the 4:50 group pretty well, but I ended up passing them and building a small lead in front of them, even though I had stopped for about two minutes to use the restroom.
• The best sign I’ve seen at a marathon was here: “If this was easy, it would be called Your Mom.”
• The end was fairly hilly so I walked many of the uphills then ran quickly down. This worked well.
• Once I saw the finish, I picked up the pace and finished strong.
• I was surprised I finished 4:46, a bit quicker than I thought I would. At this time, I was slightly concerned about how my leg would hold up for the Auckland Marathon less than 6 days later.

• The massage tent was a bit hard to find. It was the same tent where a stretching demo was being held. Technically it was not a free massage, but rather to diagnose injuries. My hamstrings were still bothering me and my IT band was a bit tight. I got some tips on how to allieve these issues.
• It was a nice walk back to the hotel. It was only about 20 minutes. The hotel was near the river and the bridges offer some great scenery. The sun was still out when I walked back so I managed to get some good pictures.

Summary

The race was very nice. It was scenic and the weather was amazing for the race. The Expo was very well laid out and there was some nice marathon merchandise for sale. It was a bit chaotic to get to the Expo but it worked out well.