Well – that’s my final marathon of the year done and what a way to end it. Fantastic location, fantastic people/support, fantastic weather (cold and dry) and a personal best by over 14 minutes!
You can review my marathon stats here.
The stats make interesting reading (if your into stats or are a runner).
It shows how my pace per mile has changed since my first marathon and also how Chester compared with Dublin (4 weeks apart). It also finally drummed it into me that starting slow DOES enable you to hold a more consistent pace for longer.
Next year I think will just be Edinburgh and Loch Ness but hopefully I’ll be doing more 10ks and halfs, I think I only did a single 10k this year!
3 replies on “Dublin Marathon 2012”
Hi Ross!
Just stumbled across your blog and enjoying reading about your marathon experiences last year! Well done for all the efforts … very humbling!
I’m struggling to decide between Dublin and Chester in October for my first marathon! Can you recommend one over the other?!
Many thanks ..
Ohh – that’s a difficult question to answer.
Location wise: this was the first time I had been to Dublin, loved it and will be going back to do the touristy stuff rather than running. Chester, I have been there loads of times for both work and pleasure, I love the place.
Pro’s and cons:
Dublin has fantastic support all the way round the course, there are only a few bits where there is no crowd support. In Chester the support in the town it’s self and the towns you run through is great but a lot of the race is on rural lanes.
Chester starts and finishes in the racecourse, last year it was quite wet, my feet got wet and I got my first ever blister through running! Next time I’ll be much more careful where I’m walking and possibly carry dry socks to the start line! There is also a cobbled section just before you return into the racecourse which was murder on my ankles.
Dublin, with a much busier start (well organised) took ages to get going, the toilets were VERY busy – you need to “schedule” that.
I still can’t choose: both are friendly and well organised; Dublin larger, busier city based; Chester more countryside and scenic.
Let me know which you choose!
I just re-read your comment – as it’s your first marathon I’d probably recommend Dublin; the crowd support will help you along. Crowd support makes a HUGE difference if you are flagging slightly!