Cardiff Half-Marathon

this will be my 2nd half marathon, afer only taking up running at the begining of the year.

im looking forward to it, but think the price is way OTT, i did wolves to brum (1hour 58mins) a few months ago and it was only £12, so cardiff is over double,

and quite a few people i talk to in the gym and running club refuse to do cardiff, simply down to the price of it.

i have not run for about a month due to injury, but still hoping on a sub 2 hours

Nice one Hovis like you started at the start of the year, done a couple of halfs now and still dreaming of that 2hour mark

It will come with a lot of hard work. My knee wont like it, but hes got no say in the matter

Hovis
Is that a Les Croupiers vest you are wearing?

indeed it is,

it was taken at the wolves to brum half marathon a few months ago

Hi

I did the Cardiff HM twice in the past and unfortunately it suffered from some poor organisation with the start area.  Has the start changed for the better?  (Specifically it was tight and narrow before)  (I'm possibly going to use Cardiff as a crack at my HM PB or at least to see where I need improve)

And can anyone recommend a B&B close by?  (Bit late I know)

Thanks

Spike

merci bien.  I will enter soon but it will be a last minute decision to race or not and take up accom.  From the site it seems the course has changed a bit due to the increasing number of runners.  Did you have any thoughts/comments on the start as this really was an issue before?

DB9 

The start for the past couple of years has been poorly managed, no real starting pens or adequate marker posts. Quite poorly marshalled (only because they didn't have as many available).
There will always be the problem of people starting at unrealistic points as well, Cardiff is no exception.
It was a very tight first bend last year as well,it came after the first 200 yards and was a real problem for the faster runners as they were impeded by the waddling ones.
Toilet facilities were better last year than before but still inadequate. It wasn't helped by officious twits in City Hall not allowing people in to use the loos!
Further thought on accomodation. There are student halls available, Cardiff Uni,like may others,need an income to fund activities, so it may be worth contacting them also to see what is available.   

Without wanting to stir things up, too much, one particularr club member who is not wholly supportive of the Half .There have been posts on other threads that slag the event off to kingdom come. Be aware they are generated by one person using many different names!

Cardiff will never be a Great North or a Glasgow but it does improve year on year.

Hope to see you there! 

Spike

I hope to be there.  I was scheduled to be at Abingdon doing the mara but, to cut a long story short, I set myself a goal for 09 to PB at the 5K to mara and just need  a good crack at the HM before December.  Have two other races lined up so just need to shrug off a niggle I picked up last week doing too many hills!

I did Cardiff in 04 and 05 and yes the start was poorly managed.  That said I thought it was a great event, good course, well supported for most parts, ok I didn't like the cobbles much but I very much would like to go back.

You get the peeps that are, shall we say, less than positive in outlook, in all clubs and in all walks of life.  I hope Cardiff does not become a GNR.  With spiralling costs events need to grow granted but not to the detriment of quality.

Thanks for heads up on accom.  Like I said it will be a last minute thing so my options, I guess, will be limited.  I will need to head back soon after but not not before some refreshment!!!

I'm fairly sure we're being put in starting pens for the first time this year- this is according to the race website, anyway. Of course, that still relies on people getting themselves in the right ones to begin with! I don't know how they're classifying people, unless they're using the estimated times we provided on signing up...I always found the start was OK, but then again I wasn't ever at the front!

The problem with starting pens and people claiming unrealistic times will never be properly resolved.

It was obvious last year that some marshalls actually bit the bullet and told some people of a certain size that they should move further back to allow room for the faster runners. Whilst many did do as they were asked, and they were asked politely the ones I saw, there were still those who seemed to think that the whole event was a fun run and they would start where they liked.

I think it's a combination of all three with the emphasis on the first observation.

No excuses to be late this year or it may be you carrying the crucifix,or worse......

"It was obvious last year that some marshalls actually bit the bullet and told some people of a certain size that they should move further back to allow room for the faster runners. "

is that not a bit size-ist? (not sure if thats a propper word) just cos someone is of a certain size, does not mean they are slow.....

that pisses me off, at the cardiff park run i overheard 2 guys looking at me and saying "oh well, at least we wont be last" i think i beat them by about 5mins.

 i put 2 hours to finish, but im hoping to do it just under, although it depends if i go in  fancy dress

Spike

maybe "generally" not certainly......

but I certainly hope to be starting at the front for this race

Guys - (& Gals) who's up for a list???

Times for finish, where to eat Saturday night, post race beers y/n?? afterall Spike is getting the first round in!!