Liverpool Half Marathon 2012 - Page 12 - Events

cougie

pirate

19/03/2012 at 11:51

My GPS seemed pretty much bang on. Your friends is only 1.8% out - isn't that within the Garmin accuracy - assuming they ran the perfect line - which they probably didn't.

I thought the race was excellent value for money - especially with the technical tee.

sib1969

19/03/2012 at 11:53

Barrie, My Garmin measured 13.16mile instead of 13.11. When I did Helsby in Jan it measured 13.08. I think a lot depends on whether you take the inside lane around corners, etc... Certainly if it was longer than 13.11mile, it was only marginally so.

Forget to say earlier, but amazing t-shirt. So much better than the cotton one we got when running the marathon in October. I thought, given the quality of t-shirt, I think it was good value for money!

Barrie Cass 2

19/03/2012 at 12:03

T-Shirt is excellent! the event gets better every year. As for the course measurement.....it's only what a friend's Garmin measured. A few extra metres doesn't bother me. I just hope the organisers can keep the price down for next year. Well done to the organisers though. They seem to be coping very well with the increased numbers. Maybe a staggered start for next year to keep the congestion down.

GazOC

19/03/2012 at 12:40

My Garmin came out at 13.22. No way did I take the racing line though.

@Sib. re the start. There are around 4 times more people at Liverpool HM than Helsby, probably proportionally even more walkers/joggers and. going from memory, more potential bottlenecks on the course. I think because of those facts Helsby "gets away" having a free for all at the start whereas it was a bit of a PITA yesterday.

Some people will always abuse a system but surely just having 5-6 signs up with suggested starting positions for expected finish times could only help the situation?

Edited: 19/03/2012 at 12:46

Limpalong

19/03/2012 at 13:12

I would definitely agree with the issues with the course length - missed my PB by 26 seconds and can't think of any other possible explanation!

Definitely needs the start sorting into time slots though - hopefully this will be in place next year with the change of starting point (although wasn't that supposed to be this year?). It's a very tight course in parts and the congestion caused by the starting free-for-all never really abated...

AlanRothwell

19/03/2012 at 13:16

Barrie Cass - just for your information the event has cost just over £12,000 more to deliver than last year for exactly the same thing. I am the organiser and I get a bit tired of defending the cost of the event. The entry fee is directly linked to the cost of delivery. It is considerable. Believe me.

The course has a UKA certificate so it doesn't matter what anyone's Garmin says. The course is officially measured at 13.1 miles and it was the same course as 2011. No changes.

In addition, the days of Goody Bags have gone. No more. As much as I get fed up defending the cost of the entry fee (modest compared to GNR!!) I get fed up with comment about Goody Bags. Some people think they are free. They're not. I've ditched them because people expect too much from them. We are not the London Marathon I'm afraid. It is easier just to do without. Too many people complain about poor content and we can't can't keep everybody happy.

The start and finish will move to the Pier Head next year as we have outgrown the waterfront. The extra space will give us a better start area and there will be time signs in position which people will still ignore!!!

Jay Snizzel

19/03/2012 at 13:17

Enjoyed the race Alan, I got a new PB smashing last years time by 25 minutes I finished in 2:05:48 very happy and no gale force winds on Otterspool Prom.

I did think some signs with predicted finish times or pace would be a good idea. But no doubt even with that there would still be the problems.

Hopefully with the new start and finish place will ease it.

Joe Grundy

19/03/2012 at 13:24

I thought it was fine, agree with the people who say the start should be stuttered in regards to ability, saying that though I started relatively close to the front (I was through the start line after 30ish seconds) and I only finished in 1.44. I expected to go about 5 minutes quicker than that... I had only ran 18 miles this year before Sunday though so I suppose I can't complain, even though I was 13 minutes slower than last year.

The costing is fair enough, I was one of those people who were confused about the goody bag (I didn't even realize they had been stopped) but fair enough if they cost too much. Surely something must be going wrong for the event to cost £12,000 more though? What is the reason for that increase?

cougie

pirate

19/03/2012 at 13:34

Inflation ? Everythings gone up hasn't it ? And peoples expectations too ?
In the olden days you'd not have chip timing ?

GazOC

19/03/2012 at 13:39

Damn progress!!!

Barrie Cass 2

19/03/2012 at 13:48

Fair enough on the cost of putting on the event Alan. I think you have done a fantastic job as the Liverpool Half is now a very big event. I hope it attracts even more runners in the years to come. I just hope the congested start is sorted out and the entry fee doesn't become unaffordable. Congratulations are due though on a well organised event.

Joe Grundy

19/03/2012 at 13:58

£12,000 seems a lot but then its less than £2 per runner I suppose. For some reason I had it in my mind the more people that run the lower the cost would go down, because its the same route just split across more people. Hasn't entry numbers increased as well, so 12,000 surely wasn't too much of an issue?

Fair play to Alan for organizing these events though, they're great for the city and the council should provide as much support as they can.

AlanRothwell

19/03/2012 at 14:01

Joe - additional safety related support x 6 staff, increased payment to Liverpool City Council for a Traffic Order, paid for water for the first time ever, increased cost for technical T shirts, even more Stewards than we had last year, more containers out on the course for litter retrieval. There are MANY things that contribute to increased cost.

Barrie - thank you for your understanding!

Tarantula

19/03/2012 at 14:39

Just my two-penneth after my first half marathon. I throughly enjoyed the morning, partly because I was faster than I expected, and partly because it was sunny.

A couple of specifics:

- cost: perfectly reasonable

- goody bags: no loss to me - if I get a decent t-shirt, a medal and a banana I'm perfectly happy. I would rather not have a plastic bag full of flyers.

- start: I started further back than I would have liked and finished quicker than I expected, but that's fine. All part of the learning curve. Plus it sounds like next year's move will help.

- Personally I like a scenic route, but I thought that Sunday's race had nothing to apologise for in that respect - I thoroughly enjoyed taking in the views in the parks (particularly the fountains) and along the waterfront (despite the slight headwind). Some major cities - eg Manchester - don't have a half marathon event at all.

Steve Higgins 7

19/03/2012 at 14:49

Had a great time. Ran it Barefoot and got a lot of support and as usual a lot of ribbing. Being Liverpool the best one liners came from home runners. The best by far was "Ey Laa..that 30 quid entry fee really get's ya dont it?" I came accross two other guys running barefoot so didn't feel to much like a freak.....back next year for sure

Limpalong

19/03/2012 at 15:07

I can't understand complaints about the route being uninspiring - what did people expect to see whilst running the Liverpool Half Marathon in Liverpool? the Taj Mahal? (to paraphrase Basil Fawlty). There are certainly more scenic races available but as an urban run in an industrial city (formerly industrial at least!), with at 10 of the 13 miles are running in or around the city's parks and along the waterfront, I don't think the route can be knocked.

cougie

pirate

19/03/2012 at 15:13

Alan - how about putting small skips after each water station and the runners can lob their empties into there ?

They do something similar in Ironman where the cyclists are told this is the only zone to leave your empties. Littering along the rest of the course would Disqualify you. Might save on marshals having to pick bottles up a bit.

2oldnever

19/03/2012 at 15:23

Alan thanks for a great event.It was really well supported by spectators. I liked the idea of hitting Parliament Hill so early and there were lots of interesting things to see on the way.Glad the wind was kind for the run along the river.I felt as though I was running down hill a lot and my old knees are feeling it a bit today. I didnt come expecing a pb but feel that with a bit more speed training i could have got there .Still I was happy with 1.32 and all being well will be there next year.I am glad not to have been burdened with a goodybag ,the t shirt and medal are great as was the cost of entering

Cake

pirate

19/03/2012 at 15:29

Barrie Cass 2 wrote (see)

The start of this years Liverpool Half Marathon was very congested to say the least. Is there any truth that the course was too long??? a friends Garmin measured 21.49 KM....the course should be 21.1 KM. It was also a different course than was advertised. I would also hope that the price of entry doesn't escalate as it has done every year to something very pricey.

This on chestnut again if you get 100 runners on the same route you will always get 100 different garmin readings as they won’t go the same way every corner/bend or will faff about at some point. Like Alam said it’s certified.

cougie wrote (see)

Inflation ? Everythings gone up hasn't it ? And peoples expectations too ? In the olden days you'd not have chip timing ?

Can I start humming olde to the new world? It’s not like when we where lads anymore is it.

Alam cheers for the effort for another year and enjoyed it as always should be back for the marathon. There where goody abgs ish but where Liverpool marathon bags by there stall you could put a lot of lealets about races in when I was there assuming that was the same earlier?

GARETH CHALONER

19/03/2012 at 15:44

Have to say thanks to the people of Liverpool for their great support to the runners! Also, it was my first race and absolutely loved it with a chip time of 1:35.33. Would love to do this race every year so keep up the good work Alan!