187 replies to this topic

[JemWhyte]

champ chip times are online....

I wonder why they do overall place based on gun time - seems like a failing in the technology if they cant sort by net time. It says I can 700 and something but i ran roughly (habvent actually counted) 100 places faster on net time.

seems like a simple thing to do if you ask me......

Jem

[MissPinkyInSydney]

Firstly, thank God the weather held out and the supposed rain never eventuated!

I finished in 2 hrs 12 mins so that is a PB for me by 2.5 mins.  
The course was not as tough as I expected but my lower back pain kicked in around the 16K mark, slowing me down a bit!  I was nowhere near the cutoff time at the 11K mark so I was really happy with that!

I was not happy with the lack of km markers on the course and the lack of water at the finish.  I was so dehydrated and they had run out of water once I found out where to get a drink!  They will really need to sort this out for next year as water is a big priority!


PlodBod.....It was great to meet you!!!!  

[Benj]

DID anyone get sticky feet when running up College Street towards Macquarie Street?

The Gatorade drink station was at the start of the race and as I came through the first round and just before the finish the road was very sticky.
It was pretty annoying and I felt like it was holding me down especially at the end when I needed all the stretch for the last 20meters.

I would suggest the race organizers look in to that.
Mind you.. it wasn’t so bad at the drink station at miss Macquarie.

[Fossil]

Benj, on May 20 2008, 10:32 AM, said:

DID anyone get sticky feet when running up College Street towards Macquarie Street?

The Gatorade drink station was at the start of the race and as I came through the first round and just before the finish the road was very sticky.
It was pretty annoying and I felt like it was holding me down especially at the end when I needed all the stretch for the last 20meters.

I would suggest the race organizers look in to that.
Mind you.. it wasn’t so bad at the drink station at miss Macquarie.

Sticky feet, sticky singlet and sore eye - when I spilt it. Also, on the finishing run my left shoe was slipping very badly - either the Gatorade or something stuck to it.

[Beki]

Benj, on May 20 2008, 10:32 AM, said:

DID anyone get sticky feet when running up College Street towards Macquarie Street?

For me it was like adding insult to injury

It wasn't bad enough that I was suffering with knee pain and into a death shuffle by then, but my feet were being glued to the floor just for an extra special challenge  

[philsmith]

Bit slow for my first post, had Monday off to recover, but what a day!

Initially I wasn't too impressed (as a first time runner) about the organisation leading up to the race - very impersonal from SMH I think.  (Blackmores were much friendlier (!) IMHO).  But managed to get to the start line without any injuries after 16 weeks training from the Pat Carroll Beginners Guide so I was aiming at 2hr15.  Saw a few of the Blue/Yellow hats!

Hit the proverbial wall about 18km (after really struggling from 16km) and had to resort to a walk/run.  Although there was no way I was walking down the finishing straight (150m)- gritted teeth and all in the photos!!  Net Time ended up at 2hr23 (143:45 exact) - that guy knows what he is doing !!!

Agree with the O/P about the finish line - even at my end of the field it was still crowded and you really didn't know where to go for a drink / fruit / massage

Was great to see and hear everybody running applaud the leaders coming through (i.e. lapping us!).

In the end though - feel great, have about 4 weeks with cross-training with 1 run per week, then ramp up 7 weeks onto the City2Surf .  Hope everybody is feeling great, and don't forget to at least look at the photos online!

BTW - yep, very sticky feet on the second lap running up College Street - did not help  
Phil

Edited by philsmith, 20 May 2008 - 12:00 PM.

[cliffold]

Enjoyed a great morning out meeting so many cool runners
Did appreciate the many GCR calls
Great run from Sook and her team
Sorry you had a hard day Plodbod, feel bad I didn't get to ask how you went
Also Haggis basher was doing it tough
Enjoyed seeing Lucklegs going strong throughout the race
T5 thanks for saying hello as you went and to Rags for the pacing and company on the first leg

Had trained for 1:45 and made it by 14 seconds for a 7 minute PB   
Am absolutely delighted with the time as my first half 6 months ago was a survival exercise
I don't wear a watch so didn't suffer the stress of many gps users, just ran on feel and managed to hold the perfect pace

Who was the CR capped runner in black T shirt & shorts who finished just ahead of me. I was determined to reel you in over the final 2ks but you wouldn't slow down -very strong finish

[knassy]

JemWhyte, on May 20 2008, 09:52 AM, said:

champ chip times are online....

I wonder why they do overall place based on gun time - seems like a failing in the technology if they cant sort by net time. It says I can 700 and something but i ran roughly (habvent actually counted) 100 places faster on net time.

seems like a simple thing to do if you ask me......

Jem

I'm pretty sure you can sort by net time. There is a sort button at the very top of the results.

Does anyone know if you can export all of the results to a csv or excel file?

[Dave Wongillies]

MissPinkyInSydney, on May 20 2008, 11:14 AM, said:

I was not happy with the lack of km markers on the course and the lack of water at the finish.

Wasn't a maker at each kilometre enough for you?

[MissPinkyInSydney]

Dave Wongillies, on May 20 2008, 01:09 PM, said:

Wasn't a maker at each kilometre enough for you?

I did not see them at each km I am afraid.
Perhaps I am blind.

[TFive]

cliffold, on May 20 2008, 12:01 PM, said:

Enjoyed a great morning out meeting so many cool runners
Did appreciate the many GCR calls
Great run from Sook and her team
Sorry you had a hard day Plodbod, feel bad I didn't get to ask how you went
Also Haggis basher was doing it tough
Enjoyed seeing Lucklegs going strong throughout the race
T5 thanks for saying hello as you went and to Rags for the pacing and company on the first leg

Had trained for 1:45 and made it by 14 seconds for a 7 minute PB   
Am absolutely delighted with the time as my first half 6 months ago was a survival exercise
I don't wear a watch so didn't suffer the stress of many gps users, just ran on feel and managed to hold the perfect pace

Who was the CR capped runner in black T shirt & shorts who finished just ahead of me. I was determined to reel you in over the final 2ks but you wouldn't slow down -very strong finish

Well done - you looked very strong. I made it with 36 secs to spare  

[Dave Wongillies]

MissPinkyInSydney, on May 20 2008, 02:20 PM, said:

I did not see them at each km I am afraid.
Perhaps I am blind.

Last year I missed probably two thirds of them (I can't really think why) but this year I was more eagle-eyed about it and definitely saw all the markers except km 21 but that was probably more because I was sprinting hard for the finish and wasn't looking at all.

[PlodBod]

cliffold, on May 20 2008, 12:01 PM, said:

Enjoyed a great morning out meeting so many cool runners
Did appreciate the many GCR calls
Great run from Sook and her team
Sorry you had a hard day Plodbod, feel bad I didn't get to ask how you went
Also Haggis basher was doing it tough
Enjoyed seeing Lucklegs going strong throughout the race
T5 thanks for saying hello as you went and to Rags for the pacing and company on the first leg

Had trained for 1:45 and made it by 14 seconds for a 7 minute PB   
Am absolutely delighted with the time as my first half 6 months ago was a survival exercise
I don't wear a watch so didn't suffer the stress of many gps users, just ran on feel and managed to hold the perfect pace

Who was the CR capped runner in black T shirt & shorts who finished just ahead of me. I was determined to reel you in over the final 2ks but you wouldn't slow down -very strong finish

Hey, just tried to PM you but you have it disabled

Well done on your race - that's a brilliant result!  Those sekrit training sessions around the Domain clearly paid off

[JemWhyte]

knassy, on May 20 2008, 12:14 PM, said:

I'm pretty sure you can sort by net time. There is a sort button at the very top of the results.

Does anyone know if you can export all of the results to a csv or excel file?

Thanks knassy,
found the sort button - stupid me looking only at filter....

I KNEW it was me being simple, not the experts.

Cheers
Jem   

[FakePlasticTrees]

MissPinkyInSydney, on May 20 2008, 02:20 PM, said:

I did not see them at each km I am afraid.
Perhaps I am blind.

They were pretty big about 3m tall and had sails with the km number on them. I thought they were very good. Short of having someone at each k marker screaming at people* this was a good signposting effort.

* Yes the people with mp3 players would still complain.

[JemWhyte]

FakePlasticTrees, on May 20 2008, 03:11 PM, said:

They were pretty big about 3m tall and had sails with the km number on them. I thought they were very good. Short of having someone at each k marker screaming at people* this was a good signposting effort.

* Yes the people with mp3 players would still complain.

Perhaps mp3 people (like me) could purchase "smh sydney course" guides. You upload to mp3 and they have an audio indication of each km marking as you go past a sensor...they could also describe the historical landmarks as you go past and give words of inspiration ala nike+ systems.

i'm off to the lab...

Edited by JemWhyte, 20 May 2008 - 03:38 PM.

[Muzman]

FakePlasticTrees, on May 20 2008, 03:11 PM, said:

They were pretty big about 3m tall and had sails with the km number on them. I thought they were very good. Short of having someone at each k marker screaming at people* this was a good signposting effort.

I still managed to miss most of them, and I know from experience they were all there  

Call it the preoccupation of running if you like.  They are still easier to spot in a crowded race than the ones at ground level.

M

[Jaxta]

I must be joining Miss Pinky in blindness as I have to say, I only saw the 4km, 7km, 14km and 20km markers. And I had my contacts in. Must be due for a checkup!

[Beki]

Pretty sure they were all there.  My trouble is that I seem to go into intermittent "race coma".  I'll see the 11k marker and then all of a sudden I'm at 14k and think "Huh?  How'd I get here so quickly?".  I just tune out and go into a bit of a daze which is probably a good thing when you are out there running for as long as I am  

[BoneyChic]

Beki, on May 20 2008, 05:24 PM, said:

Pretty sure they were all there.  My trouble is that I seem to go into intermittent "race coma".  I'll see the 11k marker and then all of a sudden I'm at 14k and think "Huh?  How'd I get here so quickly?".  I just tune out and go into a bit of a daze which is probably a good thing when you are out there running for as long as I am  

On the first lap, I seemed to notice those markers for 11km+, and then on the second lap, it was more the ones for under 11km (ie the first lap ones) were the only ones that I saw.  Not sure why though, maybe concentrating on the run and I was out there for a looooooonnnng time.  

[MountainWanderer]

Hi all

This was my first ever competitive race. Finished at a chip time of 2:46:xx.

A year ago I didn't run at all. All I did was play soccer and I had no interest in running.

When I started doing regular runs last year I struggled to do 4kms. It's amazing how things have changed!

It was a hard run on Sunday. I passed the 11km mark around 1:15:xx so things went to plan. The last 5 kms were pretty sore and I took a while to finish the final stages.

Very sore now but well worth the accomplishment!

Cheers all!
Jowel

[djwilson303]

Jowel, on May 20 2008, 06:18 PM, said:

Hi all

This was my first ever competitive race. Finished at a chip time of 2:46:xx.

A year ago I didn't run at all. All I did was play soccer and I had no interest in running.

When I started doing regular runs last year I struggled to do 4kms. It's amazing how things have changed!

It was a hard run on Sunday. I passed the 11km mark around 1:15:xx so things went to plan. The last 5 kms were pretty sore and I took a while to finish the final stages.

Very sore now but well worth the accomplishment!

Cheers all!
Jowel

My first run was the SMH last year... its such a amazing feeling congrats on the run... don't get addicted :-)

[djwilson303]

Benj, on May 20 2008, 10:32 AM, said:

DID anyone get sticky feet when running up College Street towards Macquarie Street?

The Gatorade drink station was at the start of the race and as I came through the first round and just before the finish the road was very sticky.
It was pretty annoying and I felt like it was holding me down especially at the end when I needed all the stretch for the last 20meters.

I would suggest the race organizers look in to that.
Mind you.. it wasn’t so bad at the drink station at miss Macquarie.

Sure did get sticky feet and with just a running sock on my right foot it felt YUCKY

[slowmo]

I'm really enjoying reading all of your race reports.  Lots of inspiring accounts: Lucky Legs' super run and infectious enthusiasm;  Sook54's monster improvement since the CC half; PlodBod, thomo and BoneyChic with their never-give-up efforts; Fossil and friends - jeepers you guys looked good when you cruised past...

I had four goals for the event: in decreasing order of importance...

1. to finish !

2. to do it barefoot-ish (told RunBare I would to stop me piking)

3. to run the whole way if I could

4. to do at least as good a time as my first half (Central Coast)

I managed 1, 2 and 3 and today I had a look on the website and found that I'd snuck in on 4 as well so I'm well chuffed.

slowmo

[CantPaceIt]

I saw most of the km markers. At times when they were flapping in the breeze it was possible to mix up the 1st and 2nd lap markers. I'm still claiming my 3:39 km split     (  though i can't even do it in a 5k race)

CPI

Edited by CantPaceIt, 21 May 2008 - 08:44 AM.

[sook54]

Really enjoyed the race reports nearly as much as the race!

I was in a race coma like Beki, didn't notice a single km marker but I was fortunate to have my pacer buddies JD and Tesso to rely on. It never occurred to me to look for flags for the km markers. Next year I will!

Well done Jowel on your first half - you've really worked hard for this one, bask in the glory!

Djwilson I am amazed you could keep going in only one shoe, didn't you feel lopsided?

Slowmo you were looking comfy at the end. How did the sandals hold up? any blisters?

[Jodes]

Had a great day, was aiming for 2hrs and came in at 2.04.18, so very happy with that.  Left quad started cramping just after the start of the 2nd lap, tried stretching it out at the 'old' start and couldn't get any relief so soldiered on.  Legs got very tired on the last stretch into Mrs Mac's chair, but found a tiny bit of 'something' to finish strong over the line.

I found the aid stations 'lacking', there didn't seem to be enough.  And the finish was terrible, crossed the line and came to a total stop making my claves cramp like mad cos I couldn't move through the crowd.  Then when I got through and collected my medal I made my way to the recovery area found it impossible to find where there was a drink or fruit.  Ended up leaving empty handed and going to my car parked near Townhall to grab my drink in the car.

Found the course better than I remembered from 2yrs ago (last time I did it).  Loved the new start, but as mentioned, not keen on the finish.  Great crowd and cheering all along the course.  Very happy with my 1st half in 18mths, 1st of many more this year.  

[rachinaus]

Judging by the photos now on marathon-photos.com I seem to have spent the last 500 meters of the half on Sunday with my mouth open gasping for breath (apart from one which I saved as evidence that I ran and to show me proudly sporting my CR vest (sorry singlet)).

There is nothing like a photo of your self in the dying stages of a race to refocus the mind on training (and possibly the loss of a kilo or two!! - definitely looking slightly chunkier than at the bridge run last year - roll on new PT sessions this weekend)

....and I really must follow up that nose breathing thread.

For anyone who wants to see what the CR colours look like in action I think the photo is on my profile now....

Rach

[djwilson303]

sook54, on May 21 2008, 08:47 AM, said:

Really enjoyed the race reports nearly as much as the race!

I was in a race coma like Beki, didn't notice a single km marker but I was fortunate to have my pacer buddies JD and Tesso to rely on. It never occurred to me to look for flags for the km markers. Next year I will!

Well done Jowel on your first half - you've really worked hard for this one, bask in the glory!

Djwilson I am amazed you could keep going in only one shoe, didn't you feel lopsided?

Slowmo you were looking comfy at the end. How did the sandals hold up? any blisters?

Sure did, But I was NOT going to stop!!! hehe.. feeling it still now!!

[rrrach]

Sounds like I did well to find the fruit.  I hung around for a while at the end, and when I was leaving, the fruit people were begging me to take more (there was truckloads of the stuff).  I left with a good week's supply of bananas and oranges.  A great day's work!  

The run was good too... Great day for it, and a 2 min PB for me which made me smile.

[Otterly]

Well, my first 1/2 marathon over and I loved it!  I was thrilled to come in net 2.07.xx and felt great all the way.

I could swear there were no km markers on the way down to the Rocks, and then they started appearing from then on... I remember thinking that perhaps the organisers had only started to put them out once the race had started?

My impressions:

Great course - I have nothing to compare it to, but it had everything I could have wished for and more.  Coming under the harbour bridge, and having the vista open up to the Opera House was lifting.  There were enough variety of hills and flats to keep it interesting.

The drinks - perfectly spaced for me - the only one I didn't stop for was the one outside St Mary's Cathedral.  Yes, I did find the Gatorade quite "thick" - but I watered it down internally with a water chaser.

Being new to CR I was looking out for people wearing CR hats or tops and only spotted one? Far more "orange" people out there - I was unsure who they were.  Were the orange balloons pacers?

Had my i-pod plugged in and ready the whole distance in case I needed some inspiration.  Didn't need it as I enjoyed absorbing the energy around me.

Overall, I just felt so lucky to be out there and able to do it!

Focus now onto C2S - bring it on!

[Professor]

Greg, on May 18 2008, 06:44 PM, said:

Good to see the usuals out there today, great run by Professor, although mate, between the start line antics and the tree at the finish we need to have a word about bodily functions ;-)
Greg

Mmmm...not really sure what was going on; well the start line antics I've got a fair idea and the tree at the finish...well you've known me long enough now to know that me bent over at the finish is a good indicator I didn't have anything left in the tank, and what was left was about to act as fertiliser!!

Happy enough with my 89.36, a 13 sec PB. Certainly wasn't spectacular but given my lack of runs since Canberra, the mysterious niggles travelling around me at the moment and the new, I believe slightly tougher course I'm not unhappy. (It also completes a nice set of PBs lately from 5k up to the marathon, so no complaints.) But I was feeling like it may have turned out a couple of minutes better had it not been for a near repeat of my SMC breakdown last month at about the 8 k mark, so whilst I'll never knock a PB, I possibly am a tad disappointed. Anyway...

Another great morning. I do love this Half, and the feeling of having city streets to myself. (and 6031 others!) Actually thought the number increase this year was very noticable, and feel that the 5000 figure was more workable. Thanks again to all the volunteers, I thought the crowd support, especially from the likes of Deanna, Roses and Don Juan, was fantastic. The whole Hyde Park set up was great, especially for the supporters, but I did miss the crowds around Hickson Rd and the Rocks (where were you Vat?).

Run of the day I believe had to be Langswd, who with her back troubles over the last 18 months made a huge statement about being back amongst it. Look out girls! Langswm, you ran well mate but that flagging end got you again. I suspect the GC half is where the records will tumble. Congrats Greg on a good run, and Sook, its all easy peasy Japanesee from here, bring on the 1.40 I say!!!

And about the lack of CR gear at this event....could I humbly suggest its time to look at the quality, and size for melon-heads like me) of the current CR caps??

Prof

PS - we missed a few of the regulars this time around - it sounded like Horrie, GoGirl, Eagle and Blue Dog all had a ball up the at The North Face on Saturday, (and Dave who???) If the dates didn't clash....well who knows, maybe next year!

[twodogs100]

nando, on May 18 2008, 07:28 PM, said:

86:30ish for me today, which was around 1 minute off my race PB, but just about exactly what I expected.  Enjoyed the new finish area, ctaching up with a number of CRs, before heading down to Darling Harbour for a family day.

Now to decide on the half or the full for Gold Coast.

FULL.

[Sunset]

Good to read everyone's race reports - the good and the bad.
I guess it is all just a learning experience.

[andrew t]

JemWhyte, on May 19 2008, 05:52 PM, said:

champ chip times are online....

I wonder why they do overall place based on gun time - seems like a failing in the technology if they cant sort by net time. It says I can 700 and something but i ran roughly (habvent actually counted) 100 places faster on net time.

seems like a simple thing to do if you ask me......

Completely unofficially: results sorted on chip times

[drummo65]

andrew t, on May 23 2008, 11:02 AM, said:

Completely unofficially: results sorted on chip times

You can download a csv to import into a spreadsheet from here:

http://home.people.n...rummo/hm.csv.gz  [  290kb  gzipped - can be unzipped using winzip, 7zip for gzip among others]
or
http://home.people.n.../~drummo/hm.csv [1.4mb].

I've also added gender and catrgory placings using chip times.

Edited by drummo65, 23 May 2008 - 07:47 PM.

[CoolRunning Admin]

passing on ;-)

 NSW_Half_Marathon_Championship_Survey.pdf   56.29K   15 downloads

Kevin

[thomo]

People who are members of an ANSW were sent this survey via email. It advised it was unique to your personal email address.

I made sure I competed it.

Edited by thomo, 18 December 2008 - 07:52 AM.