I really wanted to run a race while I was in Ireland visiting my inlaws in July when I discovered the Clontarf Half Marathon. Located in north Dublin, I simply took the DART from the south, which dropped me off right at the starting line. There was no expo for this race so I just picked up my packet the morning of the race. The Clontarf Half Marathon was advertised as "the flattest half marathon in Ireland", and it definitely was flat! However, one thing I missed when I signed up was that nearly 4 total miles of this out and back course were run on the sand along the Clontarf promenade! The sand was tough getting on and off the beach, very soft and unstable. But once you get close to water, it was solid enough to run a pretty good pace.

The weather on this race day was typical Irish summer weather. Sunny, then windy, then rainy, then cold. Nevertheless, it was a fabulous day of fast running for me. With fewer than 2,000 runners, it was a relatively small race. There was junior run that was to take place during the half marathon. My two young sons were eager to run the kids' race, but the pacer riding the bike somehow failed to turn around at the correct location and the children were led to run much farther than they were supposed to run. Some kids were even lost on the course! Fortunately my father-in-law was there to collect my boys and everything worked out just fine. The organizers might need to rethink how they might organize their kids event in the future.

The shirts were not great and were only offered in men's sizes. One aspect that bothered me was that the medals were not hung around the finishers' necks. Instead, I was handed the medal in a small plastic baggie by a volunteer. Instead, I think that it would have been a kinder gesture to hang the medal around the finisher's neck. Although it was great to have a beer at the finish line, it was warm and I had to stand in line for 30 minutes to get it.

Overall, I enjoyed the race because I love running races while I am on vacation. With a bit of improved runners' SWAG, this could be a great event!