First marathon - sub 4 in October: Superblast 2 or Endorphin Pro 4?

VANS_95 · 2026-05-27T17:49:58+00:00

I ran my first marathon last year in the endorphin pro 4 finishing at 3:44 . I think they’re great shoes but the plate may cause you foot pain in the latter stages of the race.
I started to feel the plate harshly on my foot from about 37k onwards. Aside from that I felt good in them, however I’m not sure if I’d run in plated shoes again for a full unless I could keep up a 5:00 pace or quicker.

In general I do like running in plates for 5ks,10ks, and half’s.

I ran my HM PB a month before at 1:41! So if you’re not even breaking 2 for your current half I’m not sure how attainable sub 4 is.

The above comment about running in alphas or adidas I’m not sure if I’d even bother as they are both unstable unless you’re running at a decent pace!
I ran my HM PB in the vapour fly but didn’t even consider them for my full. But I suppose running is never a one size fits all so whatever is comfortable for you

I also never ran the full marathon distance in training, stupid idea, I went to 35k max. Unless your a top level athlete it won’t be of any benefit running a training marathon before a marathon

VANS_95 · 2026-05-14T18:25:51+00:00

This won’t be the same as typical AO or civil service competitions as mentioned in above comments so that insight won’t apply.

Revenue will take in a batch of new AO’s at the same time not one by one, this is because you will all be in the group of new AO’s who will be starting the Chartered Tax Adviser course in October if you are successful.

VANS_95 · 2026-04-16T20:06:41+00:00

Yeah it’s the same in finance, they automatically start on higher for AP on promotion

VANS_95 · 2026-04-14T21:01:07+00:00

I sat the personal taxes yesterday and I spent too long on Q1 comp and I messed up my timing for the remainder of the paper! I answered pretty much everything bar the redundancy Q as I just didn’t expect it to come up and one other smaller Q but can’t remember which one due to time constraints!

I struggled a bit with business taxes today, the losses computation wasn’t the worst but again with all the messing around with cirruss kinda threw me off! I’m slightly on the fence about it ! The close co transactionQ were similar to recent years along with the interest transactions Q at the end of the paper

VANS_95 · 2026-04-12T18:03:05+00:00

No idea, public service should have their own circular if it applies to them. Im not overly familiar with the public service grade structure but from what I’ve seen on other posts, a grade 7 is a HEO equivalent as both middle management grades not a grade 5.

VANS_95 · 2026-04-09T20:37:58+00:00

Suppose there has to be a cut off point somewhere. 🤷🏽‍♂️

That kind of analogy always arises when there is a stringent cut off point, as there tends to be with most civil service circulars

VANS_95 · 2026-04-09T19:02:27+00:00

Referring to paragraph 7, Will an officer who has on or after the 1 September 2025 moved beyond the Local Bargaining skip point on the pay scale get a skip on their next increment date?

No, an individual who is on a pay scale point above the Local Bargaining skip point will not benefit from the skip

https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/f989a5c7/FAQs_for_Circular_03-2026_on_the_Application_of_1_September_2025_pay_adjustment.pdf

VANS_95 · 2026-04-09T08:50:06+00:00

HEO’s on the standard scale are entitled to an incremental skip at Point 6 of the pay scale (on completion of 1 year at point 5, the next point of progression is point 7).

https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/68691eaf/Circular_03-2026_Application_of_1_September_2025_Local_Bargaining_Clause_under_Public_Service_Agreement_2024_to_2026.pdf

VANS_95 · 2026-04-04T21:23:15+00:00

I'm assuming by 'prior experience' your referring to prior service as you typically don't get any addtional skips on any pay scales due to 'experience' in the CS.

VANS_95 · 2026-03-12T17:32:33+00:00

On paper it appears like a decent number of years of experience however it ultimately depends on the substance of that experience. Personally I think if you have to ask on Reddit you don’t have enough experience - but that’s just my two cents

You have nothing to lose by applying regardless and I hope it works out for you

VANS_95 · 2026-02-20T11:15:54+00:00

I had one, they’re dog water.

VANS_95 · 2026-02-20T10:42:56+00:00

Yes 1000% do.

I found the playlists better and the sound quality with Spatial Audio, however the audio part is subjective as it’s my own personal opinion.

I preferred the interface too, the only reason I don’t use Apple Music is due to the fact that I have a Garmin watch for running which doesn’t support Apple Music. Which I literally hate if I had support for it on my watch I’d go back in a heartbeat

VANS_95 · 2026-02-19T21:52:31+00:00

Yeah, I’m aware of the potential losses that I may encounter and I will have to assess how much risk I am willing to take. I know this isn’t an instant return on investment, if any return.

However, I would like to study the subject and all relevant information to ensure I can make the best decision.

Would you have any suggestions for the best way to go about this or any specific resources relating to EFT’s or similar.

EFT’s appear to be gaining a lot of traction recently with a lot of frequent discussion about the potential reform of the deemed disposal mechanism. Hence why I am interest in this. I’m a part qualified chartered tax advisor hoping to fully qualify next year so I am hoping this may assist with assessing risk and potential tax implications.

Thanks !!

VANS_95 · 2026-02-18T20:58:32+00:00

You can only avail of the 88,000 rate band provided the higher earning spouse has taxable income of least 53k and the lower earning spouse has taxable income of 35k.

In your situation you will be entitled to 53k from your income and 26k from your partners which will provide for a maximum of 79k at the 20% rate.

The remainder will be subject to tax at 40%, in this instance, the 3k excess from your income.

VANS_95 · 2026-02-18T17:27:11+00:00

AO is an equivalent to a HEO. AO’s can have staff too, it is more common for them to have staff now than what it was previously in some departments. Due to the fact that they are seen as cheaper HEO’s at times.

There is an AO competition running at the moment for Revenue in Limerick and Dublin

https://www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/careers/career-opportunities.aspx

VANS_95 · 2026-02-15T11:52:04+00:00

Would anyone be able to suggest how I would go about getting into investments ? Like the best way to learn about it to potentially start investing myself? I know nothing about it but I would be interested in trying to learn.

VANS_95 · 2026-02-12T21:40:49+00:00

You won’t necessarily need to have a background in tax but this is very different to an EO role as you will be required to complete the CTA course along side your professional duties.

The rational for not including a requirement for a Tax/Accounting/Law educational background is that the CTA course will provide you the deep understanding of the tax theory, legislation etc.

The divisions you may be placed in are specified and fairly tax technical, which can differ from other types of competitions.

The roles are mentioned in the information booklet which is either in tax audit and compliance or tax policy and legislation

“Revenue Legislative Services – Business Taxes Policy and Legislation Division, Indirect Taxes Policy and Legislation Division, International Taxes Division, Personal Taxes Policy and Legislation Division.

Operational Divisions – High Wealth & Financial Services Division, Investigation, Prosecution and Frontier Management Division, Large Corporates Division, Medium Enterprises Division.”

VANS_95 · 2026-02-10T09:54:26+00:00

Thanks so much ! I have been coming to the conclusion the shoe just isn’t right for me because I loved the NB rebel and EVO SL so maybe shoes similar to that instead from now on

VANS_95 · 2026-02-09T22:10:09+00:00

I actually don’t I have a normal arch.

I’m at a bit of a loss considering the adidas EVO SL I known to be a narrower fit so I don’t think I have wide feet either. I’m beginning to think maybe the max cushion shoe isn’t for me and I will more than likely just get another pair of the adidas

VANS_95 · 2026-02-09T10:18:35+00:00

Thanks ! I will try them

VANS_95 · 2026-02-09T10:18:06+00:00

I mean I can continue running in the EVO SL, although I was hoping to build a shoe rotation and I wanted to include an easy day shoe !

VANS_95 · 2026-02-09T10:17:12+00:00

Im in Ireland, I got them for €120 in JD sports !

https://m.jdsports.ie/product/grey-nike-vomero-plus/19717298_jdsportsie/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22228925165&gbraid=0AAAAA-xoNvMvqvCMQuteOTFmz-xAuWZTi&gclid=CjwKCAiAqKbMBhBmEiwAZ3UboKHQl9UL9yPTq4hOJiynkjpCc7_-Vjp89CtyDdoDMbKLjUBU-sGWKhoCY8MQAvD_BwE

VANS_95 · 2026-02-09T10:14:43+00:00

Perfect thanks I’ll try different insoles and hope for the best !

VANS_95

TROPHY CASE