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I've attended a couple of local hackathons run by http://www.bathhacked.org/ Won a category and overall at the initial one (in a team) and won a category at the latter one (on my own).

The initial hack was 1 day and the latter 2 days. I'd guess I did a similar amount of work in both but felt far more relaxed over a 2 day event by keeping the hack objectives small. They are still mentally tiring experiences and you need time to recover.

Negotiating with my wife to create completely free weekends while juggling child care was also relatively hard.

I was then invited to a hack in Bristol a couple of weekends ago, but just could not make it because of family commitments. There was also an element of distance (only 12 miles away but right in the centre of the city) however was offered the ability to hack remotely and just come in to present. I just could not do it due to family commitments AND knowing this would be in effect working back to back weeks without a break.

I do agree that prizes were less important to me than the 'fun' of doing a hack. To win was just icing on the top.

The disappointment in a hackathon is that most of what you create is throwaway and the idea of after a hackathon, having workshops that develop and deliver a product is very very appealing.




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