GFA? is it possible for the average person?

Every year people seem to moan about the ballot and how unfair it is. Fair enough but can people get around the ballot and achieve a Good For Age time and qualify by right? Can the average person achieve GFA in a year? Do people think this is possible? Debate

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Comments

  • I am very average (probably below average in terms of running ability/speed) yet I managed 3:45:05 last Sunday. Missed GFA by 5 secs but that's due to the congestion. Will try again.
  • fat facefat face ✭✭✭

    Tortie - if you phone up the London Marathon peeps and tell them, they may well let you in on a GFA. I'm sure it has happened in the past.

    Good luck. 

  • I've been running for 4-5 years, 3 times a week, never been good at sports AND I managed to secure a GFA place for next year. I'm soooo surprised and delighted image   I don't want to say that I was completely unprepared, I did put some effort into my training, but I am not "special" by any means.

  • I have been asking myself the same question - I think if you put running ahead of work and family and really put the training in then it should be possible for most folks, with good coaching and a bit of luck. Of course most people simply aren't in a position to make that sort of commitment so it doesn't arise.

    Much better to ask this sort of question than to obsess about all the other minor frustrations that arise with a big event like FLM!! image

  • Keith LKeith L ✭✭✭

    Well I think I am pretty "normal". Turned 40 last year (which admittedly makes the GFA easier). Dont want this post to be taken as a "wow look at me" but just as look at whats possible

    Started running on the 2nd March 2007 so running just over a year. Prior to that had done no exercise at all for ever - no football, running anything really. Last time I seriously exercised was at school literally. So 22 years or so with nothing.

    Hold a pretty responsible job so hours are limited and have a 1.5 hours each way commute. Add to that 2 kids and last year I was also doing my Masters degree part time meant time was limited to say teh least.

    Started running on 2nd march and did 3 or 4 sessions a week building up to NYM in November 2007. Training went well until hip injury about 6 weeks out. Physio and other treatment got me to NY but weekend went wrong and achieved a 3:56 which was Ok fora first marathon but was aiming for 3:30.

    Came back, took long hard look - got a bespoke training programme from Greg Macmillan 20 weeks - 4 or 5 runs a week. All done around family and job. Getting up at 6 at weekends to do long run, Doing weekday ones after work, after communte. Lots of intervals and speed work. early on Great programme. Took half time down to 1:27 at Bath. But no club, no coaching, all runs done on my own...

    FLM managed a good 3:09 and felt strong and good at end of it - 57 weeks after starting running. Noiw looking to see if I want/need to push myself to next level - 3 hours? who knows But the feeling when I was running along Embankment and knowing 3:15 was easily within my grasp was amazing.

    So my view is that if you are ambitious, set demanding targets and push yourself t hen who knows what you can achieve. Go for it!

  • Nice one Keith. A very good example of hard work paying off. I'm sure if you joined a running club it would improve your performance even more.

    Myself, 45 and have run 3.14 at FLM in 06 and 08. Did my first one in 1996 in 3.53 but did not train very hard and was content to just get a sub 4 time.

    I do think you do need to be a reasonably good runner to start with though but there is no doubt that hard work and a motivation to get a GFA is the key 

  • The other side of the coin is (IMO).....why don't the people who have been successful in the ballot try to get a GFA and give other people a chance?

    There's something wrong if you have to wait 6 years to do one race. Even the Yanks don't have to wait that long!

  • fat facefat face ✭✭✭
    Mikey - I don't think anyone who had run a GFA would enter the ballot or am i mis-understnding what you mean?
  • joddlyjoddly ✭✭✭
    The GFA standards are a lot easier for women to achieve than for men.
  • Yup, any man under the age of 40 with no obvious health problems should be able to get down to a sub 3.  Have a look on the sub 3 thread and there's loads of them done that and a lot more in a matter of a couple of years.  No direct evidence here, but 1 year seems to be dependent on being fit in the first place, but definitely with 2 years of intelligent hard work.

    And yes, the women's GFA is laughably easy compared to the men's.  The difference in WR times between men and women is 11 mins.  The GFA difference is 45 mins.  Even the championship time is 30 mins difference.  Reverse discrimination here.

  • I would need to lose 30lbs and all my feet knees and hips to get GFA status. Will they let me do it on a bike?
  • I'm sure on the FLM program when Cracknell did sub 3 they said he was in the top 1.8% of finishers,

    Therefore by definition not everyone can get this - possibly genetics play a part as J Cracknell is not a wet and a weed by any stretch - er in fact he is an Olympic gold medallist, which might give some idea of the standards we are talking about here.image

  • <<Thinks about sex change>>
  • I would need serious help to get a GFA - and I am a girl so by the above posts - I am obviously CR&P and demotivated and don't train enough image

    However I do run 5-6 days a week averaging over 40 at the moment whilst training for my fifth marathon whilst having job and 2 small children.  (cross training too of course)  Family all think that ALL i do is run - I wonder just what I have to do to get faster - and yes I do know what I am doing in terms of training so please god don't anyone suggest doing some speedwork.....      ( also following a greg mcmillan prog at the moment - love this guy).

    At the moment I am just praying for sub 4 and I do hope to get a GFA before I am 40 but that doesn't leave me a lot of time. 

  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭

    GA - no speedwork needed.  Increase the mileage all at an easy pace and I'm sure you'd do it.  I went from 30 - 40 miles a week, most probably all run too fast to 70 miles a week without speedwork and did 3.14.  I then increased to 80 miles a week and went to 3.06 and then the next marathon introduced speed endurance on top of the miles and went 2.56.  I'm nothing special and was 42 when I achieved this, so if I can then with application many others can. 

    My first marathon was 3.26 off 40 miles and then 3.26 off 50 miles before training every day for the above.

  • Ze normal distribution proves conclusively that not all runners can do sub 3....

    http://www.netmba.com/images/statistics/distribution/normal/bellcurve.gif


  • Keith LKeith L ✭✭✭

    Gymaddict - glad we both love the greg macmillan programmes really work for me.

    Dont think anyone on here thinks you are CR&P - we are all on a journey.

    Think there is a fine line between getting there and not. No real reason why some hit a particular arbitrary target and others dont. Hope you achieve what you are aiming for - good luck.

  • With training I reckon all men under 45 could do, 3 / 3.15

    and women 3.30 / 3.45

  • CindersCinders ✭✭✭

    Is the GFA for women "easier" than for men because more men run/apply? 

    I'd love a GFA and its an ambition of mine but this year its a no no, I've a 3 month old baby that takes up nearly all my time and I am plodding just for fun.  Maybe next year I'll start training harder again.

  • JB - just because it's just the top 1.8% get sub 3 now, it doesn't mean that it's out of men's reach.  Firstly take out all the men over 40 and the women and it's a much higher percentage.

    Second, just because many men fail to achieve that standard now, it doesn't mean they can't.  A far higher percentage would have achieved it back in the 80s, when overall times were much faster, due to better training.

    If anyone can show me a man under 40 who has run consistent 80 mile weeks over 2 years and prepared properly for the race, then failed to run sub 3, I'd be very surprised.

  • I don't think "most" would make that without injury, but if they did then, yes achievable
  • Staying injury free is part of the intelligent training - doing the little things we all sometimes overlook - stretching, strengthening, refuelling, sleep, running on soft surfaces, getting massage etc.
  • I used to be eighteen and a half stone, and I'm now 3 minutes away from a GFA time (and have realistic hopes of achieving it at Edinburgh), so from my perspective it seems like if you do enough training and work hard enough at it, it's achievable.  But then I see other people who put in plenty of effort but would never aspire to doing GFA, so I don't know.  At the moment I'm working on the basis that I've got a better chance of taking 3 minutes off my marathon time than getting into FLM through the ballot, which I guess is a good thing - if I could get a place for FLM more easily I might not be putting the effort in to shave those extra minutes off.
  • X-KKDX-KKD ✭✭✭

    This thread makes for a good read.

    IMHO you need to be of a certain mindset to get a GFA. I don't think I am capable of a GFA because I wouldn't know where to start and I don't have the motivation to do it.  I'm a r*nner who just likes r*nning - I don't really do targets etc. When training for FLM last year I felt guilty at the amount of time I spent away from my family r*nning.  I did involve them, getting them to cycle whilst I ran but I prefer  being by myself.

    That said, I'd JUMP at the chance to be properly trained by someone.

    Just my tuppenceworth!

  • Keith LKeith L ✭✭✭

    YP1 good luck with Edinburgh...fingers crossed

     Isnt that part of the point - the GFA time should be, like all good targets, stretching but achievable. It should be there as a possibility to grt us all through the winter training, the cold hard runs in the wet cold nights in january image love it really.

    For the record for the NY run I ran 35 miles a week for FLM more like 45-50 but huge amount of speed work especially early in 

  • KKD, you hit the nail on the head there .......... "certain mindset"
  • I don't think anyone can do it at all.

     It took me 3 attempts to get my PB of 3.28 as a senior male (previously did 3.41 and 3.34).  I was at my lowest weight since I left senior school, I was being coached and had as near to perfect training as possible and yet was still 28 minutes off a GFA time.  I gave it my all to get that time.

     Now I'm a lard arse as a V40 so isn't going to happen at all.

  • SezzSezz ✭✭✭
    I think you've got to be committed to getting a GFA.    But it's possible.   There have been people on this forum who have started with marathons in excess of 5 hours and now they have a women's GFA.
  • Keith LKeith L ✭✭✭

    Fat Squirrel - I agree that not everyone can do it. But in my view (and no real stats to back this up) a lot more people could. Its a great challenge nevertheless.

  • Its my intention to achieve a GFA time in the next twelve months. I have various half ironman distance triathlons until September and then intend to try and put the training time into running over the winter period, crack the GFA (3.15 time as I am now 40 ) early next year and then concentrate on triathlons again knowing I can enter FLM or NY etc without the hassle of ballots
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