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Ballot Entry London Marathon has to CHANGE
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To be fair they couldn't continue using a paper system but computerisation should have meant that notification was much quicker and the 5 rejections=automatic entry should have been retained.
Neither has happened, that's why people are still complaining.
London smells - no really it does, it is the Sunday after that Saturday before, after all, and you're running past all the takeaways!
Did Zurich this year - lovely - round the lake, company but not crowds, and not as hot as London was. So clean, so Swiss...
One forumite set up and ran her own marathon of one - now there's initiative!
9 months of training is never a waste of time
and of course if you are so desperate to run it I'm sure you can get yourself a charity place but that will involve you making some effort on top of your training
I think the number of people trying to enter would make FCFS difficult.
As it is, the 120,000 entry limit is reached in a very short time - and not without problems with the website.
If people thought they had to be in the first 30,000 entrants there would be 120,000+ people all trying to get on as soon as it opened. You would need a very robust system to cope with that.
I don't know how many people TRY to enter Berlin, or other big city marathons? New York also has a ballot - so London is not the only one.
Anyway, I'm sure the organisers love all the fuss about it, so are not likely to change it!
I'm on your side TinTin, I'm also really annoyed I've spent the last year training for Ironman Kona, and I haven't even been offered the chance to enter!
And if I haven't gotten in to London for the 5th year running and 8th time overall then I will explode. I may film it and put it on youtube so the organisers of London know how badly they have ruined my life by not just giving me a place in their race! Which i would then walk half of because i would find reasons not to train effectively. After all, they seem to let fat untrained Z listers in why not me?
FCFS would not work for London. Too many people!
Other big city marathons I've done did not have a ballot simply because they are not as popular as London. If they were, they would have ballots too.
The current system seems ok to me. The previous online ballot didn't work very well, opening on the day of the event itself, so over run with impulse entrants plus excluding those running it or, having missed out on that years race, those away running other events (happened to me twice but I managed to keep my toys in my pram).
Amazing that people would complain about a completely transparent system. Just by signing up you enter yourself for a weekly e-mail update that tells you how many people have entered/when you can expect to hear/alternative options to the ballot etc etc!!
I ran last year for charity having not got a ballot place the previous 2yrs and found this better as it was a charity I volunteer for. I entered the ballot again this year and am fully expecting to arrive home to a fleece and rejection letter. However, as many others here have mentioned, there are alternatives!! I've done Rotterdam before (April 15th next year) and despite not being particularly scenic, it's a very good, very fast loop course. I did Edinburgh (East Lothian) in 2010 and, although I wouldn't recommend it, its definately a viable alternative in the UK.
The only thing that winds me up about the ballot is you get so many thousands of people that enter with no real intention of running it. They see it on TV and think it'll be a good idea so throw their name in. I'm a serious runner (but not a club runner) and would like my previous experience taken into account (8 marathons) ...I know they have a good for age but that's beyond me if I want to maintain a good running/life balance! I trained about as hard as time would allow last year and got a 3:30
Got a ballot place every time I have applied so far, perhaps I should enter for you.
London Marathon looks so much better on TV than the reality imho, water bottles and lucozade everywhere is always my lasting memory.
Its a fun day out and most certainly an experience but would not break my heart if I did not get in.
Charity places where you have to raise the national debt of Ireland is what offends me more than the ballot, why people do this I have no idea.
they factor in a large amount won't run it due to injury or CBA to train when they allocate places...........if it was first to enter then what would happen to those without internet access.......at the moment they still have a way of entering I believe or at least have time to get to the libary........
I think they should have lots of pre marathon race saround the country and unless you can run a half marathon in under 3 hours whilst chained to 531 other runners then you should not be allowed to enter
You forgot one ...overpaid overhyped minor celebrity,newsreader, x factor reject..etc...
I will enter by winning this years Strictly,XFactor,BGT and I am not a celebrity get me out of here...
I LOLed at BDB keeping his toys in the pram.
There must be hundreds of other races you can do - I've never done London and don't see the attraction myself. Maybe I'm just antisocial.
I have done London (via a running club place), and wouldn't do it again.
I think half the people who are so "desperate" to get it wouldn't even bother with it if it weren't so popular.
It becomes the thing to do just because it's so hard to get a place.
Problem is Wilkie, London has become the "standard" amongst non runners. When I say i'm doing a marathon the most common response is "London?" ...i've even been asked if other marathons are the same distance as London!!
I would definately do it again but wouldn't say it was my favourite.
This was my thought. The targets wouldn't need to be nearly so steep either.
This would still leave plenty of room for those with charity places which a lot of spectators like to see.
Just arrived home and could tell what the "clothes sized" package was on the front step.
At least I can now start to plan for an alternative race for next year. I`m feeling dissaopinted I didn`t get in but when I actually think about my previousexperience in 2010 i dont feel too bad.
After running a few races now I don`t actually see what all of the fuss is about for London now,
of course the atmosphere is great but thats about it. There isn`t much to look at for the first 12 miles (apart from the just avoiding the slower runners in front of you) and by the time you get to the sights your legs are hurting so much you couldn`t care less where you were running.
For me it was also too crowded to enjoy the experience. I started out in the 3.30 pen but my first 3 miles took over 30 mins due to slower runners in front. I don`t think i was overtaken by anyone even though i finished 10 mins slower than expected which must mean that most people set off in the wrong areas
rant over - but for me London is not the be all and end all of running find a smaller local race and you will enjoy it 10X more.
Only attraction of london is that it's so difficult to get into. Should have two London Marathons, one with a qualifying time like Boston (previous suggestion) and one for all the fun runners / fancy dress.
Or have a qualifying time, but one that is not too difficult, that way everyone would have had to run a previous marathon first. Would probably put many people off.
Agree that London has become the non-runners marathon, it's the only one most people have ever heard of. Amongst my 45 completed marathons it ranks far down the list of best races.
Why whinge about not getting in to that one? It's overcrowded, and I hate Lucozade. Plenty more spring/early summer races - Cyprus, Antalya, Houston, Miami, Rome, Seville, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Paris, Edinburgh, Monte Carlo, Rotterdam, Vienna, Bonn, Hamburg, Zurich, Salzburg, to mention just a few.
This would allow an increase in the GFA range and more places for everyone else.
Not sure if logistically this is possible or workable.
Tin Tin seems to have disappeared.