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Paris Marathon 2018
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It's that time of the year when people are getting into Boston ... or getting rejected by Boston as they missed the cut-off despite running a qualifying time. Everyone I know who went in for Tokyo Ballot has been rejected this week as well, and the London Ballot results are nearly with us. I've tonnes of running friends in the hat for that so good luck all x x
(lets face it the London ballot is just annoying .... fill in an online form and then wait 6 months for a magazine to drop through your door).
I have to pay £30 for my GP to do an assessment and fill in my certificate which doesn't seem too bad compared to what some people appear to have paid.
For example in the five time I've ran Paris I've not once been examined by my GP. Only once did they charge me for signing and stamping the form, was around £20, every other time they've done it for free.
Others have been told they need full examinations costing hundreds by their GP before they'll sign. It's true that there have been people on here who forged it because their GP point blank refused to sign the form.
Ok, cards on table. I didn't get a place for London, again, but might have a very good chance of the club place which is decided at the xmas party on Dec 16th. Can anyone remember when Paris fills up by? Basically it's either one or t'other, not doing both again.
Med certs are hit and miss, find a sympathetic (runner) GP!
RoddyMac - That is unusual about the Breakfast Run. There's no mention of it on the website that I could see. Although I see there are a few things with "coming soon" listed, so maybe they'll add it back in as an option closer to the race. It would be a shame if they dropped it. I always enjoyed the Breakfast Run.
Breakfast run is brilliant, defo recommend it - if it's on
Thanks for the lovely welcoming comments a couple of weeks back. I got some what side tracked after spending the last two weeks in the sun eating and drinking far too much. Paying for it now though, first run back was not at all fun.
The medical certificate sounds a little bit of a pain, but needs must. Hopefully we all get good GPs who don't make life difficult.
Can I ask how everyone is planning to travel there? In people's previous experiences, do flights tend to be very expensive that weekend due to the race or are there not enough UK runners to have too much of an affect? Always the Eurostar too.
I've noticed a couple of people mention a DNF at Paris. That is a big worry for me. I always wonder if I do my training as best I can and listen to all the advice given, whether I might still get cramp or something unavoidable that stops me completing. Sorry to hear for those that it happened to. I'm sure it was disappointing but even more motivation to try again I bet!
Oh and if anyone is interested my race number is 72028! :smile:
It'll be my 6th marathon (Istanbul, Frankfurt, Bonn, Rotterdam and Berlin) and I am starting in the preferential block. I concentrated on triathlon this year, but am going to really give it my all for a sub 2:45 finish in Paris.
Looking forward to it already!
HB_runs - Personally, coming from Glasgow I've never noticed the price of flights being impacted by the marathon weekend. I always booked up EasyJet flights early and price wise it was always decent. Most of the London and southern based runners tend to take the Eurostar over. Once again I believe the ticket prices are as normal.
Welcome Rae2, you're clearly a seasoned professional. Sub 3 hr marathon running really is something. Kudos!
If you get yourself to the end they all count, doesn't matter what the time is. Your half time certainly suggests you could run your target time. Put the training in over the winter and hopefully you'll nail it.
One thing with time goals is to be realistic to how your training is going. Revise up or down based on your training times. It's easy to pick a time out of thin air before you've started training, which is based on hope more than anything. It's also worth factoring that conditions on the day can have a huge impact on your performance. Most people will have turned up at some race in great condition but the weather on the day has beaten them, in particular us northern Europeans tend to struggle to deal with hot weather.
Rae2 - I'm in awe of your aim to go sub 2.45, I hope your training goes well!
gk_nash, I'm happy to have someone else in the Rose starting zone, I'm also targeting 4.30ish but trying not to think about time too much - I'm just planning on enjoying running in Paris and taking in all the sights!!
I'm back to proper training this week after a couple of slack weeks following my half marathon, I've joined a running club to keep me motivated and they have a schedule of Sunday long runs starting early Dec targeting Paris which I know will be a great help!
I do have one small concern - I have a week long ski holiday 8 weeks before Paris, the likelihood is that there will be LOTS of snow, impacting my ability to get a long run in. There's a gym in our hotel so do you think a couple of medium treadmill runs (I can't possibly do more than 2 hours on a treadmill without wanting to kill myself...), with a long run on my return to the UK (complete with jetlag...) will be sufficient?
It's unusual for anyone to get through a 16/18 week marathon training schedule without losing some time to an illness or injury anyway. The skiing will help keep your fitness up I'd imagine. If you're worried about it, start your training a week earlier than intended and just treat that as a down week.
We all think that we'll lose all fitness in a week, which is silly. Most likely the first few runs back feel a bit rougher than usual, but you quickly end up back where you were.
Good advice from Eggy as usual.
For info, Eurostar appear to be taking bookings now for race weekend. HB - the race falls in the uk Easter hols so I imagine prices are more influenced by that than the the race itself. Last year I noticed Eurostar prices creep up over the months nearer the race but not ridiculously so.
> Thanks Eggyh. Im sure like last time with my stupid job Ill be far too busy until the new year, barely be able to get out running and then panic. Really looking forward to it and desperately need a focus to get my mind on it!
I prefer a shorter marathon build up anyway. I am planning on doing 13-14 week build up for Paris, running when I am home for Christmas is ok, but long runs/intervals/tempos are all a bit harder to organise.
Missing 1 long run won't hurt you, it might even freshen you up 8 weeks out, so you are ready to attack the last 5-6 weeks of hard work before the taper
cheers .... there's a loose review of it here if anyone wants a quick read: https://forums.runnersworld.co.uk/discussion/340818/chicago-marathon-2017#latest
This is my second marathon after running London last year in 4hr 28. My objective is to focus more on my time (last year I was primarily focussed just on completion) and I would like to finish it in less than 4hrs. I recently completed a half marathon in 1hr 54 which is my HM PB so appreciate that i still have a long way to go to achieve what I want, but it feels possible. I worry slightly that I shouldn't be in the Violet pen, for which the objective is 3hr 45 - as I don't want to be one of those people who gets in the way of others at the start.
It's great that this forum exists and look forward to reading about and sharing experiences.
And a quick question too - I would like to do a half marathon in Jan-Feb as part of my training. I'm based in Glasgow and there doesn't seem to be much around here at that time. Does anyone have any recommendations for a scottish-based race around that period? I was considering the Brass Monkey in York but it's a very long drive so would rather avoid that.
I'm also Glasgow based. To be honest the races up here at that time of year are very few and far between. The odd 5km or 10km is on, but little beyond that. I think organisers fear having to cancel due to the weather. I know that was a factor in the Balloch to Clydebank half being pushed back to April the last couple of years. That one, Alloa and Loch Katrine tend to run in March or April, but for anything earlier you'll probably need to venture south.
The purple pen is 3:45 to 4:00 hours estimated time. If you feel you're going to be faster or slower depending on how your training has gone you can change pen at the expo.