Try having a look at the BBC website and type in London marathon. It has the whole route mapped out and pictures and descriptions of it all. You will be able to see it all
cougie - I've run FLM a couple of times before so know the course reasonably well and as you say, it is hardly the Alps.
what I'm hoping to do is to get a set of photos on my digital camera to help me properly visualise the race and prepare myself mentally as well as physically.
also, a gentle incline at 22 miles may seem like an Alp and I'd like to know about it in advance!
batfink, type in www.bbc.co.uk/london/sport/marathon/runners_guide/start.shtml this gives you a great visual tour of the course as well as notes to help. hope this does you some good, best of luck on the day, i envy you all, got to try again next year, ho, hum
cheers dave - I'll use that as a starting point. Only thing is that I don't have internet access at home and work would object to me taking half an hour to run through the course in my mind!
batfink, from memory, the first 3 miles are generally downhill. There is a slight rise as you approach Canada Water at about 8 iles and another at 9 miles. There's the climb over Tower Bridge of course and then a noticable climb as you go past Billingsgate just before Canary Wharfe. The next gradient is just before 20 miles as you come out of the underground roundabout near the City Pride Pub and the last one is not really an incline at all and is the ramp out of the subway on the embankment at around 24 miles, but as you say at that point anything feels like a mountain.
was running next to a guy at the Hastings 1/2 on Sunday who was doing a pretty good verbal description of the FLM course to his mate running next to him - he clearly knew the course well to name the roads, even down to describing things like "turn right into XYZ Road" etc........
thanks jenks and FB - i'd like to know the 'turn left on applesandpears street, then right onto corblimeyguvnor lane' level of detail. I think that is somewhere between 'sad' and 'preparing well'!
Maybe I should have gone for the Hastings 1/2 instead of the Fleet 1/2 this weekend!
Jeez. OK - Start at some grassy bit. Few roundabouts, long road, fire station. Cutty Sark. Tower Bridge. Canary Wharf. Desolate loop round docklands. Used to be Tower of London. Erm. Dual carriageway and underpass. BIG BEN ! Massively long road....... Corner Finish.
As much as I can recall to be honest.
Anyone else gonna miss the Tower of London ? I think that was a nice landmark.
cougie - miss the Tower, not one effing bit! It wasn't so much the cobbles as the bottlenecking that got on my wick. And you can get a view of it from Tower Bridge too.
I think I'll bite the bullet and transcribe the route from a map that is too small to print. That way, i can navigate round on my bike at a leisurely pace over the easter break taking pretty pictures - obviously this does not apply in Docklands.
by that point, the fewer changes of direction that have to be performed, the better. I seem to remember that trying to run round somebody on embankment felt like circumnavigating the globe compared to continuing in a very straight line.
good riddance to the Tower, I say! the organisers reckon it will save 45 seconds for the elite folk - i bet that translates to about 1 second for the rest of us. But how important that 1 second might be1
Am I reading the route map in the brochure correctly? Have they changed the direction we run round the Isle of Dogs? Looks to me we'll be hitting the wall at a different part of the course. Anyone else noticed or is it me losing all sense of direction?
Charlton Way Vanbrugh Park Charlton Road The Village Charlton Park Hill Reach Artillary Way John Wilson Street
FOLLOW Merged Routes,
BLUE START
Shooters hill Road
FOLLOW Blue and green Merged Routes,
GREEN START
St John's Park Dover Road
FOLLOW Blue and green Merged Routes,
BLUE AND GREEN MERGED ROUTES Charlton Park Lane Ha Ha Road Grand Depot
FOLLOW Merged Routes,
MERGED ROUTES Woolwich Church Street Woolwich Road Trafalgar Road Romney Road - turn right to Cutty sark run round cutty sark and then turn right into Creek Road Evlyn Street Lower Road Redcliff Road Quays Road Canada Street Quebec Road Redcliff Road Salter Road Brunnel Road Jamaica Road Southern Approach Road Tower Bridge Nothen Appraoch Road The Highway Narrow Street Limehouse Causeway West Ferry Road East Ferry Road Marsh Wall Heron Quay South Colonade North Colonade Trafalgar Way (Round about under Aspen Way) go straight on at roundabout then turn left into Poplar High Street continue straight on they take down the fence here and you come out at the traffic lights at West India Dock Road Commercial Street bear left under DLR and railway lines to rejoin The Highway Tower Hill Lower Thames Street Upper Thames Street Embankment Parlement Square Birdcage Walk Spur Road The Mall
Definitely going round Isle of Dogs other way round - that's 'cos of not going through the Tower this year so that those poor little elite runners don't fall over on the cobbles! Taking the south side of The Highway towards the IoD and coming back on the north side to go north of the Tower
No - the map is this years route. The route is almost the same as last year's except that we don't go through the Tower, but around it to the north instead. That's why you have to go round the IoD the opposite way round.
Have you looked at the BBC photo tour of the route - it looks really boring when there are no crowds around. It's much, much better on the day - with all the people, balloons, bands and anything else you can think of. Can't wait now. Wish I didn't still have an 18 miler to do this weekend!
Fortunately, or unfortunately I live 1/4 mile into the red route, so know the route very well after using it for my training runs.
Red Route : first 2 miles are flat, then steep downhill for 1/4 mile then steep uphill for 1/4 mile, downhill for 1 mile past the 3 mile marker then flat all the way to Tower Bridge, up and over bridge then flat until you return back to Tower of London, slight downhill onto embankment, uphill for 200m under Blackfriars bridge then it's flat all the way to the finish.
Blue Route : first 2 miles are flat then very slight uphill for 1/2 mile, then it's downhill for next mile past 3 mile marker and join the red route.
Personally I'm pleased the cobbles have gone after blistering up on them at 21 miles last year, but each to their own, I really like hills, so figure that out!
Comments
It has the whole route mapped out and pictures and descriptions of it all. You will be able to see it all
Really - I'd save it for the day - I find the surprise of not knowing exactly where I am helps.
what I'm hoping to do is to get a set of photos on my digital camera to help me properly visualise the race and prepare myself mentally as well as physically.
also, a gentle incline at 22 miles may seem like an Alp and I'd like to know about it in advance!
For me - ignorance is bliss !
(even if this is my fourth one !)
good luck for next year's ballot, dave.
Cheers
Jenks
most bizarre
or sad
whichever way you look at it
Maybe I should have gone for the Hastings 1/2 instead of the Fleet 1/2 this weekend!
Few roundabouts, long road, fire station.
Cutty Sark.
Tower Bridge.
Canary Wharf.
Desolate loop round docklands.
Used to be Tower of London.
Erm.
Dual carriageway and underpass.
BIG BEN !
Massively long road.......
Corner
Finish.
As much as I can recall to be honest.
Anyone else gonna miss the Tower of London ? I think that was a nice landmark.
I think I'll bite the bullet and transcribe the route from a map that is too small to print. That way, i can navigate round on my bike at a leisurely pace over the easter break taking pretty pictures - obviously this does not apply in Docklands.
good riddance to the Tower, I say! the organisers reckon it will save 45 seconds for the elite folk - i bet that translates to about 1 second for the rest of us. But how important that 1 second might be1
RED START
Charlton Way
Vanbrugh Park
Charlton Road
The Village
Charlton Park
Hill Reach
Artillary Way
John Wilson Street
FOLLOW Merged Routes,
BLUE START
Shooters hill Road
FOLLOW Blue and green Merged Routes,
GREEN START
St John's Park
Dover Road
FOLLOW Blue and green Merged Routes,
BLUE AND GREEN MERGED ROUTES
Charlton Park Lane
Ha Ha Road
Grand Depot
FOLLOW Merged Routes,
MERGED ROUTES
Woolwich Church Street
Woolwich Road
Trafalgar Road
Romney Road - turn right to Cutty sark run round cutty sark and then turn right into
Creek Road
Evlyn Street
Lower Road
Redcliff Road
Quays Road
Canada Street
Quebec Road
Redcliff Road
Salter Road
Brunnel Road
Jamaica Road
Southern Approach Road
Tower Bridge
Nothen Appraoch Road
The Highway
Narrow Street
Limehouse Causeway
West Ferry Road
East Ferry Road
Marsh Wall
Heron Quay
South Colonade
North Colonade
Trafalgar Way
(Round about under Aspen Way) go straight on at roundabout then turn left into
Poplar High Street continue straight on they take down the fence here and you come out at the traffic lights at
West India Dock Road
Commercial Street bear left under DLR and railway lines to rejoin
The Highway
Tower Hill
Lower Thames Street
Upper Thames Street
Embankment
Parlement Square
Birdcage Walk
Spur Road
The Mall
Can't wait now. Wish I didn't still have an 18 miler to do this weekend!
Red Route : first 2 miles are flat, then steep downhill for 1/4 mile then steep uphill for 1/4 mile, downhill for 1 mile past the 3 mile marker then flat all the way to Tower Bridge, up and over bridge then flat until you return back to Tower of London, slight downhill onto embankment, uphill for 200m under Blackfriars bridge then it's flat all the way to the finish.
Blue Route : first 2 miles are flat then very slight uphill for 1/2 mile, then it's downhill for next mile past 3 mile marker and join the red route.
Personally I'm pleased the cobbles have gone after blistering up on them at 21 miles last year, but each to their own, I really like hills, so figure that out!
Hope this helps & good luck.