I need a London Marathoon place

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Comments

  • I wouldn't have said the prime aim of VLM is to raise money for charity - they may sell it as that, and it is (I beleive) the single biggest fund raising event in the world, but its still a business - although registered as a charity. But like any race, if you take the celebs out, the race would soon loose some of its appeal.

    And there's nothng special about Mo being paid (or sponsored) - all the elites will be (possibly more than Mo) - so I don't see what the big deal is?

  • DS2 wrote (see)
     
    The day will offer the general public far more interest if Mo is there whether he finishes or not.

    Valid piont - is Mr Branson wondering how many people will be inspired seeing Mo and run off to their local Virgin gym and become fit (and pay their membership) 

  • Rafiki wrote (see)

    Plus is there any other big names running this year ????

    Best ever field assembled for 2013 Virgin London Marathon

    "The race will feature the best elite men’s marathon field ever assembled and will include 11 men who’ve completed the distance in under 2:06, as well as all three medalists from the London 2012 Olympic Marathon and the winners of the 2012 Berlin, Chicago, London, Frankfurt and Dubai Marathons.

    "The Virgin London Marathon is delighted that Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich, the surprise winner of the London 2012 Olympic Marathon, will return to the capital to do battle with Olympic silver medalist and world champion Abel Kirui (Kenya) and Olympic bronze medalist Wilson Kipsang.

    "As winner of the 2012 Virgin London Marathon, Kenya’s Kipsang will be out to prove he’s the best in the world over the marathon distance. Kipsang missed out on the London Marathon course record by just four seconds at the race last year, when he crossed the finish line more than two minutes clear of his closest rival, fellow Kenyan Martin Lel – himself a three-time winner of the London Marathon.

    "Kipsang will face stiff competition in April from his countryman Patrick Makau. As the marathon world-record holder (2:03:38) and winner of the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon, Makau will return to the capital with one goal: to add the prestigious Virgin London Marathon title to his already impressive running CV.

    "Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai will also be out to win when he runs his first Virgin London Marathon this year. Despite failing to gain selection for the Kenyan Olympic marathon team, Mutai is considered by many to be the world’s best marathon runner. His win at the 2012 BMW Berlin Marathon in September will give him the confidence to go for victory when he takes on the best marathon field ever assembled in London in April.

    "While Kenya look likely to dominate the top spots at the 2013 Virgin London Marathon, the Ethiopians should not be overlooked. Tsegaye Kebede, who won the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the 2010 London Marathon, could cause an upset. His countryman Ayele Abshero is also capable of spoiling the Kenyan party after running the sixth fastest marathon ever when he won the 2012 Dubai Marathon in 2:04:23."

    So yeah, in marathon terms there are one or two good runners!  On the other hand, I bet 99% of the public wouldn't know any of them, but are bound to remember whether they see the Mo-bot at Tower Bridge.  Good luck to him, he's hot property at the moment.  And I get the "I beat Mo" t-shirt to add to my "I beat Haile" t-shirt from 2007.

  • I understand that the appearance money comes straight from the sponsors rather than from the charity.



    If you were a sponsor then you'd pay more money to get your race talked about.



    Joe public won't know any top marathon runners - but they do know Mo Farah.
  • And £250k is not much for a company currently worth £3.5 billion.

    I wonder how much TV coverage Mo will get in the first 13 miles at the expense of the others? 

    Phil - sadly the 2 times I've raced Mo, he beat me! But I do have my 'I beat Haile' 2010 t-shirt!

  • DS2DS2 ✭✭✭
    Agreed. And it's only a week or two of a top footballers wage!



    There was always more interest when we had serious British interest. Mo being there this year will whet the appetite for 2014!



    Anyhow, where has Christopher gone?
  • Best field ever?

    Did I miss the 'Congratulations - you're in' letter? image

  • I have a place at the Grindleford Gallop you can buy ?

  • I understand, from my student nephew, that people at his college are going to be selling places they have "aquired" on social network sites, apparently they have done this for a few years!! 

  • Original poster - There are other good marathons on if you're desperate to run a marathon. Just because London is the most well-known doesn't mean it's a bigger achievement than any other.

     

    On the Mo Farah point, I think VLM are aware of the parochial naturethat the Olympics, and in particular the BBC coverage, brought. The general public might well believe that having lots of overseas runners they've never heard of means it's a poor field, especially if the one distance runner they know isn't in it. It's easier to sell the event to the masses by saying Farah is in, but only doing his distance, rather than suggesting it's something Team GB isn't good at, and therefore is a rubbish sport.

     

    Farah seems to have signed a two-race deal, taking part next year. It would be a bit of an embarrasment to London if Farah's first marathon was in the USA, so perhaps the only offer on the table was to allow him to run the first half only.

     

    From a PR perspective, though, it's a bit of an embarrasment. Surely VLM would have been better off saying the Farah has agreed to act as a pace-maker. He would get what he wants, the VLM would appear to have quite a coup and everyone would be happy.

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