London Marathon Good For Age

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Comments

  • 2Old2Old ✭✭✭

    Hi Minni- it's got be the green start again so I can see what I missed this year

    The VLM website says for GFA look at the end of May. Why then when the ballot opens on 29th April? a bit of joined up thinking is needed 

     

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    Minni, what's your half PB? I bet with that marathon time you can't be too far off sub-1:30 to sneak onto the champs start...

  • If you are a male under 40 with a 2.54 would you enter the ballot or hope the new gfa time will be 3.00 at toughest and not 2.45 like New York? 

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    My half is well over 1:32 but I'm going to try and get it sub 1:30 during the summer. I tend to be faster the further to go! image

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    Chris, you might as well enter the ballot; you've nothing to lose by it.

    Minni, you can always upgrade your gfa entry when you get your sub-1:30. image

  • FreemersFreemers ✭✭✭

    Can you do that? Upgrade to champs start I mean...I'm similar to minni - GFA is OK (3.16 for me) but really hoping I can go sub 1.30 for a half later in the year (and after the GFA qualification closes). Will they change it to a champs starts if I get it?

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    Freemers, yes they will; a friend of mine did it this year. Champs deadline is later too so you've got more time to qualify.

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    I'm sure the champs deadline closed the beginning of January this year so loads of time. image See you there Freemers! image

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    But if not Freemers, I wonder if we'll be on the FGFA start. image  We'll find out when we get sent out the GFA entry form anyway because it has the running number on it.

  • piscatorpiscator ✭✭✭

    hellen: I think that is technically true (about sub 3:15 women who don't want to run on the champs start running in FGFA). However in practice...I saw one woman in total on FGFA last year, and 0 this year - and a quick check of the results gives three women in total on FGFA this year (who ran 3:01, 3:10, 3:20), compared with a thousand or so blokes.

    Minni: unless they changed the rules, sounds like you slipped through the net - were there many women on FGFA when you were there?

    Chris J77: I would not lose (and with 2:51 am not losing) any sleep over this, 2:45 is the champs qualifying time so I think there is zero chance of FGFA being there. 3:00 is the quickest I could see it being, where it was a few years ago. You are in for GFA, ignore the ballot.

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    Piscator it was back in the day.  When they first started the FGFA.  I think I'd run about 3:31 at that stage and was on there twice.  I might be the reason they changed it! lol There was more than just me though!

  • old4speedold4speed ✭✭✭

    It used to just be called Vets Fast for Age, but was only for vets and had much tighter time requirements. Plenty of women (relatively), no celebrities and a good quick start off the front of the red start. Those were the days!,

  • I ran VLM for the first time this year with a GFA entry and started in the green pen. I finished in 3.01, should I enter on championship or are these times changing too? I'm a bit confused with what to enter on, FGFA or championship? 

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    Great time, Amy. The consensus seems to be that championship has better toilets.

  • Thank you! Loved the race, the atmosphere was great! So maybe opt for FGFA? I just don't want to be hemmed in, although I was near the front it was still a little hard finding your space.

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    Amy, I've only done it this year from the championship start but didn't feel hemmed in at all, so would definitely recommend it, as long as you're a club runner.

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    Amy - you don't apply for a FGFA just a GFA and they decide whether or not you're fast! You obviously are!! image  You'll definitely be on the champs next year because there's no way they'll change it that much, if at all.

     

  • ToroToro ✭✭✭

    I'm not going to enter ballot, hope 2:55 gets me into FGFA.  I'm planning on running 1:14 for a half anyway in Nov for Champ startimage

  • Thanks Minni that's great! I didn't actually think there was a FGFA. Already looking forward to it. I was maybe thinking of doing the Chester marathon in October for more marathon experience before hand! image

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    Amy - I've often done an autumn marathon as a training run.  Not looking for a PB but running about 5 minutes slower than my pb time.  Its a great way to practice fuelling etc and reminds you of just how far 26.2 miles is!

  • Yeah I wasn't thinking of good flat out for it. Just as training like you said! Think I'll definitely sign up in that case! 

  • Amy I'll be going flat outimage or rather BE flat out trying to keep up hahaha

  • Well I for one will be INCREDIBLY annoyed if they move the goalposts at this late stage. The webpage with these times have only just changed to 'check back in May' Well if I remember right the GFA time had to be run by 5 July or something. When I read this and fancied giving it a go, around mid Feb I started training. Am nowhere near my best at present (run a 2.35 and 2.37 at London previously) so, risking injury piled on the mileage way too soon without sufficient base and just did enough to get me around in sub 3.10 at Manchester this morning, finishing in an unnecessarily painful 3.06.

    Thought, OK time not great, build up shocking (including massive virus during peak month) but my sub 3.10 achieved and now I have a year to train properly. Now I read this thread that it's under review. Well if they review (drop my 3.10 to a 3.05/3.00) and stick to an early July deadline, I have only a month to find a good marathon in the summer to qualify again (and there are not many fast marathons in the UK in June). So running another one in such a short time is both disruptive and annoying (and a month won't necessarily improve you much when you consider recovery and taper time) Like NYM they really need to give notice, or at least have mentioned on the webpage that these times would be under review so not to treat them as givens.

  • andyc209andyc209 ✭✭✭

    Evan - agree totally - i ran berlin last year with the 3:10 in mind and also got 3:06 - surely at this late stage they cannot move it!! I sent my Berlin certificate in the other day and they sent me a letter saying that GFA registration would be available in May but nothing about the times changing.

  • New GFA times are on the site - cant apply yet, check back in May. Hopefully we can do it all online rather than faffing around with bits of paper!  Good luck everyone! image

  • GFA times for 2014...

    MenTime (in hours)

    Age 18 - 40 sub 3:05

    Age 41 - 49 sub 3:15

    Age 50 -59 sub 3:20

    Age 60 - 64 sub 3:45

    Age 65 - 69 sub 4:00

    Age 70 - 75 sub 5:00

    76+ sub 5:30 

    WomenTime (in hours)

    Age 18 - 40 sub 3:45

    Age 41 - 49 sub 3:50

    Age 50 -59 sub 4:00

    Age 60 - 64 sub 4:30

    Age 65 - 69 sub 5:00

    Age 70 - 75 sub 6:00

    76+ sub 6.30

     http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/marathon-centre/enter-virgin-london-marathon/good-for-age-entries/

  • So they've made the 18 - 39 time a bit tougher I see. Fair enough; 3:10 was a bit of a soft target but they probably could've given people more notice. Still, I suppose they'll fill the race easily anyway so can do what they want!

  • Blimey, all those people who just snuck I under the 3:10 barrier this year are going to be a little miffed...

    Goal posts moved by 5 mins.....

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    And for the ladies. It used to be 3:45 them they changed it to 3:50 but have reverted back fotinge under 40s.

  • Ridiculous, not the time, but to tell me now when u ran London safely to ensure I got 3:10

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