London Marathon Good For Age

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  • Does your GFA time go by your age when you ran it or by your age on the day of the race you are entering?  I am 40 and like others paced my race for a sub 3.10.  Now I do not know if this will be quick enough.  As I will be 41 by the time of next years race I do not know if I qualify GFA or not for next years race.  I know there is a numbers to call but expecting it to be very hard to get through today.

  • It is your age on 2014 race day!

  • That's CRAP! I cruised the last few miles as I knew I was well under 3.10, ended up running 3.06.44. Now I have to find another marathon. Boy they are gonna hear about this from me that's for damn sure - totally and utterly unprofessional moving the goalposts at this late stage.

  • Just read this, I ran 3h 9m 37s at Brighton this year was expecting a GFA.

    Woke up this morning and realised I'll be entering the ballot. A little peeved that goal posts moved so late, but hey ho, will get to watch Mo run the race if I'm no there!

     

  • I've a good mind to boycott VLM - sod them and their unprofessionalism, and go and run Manchester again next year. it was a brilliantly well organised and supported race. Have Kent marathon lined up in a month's time in case Manchester didn't work out, but the prospect of running 17 x 2.5km loops on a cycling track..... oh boy! not fun. Recover, get one more long run in again and taper. Certainly not ideal. VLM have, in my opinion really cocked up this time!

    Did anyone see if the deadline has moved forward? They should surely give people a chance to have another bash, it's the least they can do.

  • Sorry David, where is that on the website? Don't see a deadline date. What is it?

  • Yeah I have Kent marathon entered early June as a fallback, thanks. Just need to put a bit more effort in now, only trained about 70% capacity for this as I knew i'd not get into sub 2:45 shape in 3 months so pointless aiming for AAA Champ place. Have a 2.35 PB so should be able to get to sub 3 shape with a few more long runs, but was really hoping on focussing on speed now and 10K and HM thru Summer as I've been out of the game a few years, not have to go back to marathon training, this will put my training back massively. Thanks VLM, thanks a lot!

  • Thank ou Lady Over 65 that has cheered me up quite a bit.

  • I am absolutely crushed. I ran 3:48 in Amsterdam in October and have spent the last 6 months thinking (and telling everyone I know) that I've qualified for GFA, only for them to move the goals far too late for me to do anything about it.

    This is completely unprofessional of the organisers to change it this late, and I've half a mind to apply anyway in July with an attached cover letter and see what comes of it.

  • *Biggles**Biggles* ✭✭✭

    Wow the ballot closed quickly, just got home from a trip and its all over!!! Still have a GFA even with new qualifying times. Feel very sorry for those who miss out with new times.

     

  • Well this is frustrating. My 3:08 is no longer GFA.

    I had popped my name down on the Kent Roadrunner waiting list as a back up and it sounds like I will probably get a place. I think I'll use that to try and dip under 3:05.

    Roadrunner is on 1st June, so it will have been six weeks since London. I've never done two marathons in such quick succession before. Any advice as to whether this is doable would be much appreciated. I seem to have come through London (my third marathon) injury-free...

  • Same here squirrellypoo! 

    I thought i was definitely in for 2014! 

    I phoned them last year as i had my fourth ballot rejection in a row and they said over the phone that if i was rejected again from the ballot i'd get an automatic place. 

    When i called last week to double check, they said that i was 'misinformed' last year and that it no longer applied. 

    'Never mind', i thought, i got 3:50 at abingdon in October, should get in on GFA. 

    Now that has been changed too. With no time for me to do anything about it. 

    i feel rather disappointed and dejected by the whole thing. 

    I did enter the ballot again. But have had such terrible luck in the past. 

     

     

     

  • I'm pretty devastated, so please excuse my first post being a negative one, as it has changed my feeling towards what was just about the most fun I;ve had running

    So I ran 3:05:20, and took the second half to just drink in the atmosphere- clapping the support, and enjoying a good run, annoyed that I hadn't pushed hard enough for sub 3hr, but pleased that I'd be able to apply GFA for next year, and hoping that a year of training (with a few events in between) would allow me to go for a serious PB next time round. Just called, a quite rude lady answered my phone call and said matter of factly that no- there was no chance in applying GFA, even though there was no warning of the change in qualification time. 

    At least I managed to get a ballot entry done though.

     

    And realistically- I should have pushed a bit harder.

    More training! image

  • @MattyWelsh, I may be joining you for that. I ran 3:06 yeterday and also could have pushed on for sub 3:05 if I had any inkling the rug would be pulled out from under us, and will now probably run Kent to go sub 3:05. Should be 'relatively' easy as I had an illness building up to Manchester and am in better shape than 3:06, but have to nail the recovery and re-taper all within a month which will be tricky. Doable, but tricky. Will not try any heroics, go out at 1:31 halfway to aim for 3:02 (need contingency). Around 7 min miling all round. 17 laps of 2.5km does not sound like fun, but al least it's going on an easily controlled, flat course, a time trial essentially. Just scuppers my plans on getting into shorter distances for Summer to build up speed. Waste of another month essentially.

  • @EvanBond - That sounds like a reasonable plan. I'll post again if I get a Kent place from the waiting list.

  • DS2DS2 ✭✭✭

    You have to send in proof I'm afraid!!!!

    I didn't realise the Kent marathon had filled up. It's only 5 minutes from home for me and I was half thinking about it!

  • the GFA for those under 40 was made too easy and so it was about time that they tightened it up.......

     I can see why all those who have now missed out are gutted.but at least you are young and so will have plenty more opportunities......

  • DS2DS2 ✭✭✭

    When I was under 40 the only way in was via a championship place so there was a need to run Sub 2:45!!!

    I think there should be some grace for those that are going to miss out because of the changes. I don't think many will be affected. I'd sooner see those guys in rather than those that enter and think it'll be fun, don't train and then take 8 hours or don't finish. Everyone should be entitled to a crack at it but I know people this year who had a longest training run of 5K.

  • Well it's all sorted out now.  Go to VLM website and the new GFA categories are there.  Thank heavens!  It means I can go for that now with my results from the VLM 2012.

     

  • Nose NowtNose Nowt ✭✭✭

    The new GFA times seem fairer - I'd certainly welcome the change, but ridiculous to do it with no notice.

    How many people don't even know about it yet? How many formerly GFA runners didn't bother putting their names into the ballot? 

  • I'm also gutted by this unannounced shifting of the goalposts. I've also been telling people i'll be doing it next year under the GFA scheme. I was on for a sub-3 hr time until 20 miles when I strained a muscle and had to ease back. I kept going, in some agony towards the end, knowing that at least if I got under 3.10 I could come back and try again next year. My 3.08 is now worthless and the pain I went through was all for nothing. What chance do you reckon that they'll accept pleading letters, or give people like me an entry anyway? (I ran 2.55 a couple of years back but not since 1st Jan 2012)

  • WardiWardi ✭✭✭

    No chance Dan, save your pen & paper!  My time is 38 seconds outside the GFA and I won't be bothering them.  I suppose they have to draw a line somewhere & based on recent years they won't even allow a few seconds outside.

  • literatinliteratin ✭✭✭

    Not quite unnoticed as far as I recall, David.

  • there is a campaign that you can sign that is going around asking VLM to look at those cases that had the correct time prior toi the change

  • PhilPubPhilPub ✭✭✭

    London Marathon are trying to defend their timing by suggesting that they wanted to wait till they could analyse the results of this year's race before setting the qualifying times.  Really?!  Was the distribution of times going to differ that much one way or another, that it wouldn't have made more sense to let people know what times they required before the race was run?  If I was a senior male, borderline 3:05 form and ended up jogging in at 3:07 thinking I'd qualified, I'd be mighty pissed off I think.

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