VLM Ballot

Hi all,

I'm 18 and have ran the VLM this year after surpisingly gaining a place through the ballot first time. I have entered the ballot again for next year, by which time I will be 19.

Whilst running the marathon last week it came to my attention that there were very, very few young runners aged 18-22.

From my limted personal experience it seems as if Marathon running is not really a 'young mans game'.....

Therefore, is it possible that people in my age bracket have a greater chance of gaining a place considering less people my age will be entering?

or is it COMPLETELY random?

Comments

  • I heard that it wasn't random... they tack finishing time into account as well to get a spread of runners..

    A friend got in the ballot first time saying her target time was 7hrs she did it in sub 4! Of course it could of been just luck!

  • I think you have a better chance as I think they want to encourage youngsters into running.....

    entered my 17 yr old son for next year and have already bet that he will get in whilst me and my hubby have been rejected every year for years and only got in thye once from the old rule which used to mean after 5 rejections they gave you a place for the 6th year......

     will be interesting to see next october if we are right

  • Agree with Fenn

    I heard that all the time brackets are split out and then it is random from there on in.

    The organisors want a steady stream through the finish line after the Elites have gone. If it was completley random you could have say 20 people finishing between 3 and 3.30 and 500 between 3.30 vand 4

  • I think it might be random. When I was entering the ballot my finishing time was wildly off from my actual time. A random selection would probably give you the same distribution as a carefully selected one.
  • seren nos 

     

    yep if I get a place in october our suspicions may be justified!

  • Have entered the ballot for several years and am a sub 3.30 runner so not sure about the time thing. The biggest con is the good for age I would have to run sub 3.05 a which is tough going whereas a woman only has to run 3.45 which due half decent club runner could do. The gfa should be scrapped to make extra places for us mortals.

     

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭

    Why not get rid of the Elites and championship places too.

    Then they won't have to try and pretend that it is a running race. 

  • You could hold it somewhere else as well......  Doncaster perhaps 

  • andrews148andrews148 ✭✭✭

    Yes, have the immortal elites run past, then have some marching bands and some gaudily-decorated floats to amuse the crowd until the mortals arrive.

  • Nah.. The mortals can't be bothered with London 

  • AgentGingerAgentGinger ✭✭✭

    if the ballot selection was random you would expect to see a normal distribution curve (a "bell shaped curve") of finishing times. I'm not sure what the finish time curve looks like in reality, but other than a peak around the 4 hour mark, it seems reasonably even throughout, which would suggest a grouped selection based on est finish time.

    I've not analysed the results though, so i'm speculating.

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    AgentGinger wrote (see)

    if the ballot selection was random you would expect to see a normal distribution curve (a "bell shaped curve") of finishing times. I'm not sure what the finish time curve looks like in reality, but other than a peak around the 4 hour mark, it seems reasonably even throughout, which would suggest a grouped selection based on est finish time.

    I've not analysed the results though, so i'm speculating.


    Im speculating that you are probably pretty close to how it works

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭

    Why not get rid of the Elites and championship places too.

    Then they won't have to try and pretend that it is a running race. 

  • hope to...hope to... ✭✭✭

    I was chatting to a guy on the train whilst travelling up to marathon, who knew a guy who always put his finishing time as 7 hours, and got in just about every time.

    I entered the ballot again and thought I would give that a shotimage

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