ive been unsuccessful for 3 years running now in the london marathon ballot (like many others!) im not saying it is the right thing to do but what would happen if I were to register my brother and then run with his place if I didnt get in again? there must be people that do this kind of thing..again, im not saying I will do this but whats stopping everybody doing the same?
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The ground would split, and it would start raining toads. Fire and brimstone would fall from the sky and the alien hordes would descend, abducting the entire mass start for anal probing. Arsenal would win a trophy.
Peas would literally turn into beans.
right, sounds like a bad idea then haha
im just saying, there must be people that do this kind of thing and im getting quite a collection of "sorry try again next year" magazines now!
I'm the same as you, 4 ko' s in a row. What get me is how do these people who have run it 10,12,15 years in a row always get in? Think it's time they came up with a better, fairer system.
I do sympathise mate. I'll be starting my collection with the 2015 ballot
its a pretty sad thing when even considering having to enter other people just to stand abit more of a chance of getting in but its a pain having to wait another year every year
did they used to have a three strikes and youre in next year type policy?
I heard rumours they are going to make the GFA qualifying times harder due to the oversubcription too.
I suppose the demand for places is so strong that they would rather sell places for big upfront fees to charities than release them to plebs
If you really want to do London, then target another marathon first, get the required time and achieve a guaranteed London place through the Good for Age process.
You'll feel alot better about it than registering as someone else
the berlin marathon have a good idea with there "second ballot" for all the people who say they want to run and then dont sign up by a certain date
Being a londonder Id love to run London sometime but unless the ballot comes up for me I think i'll focus on other marathons and work towardsw a GFA - whatever they revise it to
No mystery. Those people either got GFA times or had charity places in some or all of those years.
fair play to the people who get GFA times, im a sub 4 hour runner and have next to no hope of ever getting down to 3 hours 5 minutes (current GFA time for my age)
If you put in the required training over the next 12-18 months then I can't see why you shouldn't be there or there abouts.
its the time to put into training where i struggle, i work 65 hours a week and have a busy social life
They used to have a 5 rejects and you're in rule, but that has ceased, got in that way before.
I've applied most years since 1994 and have got in, I think, 4 times via the ballot and once via the 5 rejects rule. Also run it a few times on a charity place.
As Screamy says a number get in on GFA - or take the charity gold bonds.
what would happen if you did a gold bond place and didn't make the minimum sponsorship target? surely this happens all the time because how many people can actually raise £2000
There probably isn't much the charity can do (though they could make you pay the remaining balance). However, it's really irresponsible to sign up for a charity spot if you're not certain you can raise the money - the charities rely on this money. If you can't do it, leave the spot to someone who can, and put more time into training so you can get a good for age place!
Other marathons are available
I raised a decent wedge of cash for the marathon I just did (my first) but im a bit hesitant to ask everone I know for that again just becasue I fancy running London.
Clubs get allocated a certain amount of places too. Not many per club I don't think but it's another avenue if you're in a club.
On the TV coverage yesterday a woman who'd run it 18 times said something along the lines of "everyone should do the London marathon once . . . "
True.
But you dont struggle with considering entering in someone elses name??? Questionable behaviour to get into a race- putting it mildly
Ok work is what it is and most people have to fit training in around it, 65hours is a significant working wk
But if you're really wanting to do London, which it sounds like you are, but already dismissed the possibility of getting GFA before you've even tried, and a few months hard training may get in the way of a busy social life.................Join the ballot then and take your chances
Officially you wouldn't have ran the London under your name!
thats a fair point, im going to enter myself and hope i get in, im not going to enter other people I just would imagine alot of people do do this
If you want a big marathon for 2015 you might consider Brighton. Still open I think
If you want to do Brighton, enter quickly. The entry price is currently £52.50. From Wednesday, it is £57.50 and next week it will go up to £62.50 for 3 weeks then £67.50 until sold out
Wow, never realised Brighton was so expensive compared to other UK marathons
Hope you're wrong about that. It went down last year, surely they wouldn't reduce it two years on the bounce?