Congratulations katey on your long run. If you can keep going like that with so much pain from your knee you've definitely got the mental strength to make it round. I hope it's feeling better today.
I know you need to watch your sugar levels and I'm not sure how your diabetes affects this, but generally following a run/walk strategy means you'll be in the aerobic zone most of the time, so you'll be burning relatively more fat and less glycogen than someone who's running at over 80% of maximum heart rate all the way. A good supply of jelly babies (and perhaps some fruit from the water stations) may be all you need if you don't fancy taking gels. Perhaps a small pack of dextrose would be good as a back up.
Sparky, I know you'll decide what's best for your health, but I'd urge you to give it a little longer before making a final decision. I nearly pulled out this time last year because injuries meant I'd only managed one long run and I'm so glad that thanks to encouragement of Orbutt, kenno, smudger and others on this forum I made it to Paris. It wasn't a great time, but it was a great experience (which is why I'm back to do it again this year).
Sparky. You won't get any kind of refund etc for a missed race, unless you took out the insurance when you signed up. I missed 2015 due to an injury. I was able to cancel my hotel, so I did. Big regret. I should have gone over and enjoyed the weekend. If you can't compete, you can't cancel and you stand to lose what you've paid, then have a weekend in Paris and watch some nutters running around.
Alan - I don't recall there being any baggage drop at the breakfast run. I wouldn't imagine there would be too much crowding if 3:15 is your target time goal. The only thing to keep an eye would be crowding around pacers.
Sparky - if you have non refundable travel, although at the moment this might not feel like a great option, I really recommend coming along to support. We have a great support team from this group and they provide a real boost to the runners - knowing there's a friendly face at the end of a flagpole (and there will be many flagpoles) can sometimes be just what you need to get you round. I've supported twice and it's a hugely rewarding experience. But be warned - it can be more tiring than actually running the race!
Reminder about the Saturday Evening Meal in case anyone missed it.
**** Saturday Evening Meal ****
The restaurant for the meal has been booked. Due to the
numbers we’re back at PastaPapa, which has been used for a few years now.
They’re a chain Italian restaurant, with typical pasta and pizza options. We
have 52 people attending this year. Here are the details for the meal. I’ll
post this information again closer to the race.
Date: April 8th
Time: 5:30pm (meet-up near the restaurant)
Location: PastaPapa, 1 bis Rue Jean Mermoz,
75008 Paris, France
Meet-up Point: Area next to the Franklin D.
Roosevelt Metro Station.
If possible please bring some cash to pay
for the meal, as it makes it easier for the staff when dealing with such a
large group. Unfortunately their website is down just now, but typical prices
from memory are around 15 euros for a main course. The food and drink prices
are fairly standard for Paris.
Also the most important part of the weekend. The after race pub meet.
Venue: Frog Revolution
Address: 9 rue de la Bastille
Metro Bastille.
Follow, Sortie (Exit) 7 - Place des Vosges.
Next to the Hippopotamus Restaurant.
Upstairs bar reserved for BCRC/RW.
I've been a bit lax with my list posting lately due to swanning off to Paris to watch a very strange game of rugby last weekend! I think I might even have walked past Le Frog last Monday Eggy as I wandered around Paris trying to work out what on earth had happened on Saturday...
Getting a bit close to running round the desert time too for Dannirr & Nodster!
Apr 2: Manchester Marathon - Andy-W-, Karen Bowman 2, Chris 1875. Bungay Black Dog Marathon - Smudgerncfc.
Apr 3: Betzza’s Birthday.
Apr 7-17: Marathon des Sables - Dannirr, Nodster.
Apr 9: Paris Marathon
Apr 10: Kaz's birthday.
Apr 11: Chris Morgan's birthday.
Apr 17: Boston Marathon - Slinkyminky. Chasewater Easter egg 10k - Chris 1875.
Apr 23: Kirsten Lancs Lass' birthday. London Marathon - The Jimbob, agentpenguin, LeggyMountbatten, Smudgerncfc, chris 1875, Maccatheknacca. Hamburg Marathon - KennyM.
Apr 24: Picklelily's birthday.
Apr 26: Nells' birthday.
Apr 30: Birmingham 10k - chris 1875.
May 1: Milton Keynes Marathon.
May 7: Lichfield half marathon - chris 1875.
May 14: Leeds Half Marathon - Andy-W-. Draycote water half marathon - chris 1875.
May 15: Scott W's birthday.
May 17: Simon Mac's birthday.
May 20: TBO2's birthday.
May 27: Kent Roadrunner Marathon - Nodster.
May 28: Liverpool Rock n Roll Marathon - Andy-W-, Orbutt, LeggyMountbatten, Smudgerncfc. Liverpool Rock n Roll Half - Chris 1875.
May 29: Vitality 10,000 - The Jimbob, Nells, TBO2, baldstan.
Jun 1: Penny71’s birthday.
Jun 2: Eggy's birthday.
Jun 3: Harvel H5 - baldstan.
Jun 6: Comrades - Nodster, Running Rodent.
Jun 11: Bahtat marathon - Karen Bowman 2.
Jun 23: Nodster’s birthday.
Jun 25: Keyser Suze's birthday. Wythall & Hollywood 10k - chris 1875.
Jul 1: Birmingham black country half marathon - chris 1875.
I'm convacatised - #10705 ; Jaune pen with a very optimistic 3:15 target time, hmmmm. Still need to sort that medical certificate though.
Last long run yesterday in glorious, but hot, sun. Needed a lot of motivation do do the distance so got a one-way ticket from Bristol to Bath and ran the 18 back along the old railway path. Achilles causing some serious gyp but once it's warmed up not too bad.
Bring on the taper!
P.S. Nells can you add me on the London Marathon list you got there, might need to remind myself after Paris that I have to do that one too!
What do you need to take with you to the expo to get your bib number? I've got my medical certificate but I know people have mentioned other things that you need...what are they and how do you get them?
To find your number/pen - log
in to your ASO account - http://www.asochallenges.com/,
there is a large red box to the left of the screen, click 'my order' and your
details are there. You should be able to change your pen on the day if
required. Someone will post on the forum when the Convocation (a piece of paper
that you HAVE to take with you to the Expo) is ready to download, normally a
couple of weeks before the race.
Lucy - As Kenno has said you need your medical certificate, convocation and photographic ID. The convocation is now available to download and print from your ASO account you would have used to sign up for the marathon.
Thanks for the advice re ibuprofen, duly noted and crossed off my list in preference for paracetamol. I'm seeing a sports physio tomorrow to discuss taping and to get him to take a general look at my knees.
My most recent challenge is getting my medical certificate signed. Neither my GP nor consultant would entertain it. I need blood tests and an electrocardiogram apparently, neither of which can be done without a referral and certainly not within the next two weeks. I'm really frustrated and not really sure what to do although I have read on here about others buying an address stamp and doing the deed themselves.
On the form they supply is race number your bib number by the way? I wasn't sure on that or if the marathon had it's own number.
Not really sure what to do but I've tried two sources now. I've left the form at my surgery and asked if somebody else will consider it as there is somebody who apparently does sign forms but would need to take a look at it and make an appointment with me if it is the sort of form they will sign ...
Katey - For the medical certificate the race name is the Paris marathon. Race number is your bib number, which you can get from your confirmation email or by logging into your aso account.
Do you know any friendly doctors katey? It doesn't have to be your GP, just somebody willing to sign and stamp it really (so they need a Drs stamp). I'm lucky that I seem to always get a GP on some sort of work experience who had no idea what's going on and just signs and stamps it. The last two didn't even know they should be charging me, and this year all he did was take my BP, read my notes and saw that the last time I visited was for the same reason, and off I went so I wouldn't say there is much gained from the exercise from the perspective of British runners anyway.
Otherwise, and not pointing any fingers, I believe kenno and Orbutt might be the ones to ask for more creative solutions...
I really do feel lucky to have my doctor. His view is that he sees enough people who are ill because of inactivity that it is self-defeating to punish runners with a charge or, worse, a risk-averse "I'm not signing that, you'll sue me when you drop dead on Mile 25" attitude. I will buy him something from Paris to say thanks.
Taper madness appears to be setting in. Woke at 3. Gave up at 5 and came in to work.
Got mine signed yesterday. Was told there would be a £20 charge, but didn't have to pay. Now I just need to print the convocation and perhaps think about what to take.
I believe I was able to track the runners last year Madhu - I think there was an app where you could add up to a certain amount of runners to track. If I remember correctly, it proved to be surprisingly reliable...
Just looked at the oficial app, and you can add runners there to follow, though it seems to you need to have/create an ASO account to do so and you need to root around a bit on the app to find it
Anyone is wanting to meet-up prior to the breakfast run on Saturday morning. The meeting point is at the Arc de Triomphe, looking down towards the Place de la Concorde at 8:30am.
I'll be there. Just look out for a tall ugly Scottish bloke who lacks any French sophistication or style.
Comments
I know you need to watch your sugar levels and I'm not sure how your diabetes affects this, but generally following a run/walk strategy means you'll be in the aerobic zone most of the time, so you'll be burning relatively more fat and less glycogen than someone who's running at over 80% of maximum heart rate all the way. A good supply of jelly babies (and perhaps some fruit from the water stations) may be all you need if you don't fancy taking gels. Perhaps a small pack of dextrose would be good as a back up.
Sparky, I know you'll decide what's best for your health, but I'd urge you to give it a little longer before making a final decision. I nearly pulled out this time last year because injuries meant I'd only managed one long run and I'm so glad that thanks to encouragement of Orbutt, kenno, smudger and others on this forum I made it to Paris. It wasn't a great time, but it was a great experience (which is why I'm back to do it again this year).
I missed 2015 due to an injury. I was able to cancel my hotel, so I did. Big regret. I should have gone over and enjoyed the weekend.
If you can't compete, you can't cancel and you stand to lose what you've paid, then have a weekend in Paris and watch some nutters running around.
Oh, and for the record - baldstan isn't.
At 3:15 pace, what is the traffic like?
many thanks,
alan
**** Saturday Evening Meal ****
The restaurant for the meal has been booked. Due to the numbers we’re back at PastaPapa, which has been used for a few years now. They’re a chain Italian restaurant, with typical pasta and pizza options. We have 52 people attending this year. Here are the details for the meal. I’ll post this information again closer to the race.
Date: April 8th
Time: 5:30pm (meet-up near the restaurant)
Location: PastaPapa, 1 bis Rue Jean Mermoz, 75008 Paris, France
Meet-up Point: Area next to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Metro Station.
If possible please bring some cash to pay for the meal, as it makes it easier for the staff when dealing with such a large group. Unfortunately their website is down just now, but typical prices from memory are around 15 euros for a main course. The food and drink prices are fairly standard for Paris.
Venue: Frog Revolution
Address: 9 rue de la Bastille
Metro Bastille. Follow, Sortie (Exit) 7 - Place des Vosges. Next to the Hippopotamus Restaurant. Upstairs bar reserved for BCRC/RW.
Getting a bit close to running round the desert time too for Dannirr & Nodster!
Last long run yesterday in glorious, but hot, sun. Needed a lot of motivation do do the distance so got a one-way ticket from Bristol to Bath and ran the 18 back along the old railway path. Achilles causing some serious gyp but once it's warmed up not too bad.
Bring on the taper!
P.S. Nells can you add me on the London Marathon list you got there, might need to remind myself after Paris that I have to do that one too!
What do you need to take with you to the expo to get your bib number? I've got my medical certificate but I know people have mentioned other things that you need...what are they and how do you get them?
Thanks
PARIS 2017 list
Yellow pen (3:15):
9672 - Steve Duffy 2
10207 - Maccatheknacca
10705 – nicko1981
Blue Pen (3:30):
17108 – MattL
17165 – LloydR
20620 - Stuchbury
20621 – Kenno
20771 – Dean Lucas
22198 – Mahdu2
23303 - TT
Purple pen (3:45):
29172 – Baldstan
29195 - katrinacritchley
29451 - Pistol101
29460 – Yer Maj
29643 - AspirantRunner
29691 – Eggyh73
33449 – ryantilley
37420 – Bandito27
39073 – Mandydebs
Green pen (4hr):
43209 – Nells
43613 – Hatton2009
43640 - andrewr123
43794 - Never Give Up Girl
43975 - Franz Wanzenboeck
44052 - Betzza
44674 – Benign Murmurring
Grey pen (4:15)
63577 – EHN
63796 – 1992km
64520 – Running Rodent
Pink pen (4:30+):
68714 – Tired Legs
69792 – Kirsten B
68965 – RoddyMac
73942 – FRG2
75540 - katey
75874 – Pancake2
To find your number/pen - log in to your ASO account - http://www.asochallenges.com/,
there is a large red box to the left of the screen, click 'my order' and your details are there. You should be able to change your pen on the day if required. Someone will post on the forum when the Convocation (a piece of paper that you HAVE to take with you to the Expo) is ready to download, normally a couple of weeks before the race.
My most recent challenge is getting my medical certificate signed. Neither my GP nor consultant would entertain it. I need blood tests and an electrocardiogram apparently, neither of which can be done without a referral and certainly not within the next two weeks. I'm really frustrated and not really sure what to do although I have read on here about others buying an address stamp and doing the deed themselves.
On the form they supply is race number your bib number by the way? I wasn't sure on that or if the marathon had it's own number.
Not really sure what to do but I've tried two sources now. I've left the form at my surgery and asked if somebody else will consider it as there is somebody who apparently does sign forms but would need to take a look at it and make an appointment with me if it is the sort of form they will sign ...
Katey - For the medical certificate the race name is the Paris marathon. Race number is your bib number, which you can get from your confirmation email or by logging into your aso account.
Otherwise, and not pointing any fingers, I believe kenno and Orbutt might be the ones to ask for more creative solutions...
Taper madness appears to be setting in. Woke at 3. Gave up at 5 and came in to work.
I will be on my own there. Tracker could be helpful for family/friends to know if I am still running or given up
Anyone is wanting to meet-up prior to the breakfast run on Saturday morning. The meeting point is at the Arc de Triomphe, looking down towards the Place de la Concorde at 8:30am.
I'll be there. Just look out for a tall ugly Scottish bloke who lacks any French sophistication or style.