VLM 2019

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  • davewooddavewood ✭✭✭
    Is that 6000 (if it is that many) just GFA or does that include the FGFA as well?
  • davewooddavewood ✭✭✭
    First time I’ve ever looked at GFA times, how the hell is a 60-64 year old male expected to run a time as quickly as 19-39 year old female?
  • I think the men's times are fair, certainly in comparison to New York/Berlin, but only if the times guarantee a place. I'm in the 60-64 group and I think 3:45 is a good test but manageable. Took me 2-3 years of increasing mileage and a fair bit of determination which is as it should be. 

    Can't really comment on the women's.
  • bob, this is the first year in a while where I haven't achieved GFA, both of my attempts were scuppered by high temps (one of them was VLM), so you may have a point about fewer people meeting the criteria this year. Here's hoping.......

    Re the male / female split, I believe the term is "positive discrimination" (which is still discrimination). I do recognise though that whether it's fair or not, it's their race and they set the rules, so there's not too much point in getting too wound up about it. I will be annoyed if I don't get in this year due to these changes, but I guess it might just prompt me to head back to Boston, which now has significantly easier qualification times than London.

  • Funny you should say that Rodeo as I am thinking similar if I dont get in London. Did Boston last year and thought the whole thing was amazing. The place definitely has an aura about it. And I have a 12:30 BQ buffer so could enjoy the luxury of applying on the first Wednesday. There is quite a bit of talk about the BQ getting 5 minutes faster across the board next year. 
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    I don't think the heat at London 2018 will have any effect on GFA entries for 2019.   Many will have achieved their GFA times at races earlier in the year, Manchester etc.   Others will have chosen to run another marathon elsewhere to achieve their GFA for various reasons.  GFA 2019 entries are from times achieved from 1st January 2017 so all the runners that achieved their times last year are still OK to apply, many choose autumn marathons as lots of suitable races to choose from.   

    But you might be lucky and get in, a lot of runners achieving GFA don't want to run London anyway.

    I did read somewhere that 2 minutes should be a comfortable margin for the men, but I don't know if that was a knowledgeable calculation being made or just a guess.   Re women, I read that slightly less than 3,000 women applied last year but they expect more entries this year, estimate was for 30 seconds for the women, but again I don't know how realistic that was.   Will be interesting to find out.

  • Bob - I did Boston two years ago, and yes, it's very different to London. I know what you mean about the "aura", it feels like it's much more about the runners and appreciation that you ran fast enough to qualify, rather than at London where it's all about the charities / celebrities / costumes and the runners are almost incidental.

  • Walking across Boston Common and seeing that row of yellow buses and realising I was a part of it all is a moment I will never forget. And there were many similar experiences before, during and after the race.
  • Agreed. But I still want a GFA place for London!
  • You've just reminded me of the conversation I overheard on our school bus on the way out to the start line - there I was feeling all smug about making it into Boston and going out to the start, when the two guys next to me starting talking about the times they were hoping to run. One said he was looking to beat 2:10 and the other said he hadn't run Boston before so he's be happy with anything under 2:15????? I don't know how they actually got on (it was very hot that year), but it put me back in my place. My ambitious target suddenly didn't seem very impressive any more!
  • Hi Fellow Runners, i have managed to secure myself a charity place for VMLM 2019 with Age UK, i'm really glad to get the chance to do one of the alt time amazing events. I'm currently doing plenty of 10k's nut distance of this caliber is something I'm going to really need to train o. Can anyone direct me to ant really good (not necessarily on this forum) training plans for at least getting a finish. Appreciated in advance.
  • > @RunStruttyRun said:
    > Hi Fellow Runners, i have managed to secure myself a charity place for VMLM 2019 with Age UK, i'm really glad to get the chance to do one of the alt time amazing events. I'm currently doing plenty of 10k's nut distance of this caliber is something I'm going to really need to train o. Can anyone direct me to ant really good (not necessarily on this forum) training plans for at least getting a finish. Appreciated in advance.
    Good comparison with target times here:
    fellrnr.com/wiki/A_Comparison_of_Marathon_Training_Plans-Characteristics
  • > @PeteM77 said:
    > Good comparison with target times here:
    > fellrnr.com/wiki/A_Comparison_of_Marathon_Training_Plans-Characteristics
    Appreciate @PeteM77 ill take a look
  • now could they please hurry up and email us re GFA times....i'm busting to know one way or the other ...! 
  • G-DawgG-Dawg ✭✭✭
    Emails are on their way. Got mine just now. In!  B)

  • Me too. See you there G-Dawg.

  • I'm interested to see what the margin is for GFA qualification - I had just under 5 minutes in hand compared to the GFA required time, I wonder how little much time was needed to get in? Anyone get in with less of a buffer than I had?
  • G-DawgG-Dawg ✭✭✭
    Well done rodeoflip. Let's hope it's a bit cooler than this year, I almost melted!

    I'm a v50 and got in with a 3.09 obtained at Abingdon last year, so was fairly sure I'd get in as it placed me in the younger age bracket. #LifeInTheOldDogYet
  • DT19DT19 ✭✭✭
    3.04.45 got me in with 15 seconds to spare!!!
  • Hey DT19, that's really good to know. So despite the new rules we may not need to beat the (admittedly more difficult) targets by much after all?

    G-Dawg, couldn't agree more. Need a cold day next year, I  ran two marathons this year, and melted at both of them. London wasn't a lot of fun.

  • i'm still waiting.....not fun!!!
  • DT19DT19 ✭✭✭
    I had done the sums and worked out on runbritain there were only about 3750 male runners with gfa times. if you remove from that duplications ie I'm in both years, then the fact not everyone will apply I didn't expect there to be more than 3000. 

    It has been helped of course by fact that there was only really London left to have run after they announced changes and a lot may have eased off when going was tough in say Brighton as they were chasing a different time. Then of course London was boiling so people couldn't perform. 

    Also the qualifying period only includes one Autumn as opposed to covering 'the last 2 years' which was previous requirement. 
  • WardiWardi ✭✭✭
    DT19.. my clubmate was sweating on a 3:04.29 qualifier from Manchester as a V40 so it is now looking good for him.
  • Got in (V60) with a 2:30 cushion.
  • DT19DT19 ✭✭✭
    yes he'll be in. I suspect that no shaving down of entry times was necessary. 
  • Happy days if that's the case.
  • OK so it might appear that they have made us sweat for nothing!!?
  • Looks like it. I reckon the high temperatures at several big marathons, particularly London, reduced the expected qualifiers somewhat.
  • DT19DT19 ✭✭✭
    yes I was 1300 places higher in London this year than 2017 and I ran an identical time both years to the second. 
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