https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-48125731At the risk of starting a massive flame war, I thought this one is an interesting one for a number of different reasons, mainly because pretty much everyone involved is in the wrong. VLM was wrong to have a pacer slower than the closure of the course, the cleanup crew was clearly wrong in being so rude to the back markers, but...(and this is what doesn't seem to be discussed on social media), the pacer was wrong to be running down the middle of the road after the roads were closed (as described in the course rules). It's an impressive lose-lose-lose scenario.
Now I'm going to go hide under a desk and let the blood-letting commence.
Comments
I agree, I don't think anyone comes out of this with any high ground.
I read a post on fb of a friend of someone I am friends with (it appears to be a public post) and she took 8.10 to complete and her experience was awful. As you point out though, the course rules are clear and central London has to be re-opened at some point, however it was the abuse she received and the complete lack of basic assistance from officials still on the course which is completely avoidable.
The race has an 8 hour cut off so the pacer wasn't slower than the closure of the course. Also if VLM are going to put a pacer on for that time then they should at least keep the course open.
I think one of the issues was they were supposed to start at 10.40 but the back pens weren't released until 11.00
I agree, and it attracts a lot of people who aren't runners and probably underestimate how far the marathon is. Don't get me wrong, I have huge respect for anyone that can keep going for 7-8 hours, cant imagine how tough that is!
Just checked the VLM website, the course closes at 7 hour pace so having a 7.5hour pacer that is expected to run on the pavements is a joke.
Yep, frankly if it took me 8hrs, which is about 17mm a marathon is the last thing I would want to do. I would limit myself to a half at most. I simply cannot see the fun or achievement in basically walking the course. It also deprives those that might have an ambition to at least try and run it, of a place.
There are plenty of walking type events that are geared up to take this amount of time. People do also forget that the majority of people are volunteers and will all have to travel home somewhere beyond London.
The problem is that the coverage never shows you these people on the road. They show the pros and then the normal runners up to 430 or so when everyone is still enjoying themselves. It give an unrealistic idea of what the race is like.
Sometimes I'll go back and get a shower and then come back to support at mile 25 or so. I think that's about 6 hours in and there's a steady stream of people walking along - a fair amount of them crying. It's not fun back there and even then you'll see the clear up happening around them.
Is the 8 hour cutoff new ? They've definitely tidied away before that in past years.
Agree - it's lose lose lose. And the 8 hour people probably did have a worse time this year than before as they were 20/25 minutes later starting because of the newly staggered start.
We supported the 7 hour+ runners at 15 miles last year and it was like a war zone. One group of real stragglers actually swore at some spectators who dared walk along the course because they were "in the middle of a race".
There is a whole community of run/walkers who enjoy park runs/race for life etc and who were led to believe London offered the same levels of inclusivity. Logistically it can't? Unless VMLM are given more time to hand the road network back, they have to stick to the clear up schedule shown on the website which is 8 hours gun time.
The publicity has been bad though - expect it'll be gun time plus 9 hours next year?
7+ hours should be sufficient to complete a marathon 8 hours at most. 8.5 hours is the same as the average walking speed, it's a run/race not a slow walk.
This is on the detailed instructions that EVERY competitor received:
COURSE CUT-OFF TIMES We are required to keep to a strict schedule for reopening the roads to traffic, therefore you must meet the cut-off times stated below. The Course Closed Vehicle travels at a seven-hour pace and crosses the Start Line at 11:00, moments after the final participants. If you do not stay ahead of the Course Closed Vehicle, you will be required to move onto the pavement to complete the event.
The pacer failed miserably in passing this on to her 'charges'
And then:
8:00 HOUR PACE (MINIMUM PACE NEEDED TO RECEIVE A MEDAL AND OFFICIAL FINISH TIME)
CUTTY SARK (6.5 MILES) - 13:10pm
etc. etc.
The vast majority of races have a cut off, I don't see how VLM have acted unreasonably.
Granted the clean up team may have been rude, vocal and unpleasant, but they had a job to do and it sounds as if the pacer was being deliberately obstructive too. The fact that she rants onto social media and writes to Victoria Derbyshire rather than liaise direct with VLM first gives an idea of what sort of person she is.
Maybe put a cut off that if you're not at Cutty Sark by xx time, you're pulled off the course.
I had read elsewhere that the Finish Line was open to 7pm, but didn't realise they required anyone between 7-8hr pace to keep off the roads, which would include the 7:30 pacer I assume. It seems this information hadn't been passed on to her either because she would have been within this time surely? I think n 8hr cutoff is more than enough to be honest. They clearly can't keep roads closed, and volunteers, first aiders, clean up crews etc waiting all day for the final finisher, but I think they've been trying so hard to be inclusive they haven't communicated or implemented the cutoffs as you'd hope. And it doesn't help that they started the back pens 20 minutes late either I wouldn't think. I passed by Embankment Station just before 6pm (on my way home from a 10 hour volunteering stint, with others in my team still going) and runners were still on the road and being cheered despite the above.
Whether it was ever sensible to offer 7:15 or 7:30 pacers is debateable. Without them, runners being caught by the closure vehicles might have been encouraged to go a little faster.
I'm not sure there was as much of a delay in the starts as is being claimed. Last year the final wave started at something like 10:40-10:45. This year everything was 10 minutes later, so probably scheduled for something like 10:50-10:55. Even starting just after 11:00 is less than 10 minutes late.
VLM's mistake here was in trying to be too inclusive. It's a race, it's not a gentle walk. It's not necessarily meant to be easy. I get that there's no losers, we're all winners and all that, but if there's a cut-off beyond which the roads need to be re-opened, then they need to have a cut-off for runners and enforce it. This cut-off needs to take into account that the people in the back pens will be delayed in starting. So if they have the roads closed for 8 hours then the cut-off for runners needs to be around 7 hours at the most? In this case, having a 7.5 hour pacer would be nonsense
They need to be open and transparent about this and manage people's expectations. This may need them to say to some people "sorry but no - if you can't finish the race in 7 hours then you won't be allowed to finish, and we're not going to let you start". While this may not be PC and "inclusive to all", it's the logistical reality of the race, and it's what happens at other races.
I love London - it's my favourite event. But the focus for the masses is the charity aspect and I'd imagine the organisers want to preserve that, so it'll be interesting to see how they play it in the future.