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I don't think many runners really pay attention to that stuff and just assume that if they are still on the course then the crowds and the set up will remain. In reality, after about 5 hours the support drops off quite significantly so it isn't as if these participants are getting the London experience.
I know it is of course subjective as to what people have battled etc in life and the degree of challenge presented, but generally, if you had a friend who took 8hrs would you congratulate them on their achievement?
I used to marshal around 10miles in, and we always had a couple of St John's Ambo guys near us.
One of them loudly was on his radio shouting
"yeah it's just STRAGGLERS left now". One guy even heard this and exclaimed "straggler!!" as he passed.
I remember making a massive thing of it with the Ambo guy, inviting him to tell me how quickly he'd be doing it (large chap), and maybe he should keep such disrespect to himself.
Ended up trying to play it down to his boss later, when one of our club organisers got wind of it...as by then I thought I don't want to make "That" much trouble for a guy who was volunteering....
But what a douche.... in earshot of old guys doing their best on a tough course!
Now this half was put on as a low key club race, so you can understand it's a bit of ask to get people to marshal 3hours 20 or so, plus the hour or so either side.
But the London Marathon is billed as a bit of a comedy "for everyone" job, with people pissing about dressed up as animals, 20 abrest in bug costumes, and suchlike, so for any disrespecting people on standards for this one is a shocker.
Although a 7 1/2 hour pacer just seems bonkers...
There is a boom in participation in running though, which is good, but it has really opened the door to people who aren't really running at all but call it running. On a FB group I'm on loads of them "jeff". Fair does, and some people jeff pretty quickly, but when you've gone down to only 30 seconds running with a couple of minutes walking is that even a "run"? Why not train to actually run? Or do loads of walking until you've dropped weight and you can do it. I don't think it's elitist to think that a marathon should be a running event and to expect people who have signed up to mainly run, or at least attempt to do so and put in some training to enable this. If I put on a walking event I wouldn't expect loads of sub-3 hour runners to rock up and start smashing around the course before all the marshals etc were set up and then moaning about it.
I wonder how long the marshals sign up for? The one time I marshalled at parkrun I was a bit bored waiting for the 40 minute finisher (last finisher now takes over an hour so there seems to be a trend of it being okay to walk the whole way - parkwalk anyone?).
You'd want the 3 miles slot rather than the 20 mile slot that's for sure.
I couldn't, and cannot believe it, they're absolutely thrilled to be able to get the chance to marshal for hours. I think my current lot man the Lucozade station at 23miles, so that's a guaranteed long shift!
Actually for the people who complete a marathon in 8 hours it probably is an achievement - it's just a very different achievement to running a marathon whether in sub 3 or even 5 hours.
Apart from everything else I would need to carry a mahoosive packed lunch if I was taking 8 hours (plus probably an hour and a half at the start) and walking 26 miles.
EDIT: My last two posts were before I'd seen yours McFlooze.
Jeffing - running and walking named after Jeff Galloway and a favourite of Run Mummy Run members (which should obviously be renamed, or at least have a separate division, Jeff Mummy Jeff).
Thanks McFlooze I had never come across this phrase before.
Although Urban Dictionary has a whole load of alternative definitions but I don't think anyway would make sense in your post however these are my two favourites.
I'm always surprised people who don't run much, aren't necessarily built for it etc, want to pile in and do what must be a real world of pain. But that's the country obsession with the marathon, when shorter distances do exist!
SG, I often get drawn into chats on parkrun fb groups where someone who has been running for 5 weeks and can't break 40 minutes asks whether they should enter the London ballot and the whole response line is 'yes, go for it, I had only run 3 times before entering a mara' etc etc. It seems the mark of progress is distance and not pace. My usual response is, what's the rush, get good at lower distances first and build up etc etc. There is more back patting for running a long way then there is in following a dedicated block of training and running not so far but in a much faster time.
I note vlm 2020 ballot is open. Whilst I wont be entering the ballot I intend running it. Anyone else?
If someone asks how far I've run, I'd always get more surprise/praise from non runners for distance - "wow, 10miles", over pace - mostly because they don't have a clue if xx for xx miles is any good or not.
If I thought i could "get away" with just pootling a marathon out that'd be one thing, but there's no way anyone would let me get away with it - i'd have to come back and do a "proper" go - and then all of a sudden a fairly obsessive thing becomes a totally obsessive thing
What i could of course say is that i did all the tough work all winter making sacrifices and going out on cold dark nights when they might not have.
'The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.'
Muhammad Ali
That perfectly captures my point, Skinny. Sunday was almost just the lap of honour.
Cruising round after, "won it, innit" to anyone who will listen. Making sure you don't mention you run 50-60 or so miles a week to them
Like when a 13miler became 19, including a quite ridiculous bit in a circle ending up where i'd been 3-4miles previously, plus having to leap a fence and wade through a massive field of crops - all the time wondering how the heck I'd cross the M40 ....
Cannot tell you how thankful i was there was some little road that somehow got me across, without having any tunnels, bridges, or any reason it somehow ended the other side. I'll have to check that on the map!
Or they will ask you that question - what pace do you run at? Erm, it depends...
Did a little bit of speedwork at lunchtime. Thought I'd do some 200m type reps. 20 x 20 with 200m jog recoveries. Felt all smug because I programmed it into my Garmin. Until the end of the first recovery when I realised I'd programmed in 200 MILE jog recoveries. Wasn't sure how to amend so has to just start from scratch. Then I lost count, then just as I was developing jelly legs it started chucking it down so to avoid a mascara incident in the office I sacked it off and jogged back. Anyway, only did about 13 but it's allowed since I'm still at the end of marathon recovery and slackness is welcomed.
"Only?" You haven't been reading Ric's stuff on my thread have you
13 is plenty... I used to only do 8-10 in a prevo coach's watch. And now do either 12 or 16 on a 5k plan, so 13 isn't small by any means..
I want to try and get back to PB form for 5 and 10k over the summer so I think these types of sessions need doing. I'm about 50 seconds away for 5k and 3 minutes for 10k! We won't even mention what has happened to my half marathon/marathon time.
But now I know my knee (lack of cruciate ligament) seems to cope with most things I can start doing more speed.
Nice session. Always got a little buzz from the fast ones.
I probably did do about 200 mile recoveries between each speed session.
Re the mascara - does sweat not create the same issue as heavy rainfall and what about the shower afterwards? I think I might be more knowledgeable on period chat than make up chat
I didn't realise you wore mascara.
Skinny - my approach is to have a shower of my body leaving my head dry and around my face I just sort of lightly pat the worst of the salty sweat off, leaving my mascara intact. I don't normally sweat so heavily that it is pouring down my face and washing into my eyes. Whereas all bets are off with rain.
Lit is the sort of natural beauty who looks good all of the time whereas I need to draw eyes on every morning to look vaguely awake. I imagine DT also falls into the natural beauty category.