why can people get in year after year

 Its many people dream to run the streets of london (including my own). I yet again have been turned down and i was so up set as really wanted to do it for the charity that helps me with my child by giving me rest bite even if its a couple of hours. I usually run in this time to de stress.

I believe to make things fair you should only be offered a ballot place every 5 years, especially as scrapped the 6th year deffo in. In the mean time if people want to run then they should  do it for charity. People who say got in 1,2,3 years on a trot and likes of thousands of others who getting up set with rejection. Once every 5 years is not being greedy and give the oppotunity to others who may want to do it for personal reasons.

Im sorry but still up set as had my heart set on it but looks like i be having may half term in scotland. All i want to do is say thank-you for all they done for my son and small charitys need funding.

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Comments

  • Have you contacted the charity and asked if they have a place? Charities get thousands of entries in the London marathon, which are nothing to do with the main ballot.
  • Don't forget there are other marathons, Yes London is well known there all the same distance, look at one of them instead.

  • Hard work and a sub 3.45 gets you in. Do you really want it?
  • Its a small one so no they isnt and i dont have time to raise thousands of pounds being a single working mum to a disabled child. training take place when he goes school and me starting work. Speaking to someone at kilomarathon charitys have to pay out loads for a place in london with a few year contract. Thats why they need thousands raised to cover there own cost before the gain owt. The atmosphere in london fantastic as been down before to watch it. Nottingham full marathon there is no atmosphere when you leave half stage. thinking about edingbrough
  • People who get in year after year probably have GFA/Champs places or know someone useful. No one is that lucky in the ballot.
  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    Lisa, if you really want to raise the money for your charity then do it through another marathon.  Edinburgh lacks the crowds image but a marathon is a marathon no matter where its held.  If you want the 'big' event why not do the GNR? 

    Sussex Runner (NLR) wrote (see)
    Hard work and a sub 3.45 gets you in. Do you really want it?
    Its 3:50 now!
  • Minni you look like Nell McAndrew. Are you?
  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭
    I'm not really. image
  • Lil.Lil. ✭✭✭
    Just what i was going to say.image
  • Pity because she's really fit. But I guess since you're a looky likey then so are you!!
  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭
    There's another way in - become a celeb!
  • I wanted to do it for my charity, I emailed and emailed and eventually they gave me a place, I didn't think I could raise the money, but I raised half in one charity event on one day/night, I think if u desperately want something u will get it, relying on the ball lot alone like the other hundreds of thousands of people just isn't enough.

    Sorry If that sounded harsh it wasn't meant to be x
  • I think running london marathon and raising money for your charity are two seperate issues...............if you want to raise money for the charity there a million and one ways of doing that including running other marathons...................

    so no need to link that to your own personal desire for running London.........yes you want to do it so either just wait for your lucky time..........or train for aGFA time.

     Good luck with both challengesimage

  • As a Londoner its my taxes and congestion charge which pay to maintain those streets, as such I fail to see why I should feel guilty about applying and getting in my local race.
    I live a healthy life style and do not place unreasonable demands upon the health service or my enviroment and choose to run solely for me this year. So what's the problem?

    Last year I ran various events for charity including London even though I had a ballot place, as I would not be held to the large ransom demands of charity.
    If you want people to run for charity petition the charitys to stop asking for massive sums of money and people such as myself would be happy to do our best, but the sums people are asked to raise are simply offensive in some cases.

    This year I will not run for charity through choice and I do not think its appropriate to suggest that everyone should do so. I dare say Paula Radcliff is not running for a charity and im curious to know if you think this is OK or should she be dressed as a womble raising money?
    There are many ways to raise money, the marathon is not the only way to do so.
  • Lisa - Do you know many folks who have got in through the ballot several years on the go? I got in twice but that was out of around 8 entries.

    If someone is doing it year in/year out then they must be qualifying.

    I can understand why you are upset - I don't think a lot of people realise how low their chances of getting in are and so the rejection magazine can be a bit of a blow. In terms of raising money for your charity - Surely any big event will do - the GNR (as mentioned earlier) has just as much 'fame' as the London marathon and I believe a slightly better chance of getting in.
  • It is what it is so just suck it up. Plus its a running race first & foremost - not a charity event.

    If you are that interested in running a marathon - just pick another. Simple really.

    And that is the real Nell McAndrew in my pic.
  • 3 ballot places for me ... sorry image
  • What's wrong with raising money for charity? You never know when you might need to call upon one?

    Alright it's annoying and difficult to raise that much, but surely it adds to your achievement on the day?

    And as the others say, just choose another marathon if u don't want to raise money, 120k people go for the ballot and 35k get in, the chances of getting a place are very slim!
  • Hi,

    I'm still awaiting my magazine so don't know whether I'm image or image ... However,I am confused by the early ballot entry for those of us who were someway between 0 and 5 (and then a guarenteed entry)... 

    If the 35k get in and 125k apply is about right (I don't know how many charity places, corporate place, celebs etc there are) then its about 1 in 4, and is 1 in 4 every year - and it doesn't roll over so you can get 4 image in a row, or 4 image

    I'm sure there's someone out there who can explain the maths, but I fear the simple answer is - Some people are just lucky!

    Paul

    http://walkingforheartkids.blogspot.com/2011/09/schrondingers-magazine-london-marathon.html

  • If you want to know what's wrong with charity running then I suggest you look up the threads on the subject
  • nothing wrong with charity running.................it adds another dimension to the marathon and gives another avenue for people who want to enter and are willing to put in a lot of hard work to raise the cash.........they know the amount they have to raise beforehand just like people who want automatic qualification have to race to get GFA...............

    just another avenue and loads of great charities get money to help them continue the marvellous work they do............

     Only problems occur when people get a charity place and underestimate the hard work involved in fund raising and don't put the significant number of hours required...which to me is harder than the run training itself

  • Blondie-runner wrote (see)
    What's wrong with raising money for charity? You never know when you might need to call upon one? Alright it's annoying and difficult to raise that much, but surely it adds to your achievement on the day? And as the others say, just choose another marathon if u don't want to raise money, 120k people go for the ballot and 35k get in, the chances of getting a place are very slim!
    There's nothing wrong with raising money for charity, but why do the charities have to continue to try to devalue running as a competitive sport. I wish they'd go and pick another sport. If an amateur golfer says he's competing in a competition I'll bet the first question he gets asked isn't 'which charity are you playing for?'. I'll bet his golf tournament acceptance letter doesn't include over 90 adverts asking for people to raise money. I'll bet the chairman of his golf club doesn't get several begging letters every week asking for his members to play golf for charity or for his club to help organise charity events. There's nothing wrong with running to raise money if that's what you want to do, but I wish it wasn't such a big industry and I wish the focus was more on the competitive running and not the fund raising.
  • As some have already touched on there are 35,000 places of which a percentage are set aside for ballot places. A large large proportion go to Elite, Championship, GFA and club runners who manage to obtain a club place, all of whom deserve their place which has been earned by hard training. The GFA entry is actually very doable for many now as the times have been relaxed in the last two years. If you're a male and really need to run London that much you can get a garanteed 2 year entry by running under 3:10 (the other qualifying times are easy to find on the VLM site). On the other hand, if you really want to raise money for a charity there are loads of ohter things you can do. Don't blame not getting into VLM on not being able to raise money for your charity.

     BOTF/seren nos: dead right.

  • image I got my 'loser' mag today also! I feel very disappointed too, 3rd year in a row. wish I had of entered Brighton again as a backup! But there are other marathons out there... I've been looking! Milton Keynes is running their first marathon the week after London on 29th April, its obviously smaller 6500 entries but still has avaliability if thats any help to anyone?! I'm going for it! Congrats to all those who got their places, and for those of us who didn't, we still have next year! Happy training image
  • Lisa - I also have a disabled child and running is my stress relief. It is easier for some people to run for charities as they work with lots of people who will sponsor them. I had to wait for 5 rejection before finally getting a ballot place. It may seem unfair, but that's life. I did Abingdon as my first marathon. Would recommend that you enter Brighton marathon next year for 2013 race.

  • You will only feel like a loser if you think the VLM is the only marathon worth doing. 6500 runners and no atmosphere? That's a bloody big race. Mind you all those roundabouts would do your head in.
  • Wobbled wrote (see)
    People who get in year after year probably have GFA/Champs places or know someone useful. No one is that lucky in the ballot.


    My OH has had either three or four (can't remember exactly) places through the ballot, out of five or six entries (not consecutive years).   I don't think he knows someone useful though!

    It is just random - I entered five times and didn't get it via the ballot, but I got my club place (that's another way of getting a place - join a club!)  Doing the race showed me that actually, I didn't want to do it again!

    I've done other marathons since - they really are just as far, and just as hard, but a lot more enjoyable.

  • I have never got a ballot place.

    Have run once for charity, twice on club places and assuming I run in April that will be 2 GFA places.

    Re wanting to run for charity and the OP, look at Shakespeare, it's a lovely race.
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