Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
Ballot Entry London Marathon has to CHANGE
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
I wouldn't want to see the London Marathon become a qualification-time only event like Boston. I've achieved GFA and Champs qualifying times, but FLM was what introduced me to running in the first place. Yes, the charity element is immense but even so, you've got a pretty incredible mix of top-class elite competition, the UK national championship for club runners, GFA runners... all the way through to novices. ''Golden bonds'' weren't around when the race was introduced, but one of its original purposes was to encourage mass participation in running and I don't think anyone can deny it's done a pretty good job of that.
I agree the GFA criteria are a bit skew-whiff and could be straightened out a bit with narrower age bands introduced, and surely this wouldn't involve any additional admin. You just need to set the rules and people apply accordingly.
VLM/FLM has always had a unique entry system compared to other marathons, and understandably can frustrate some of the more gifted runners; but I agree with Phil that it has the innate ability to allow the 'average joe' to do something really special for the day, regardless of their running ability or sporting prowess.
Likewise, it was the FLM that got me interested in running over 10 years ago. Prior to that i was a fat kid who tried to play hockey and football but was teased for being fat. It really change the way i live my life and am sure is the same for many other people. I am fortunate to have done this many times through GFA, ballot, but mainly through charity; and it is raising the money for charity I'm most proud of. Unless you really are in it to win it , now and after I am long gone few will care whether i ran sub 3, or 3.15 or whatever else, but hopefully someone might remember that we tried to do our best to make the lives of others better. I think that is what makes the marathon wonderful.
I've run it 15 times (including the first one) so guess I've been luckier than most.
Rejected this year but still have a chance of a club place but will not take up that option if other club mates want it, let them have their chance.
However I think GFA times need revising, why does a Vet 59 male have to clock the same time as a Vet 40 to qualify
I rather see a VET59 (AND I'M NOT THAT OLD YET) going round in 3:30 - 4:30 than a bunch of Charridee walkers going round while trying to get into the Guinness book of records for completing the course in the biggest group tied together.
🙂
Seren,, these 2 posts of yours seem to contradict themselves/. A midpack runner is by defintion average. First of all you say any midpack runner can hit GFA, and then you're saying only "Good" runners can hit them.
I think point 2 is more sensible!
That isn't the case as I read it. The marathon would have to have been one in the past 12 months so if you don't run a marathon in a year it doesn't matter how good you are you can't get GFA.
http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/marathon-centre/enter-virgin-london-marathon/good-for-age-entries/
Proof of performanceA photocopy of your running results, for example a certificate or newspaper clipping. The results will need to be from a marathon completed in 2010 or 2011.
I agree with the comment upthread about people not being able to enter in successive years but this is really difficult to enforce as I'm sure there would be a way round it.
The answer is, of course, to enter another marathon - we're going to do Brighton (for charidee) if I don't get in and he can't get a default place at VLM.
Congrats all who got in, commiserations to those who didn't x
???
There is very much a time limit on how long a GFA performance lasts - as IM has detailed above - and in any case, what good is another club member's application to you? Or do you just mean that their guaranteed marathon place doesn't swallow up any of the club's allocation?
To some extent your first point is true. I don't know about other clubs but in our club there isn't huge competition for marathon places, and maybe that's because it is an ''Athletics'' club, and a good proportion of members are youngsters not interested in the marathon. I'm not sure how easy it would be to rock up as a brand new member and claim your place for next year's race though.
I'd imagine a lot of clubs have some kind of minimum membership period to stop the Johnny Come Lately's signing up just to get a London place.
My old club's rule was 2 years, and out of say a 150membership, typically 4-5 people would have applied, and 3 of them would be drawn out of the hat.
i belong to an athletics club. London oes not hold that much appeal as there are other local big marathons that club members would rather do. Brighton seems to hold far more appeal than London. If anyone mentions 'the marathon' then you're talking Brighton.
i did get offered a London club place after only just joining the club - about 6 months. If that says anything.
I,ve enjoyed this post,probably more so because after trying for 5 years i have just got a ballot place.
I have run the last 4 though, my first raising £1500 for charity which was harder than the training and 3 for my club, I keep trying for gfa but not quite there yet,as seren nos says i am obviously not trying hard enough,with only being able to fit 50 mile weeks in around my 12 hr shifts plus getting injured. maybe she can set up a training blog for all us under acheivers
My current time is 3.21 so if you can help me shave 7 mins off i would be grateful also runners in my club who do 100 mile weeks would probably linch you for saying they are middle of the pack. As they seem to think this takes quite a lot of commitment.
To fit my mileage in i run after my shifts which means tea time at 2200 hrs or running my long runs after a night shift, and whilst training for london i normally run 6 days. so not sure where i could fit another 50 miles in, but looking forward to your surgestions
It's time consuming when you're as slow as me.
I feel like I'm not doing any running anymore, I only avarage 35 now. I keep thinking I haven't run.
100 a week is extreme, whereas my 50-70 is pretty manageable.
It's funny, when i did about 20, I thought 50 was extreme
I'm keen to run it a second time simply because I ran it ill before and I want to find out if the atmosphere does exist. Once that is done (I'm fortunate to still be in the rejects scheme) I won't bother again. Did look at charity last year as my SiL has breast cancer but asking people for £2000 so I can run as distance they know I can do doesn't seem right
Strangely enough I love the London marathon, watching or spectating, but after entering 3 consecutive years and not getting in I decided it simply wasn't for me, all the negatives that have been mentioned being the reasons why, saying that given that the event is really a mass charity drive and raises unimaginable sums for great causes I really can't knock it.
I would love to see the entry system 'my bug bear' changed but after speaking with several park runners this morning I think the systems 'fine', I spoke with 6 or 7 people whom I knew had entered and asked how they got on in the ballot all were very relieved they had been rejected, which personally I thought was crazy but they had been caught up with the VLM hype and so entered, (had they got in they would have done the training and given there all) although it's a minute group it does 'for me' sum up why there is such a clamour for VLM places.
My only suggestion to make the entry system work better, would be to open the ballot later in the year say July, this would allow the emotion's of watching/spectating the event to subside and more thought given to applying, whether the VLM computer system could manage with 2 month's less I don't know, but if the system is random how long could the selection process take?
Regarding GFA, nothing to add to what's been said, I'm 3 Min's of my qualifying time and will keep working on it, as it involves less hassle then the ballot.
I've run 10 Mara's to date and to be honest I'm more enthused by the European event's, I did Barca, Rome and Rotterdam this year and had a great races and enjoyed the Cities, I'm sure I'll get my GFA and eventually run London and understand why 'London' is 'The' Marathon.
Hey mate cheer up and sign up for Belfast. Trust me you will never forget running up the Falls Road and down the Shankhill and the locals will love you for it!
Yeah, so true
For a lot of people it's not the amount of running, it's the amount of your week it takes up
I received my fleece yesterday evening, so I now agree with the original post, THE SYSTEM MUST CHANGE because I didnt get in