London Marathon - ran last year so priority for next year?
Discussion
I failed to get a place for the 2012 London Marathon in the ballot, on mentioning this in conversation a surprising number of people inform me that their friend/neighbour/son/daughter/niece/nephew etc has done the race for the last 5 years and is doing it again next year.....
Bearing in mind that we are not talking about elite athletes here, is it true that if you have already done the race you get priority for the next one, or are these people just being lucky in the ballot?
Seems a bit of a swizz if that is the case given it is massively oversubscribed every year...
I'm not sure what the answer to your question is, but I'll add just a little bit of anecdotal evidence . . . I entered the ballot for 2012, so did my girlfriend and so did 4 of her work colleagues. Pretty much all within 2 hours of one another.
Out of the 6 of us, only one guy had ever competed in it before - for the last 3 years as it happens.
Guess what? Yup, he was the only one to get an entry.
I'm not too bothered as I've got an important IM race a month later, so it wouldn't be a priority anyway . . . but to compound your theory I only know 2 other people who raced last year - they both got places in this year's race as well.
Oh well, got an ill fitting red fleece for my troubles anyway!
Out of the 6 of us, only one guy had ever competed in it before - for the last 3 years as it happens.
Guess what? Yup, he was the only one to get an entry.
I'm not too bothered as I've got an important IM race a month later, so it wouldn't be a priority anyway . . . but to compound your theory I only know 2 other people who raced last year - they both got places in this year's race as well.
Oh well, got an ill fitting red fleece for my troubles anyway!
Phil,
There are various ways of getting into the London Marathon if you really want to do it.
You can
a) be really famous so they ask you to run,
b) put your name down to do a sponsored marathon for some charity or
c) you can get in if you have a good time from some other marathon.
There are also travel agents who have a number of places that you can book in combination with a holiday. I know it's a funny sort of holiday, but maybe it would be for your better half.
Running a smaller marathon is also good and you'll probably have a better time by doing this. Some of the roads round Docklands are a bit tight, notably "Narrow Street" if I remember rightly, so you need hurry to avoid the crush.
There are various ways of getting into the London Marathon if you really want to do it.
You can
a) be really famous so they ask you to run,
b) put your name down to do a sponsored marathon for some charity or
c) you can get in if you have a good time from some other marathon.
There are also travel agents who have a number of places that you can book in combination with a holiday. I know it's a funny sort of holiday, but maybe it would be for your better half.
Running a smaller marathon is also good and you'll probably have a better time by doing this. Some of the roads round Docklands are a bit tight, notably "Narrow Street" if I remember rightly, so you need hurry to avoid the crush.
Berlin Mike said:
Phil,
There are various ways of getting into the London Marathon if you really want to do it.
You can
a) be really famous so they ask you to run,
b) put your name down to do a sponsored marathon for some charity or
c) you can get in if you have a good time from some other marathon.
d) good time for half-marathon is another route in.There are various ways of getting into the London Marathon if you really want to do it.
You can
a) be really famous so they ask you to run,
b) put your name down to do a sponsored marathon for some charity or
c) you can get in if you have a good time from some other marathon.
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