2015 marathoners.... newbies, seasoned, scarred

I also really recommend Pilates / yoga at least weekly as an injury prevention measure. I am not very conscientious about stretching after a run, I'm often too tired / hungry / need a shower. Putting aside separate time in the week to devote to stretching , ideally in a yoga class, is really helpful. Runners will often think this is a waste of time, but the real waste is missed training due to niggles which are more often than not caused my muscle tightness. My running club is rife with injury, and frustrated runners. But most still don't get it !
Pootle - totally agree about course measurement - you'll need to check it has been measured and endorsed by UK Athletics. A friend recently wanted me to do a half marathon time trial on a track with him - I said no way, what would be the point in all that effort without an official result!

Agree with SummerHouse that it sounds like sound advice from Claybury.

Have been getting stuff in my Facebook feed about Race for Life marathon - which is local, and in Oct. Have stuck a thing on their Facebook page asking if they have timing chips and proper course measurement….it's really not clear from the website, and if I'm going to run 26-ish miles I want a proper fricking time that counts towards good for age if I manage to go fast enough!

Fab advice Claybury. I'll remember that as my mileage increases over the next few months.
That is disappointing if London is 1 in 35 especially as I've just entered the ballot!! Someone has to get in tho so fingers crossed for us.

I've run London twice and it is a completely amazing overwhelming experience. I'll never forget the roar of the crowd as I ran over Tower Bridge. I felt like it was all for me and I felt like an Olympian !!
The training for me is a case of finding a plan , sticking it on the fridge, and sticking to it doggedly - selfishly. No hangovers, no run avoidance because it's raining.
Also I recommend entering some local races, parkruns , 10k's and half marathons. There are some 20 mile races which are fabulous training. Running with a club will help a lot.

People sometimes establish a goal for themselves but really it should be the other way round. When you have done the bulk of the training, race a half , then double that time and add 15 minutes or so. That is your goal. On race day, stick like glue to this pace. Don't even do 10 seconds a mile faster than it. If you have trained well this pace will feel easy / slow at first. By 18 miles you will still feel ok. The last 6 miles will take some determination but if you have trained and paced well, you will be overtaking people by now especially men who go off too fast

This is the science of marathoning. If you go even a little too quick at the start you pay exponentially at the end.
I believe most people are capable of a marathon. If you have a desire to have a go then go for it.

1 in 35 is ridiculous! So frustrating. They used to have a thing where if you applied and were unsuccessful 5 consecutive years you got a place but they stopped that too.

How much is the minimum sponsorship you'd be looking at summerhouse? I do hope you get a place one way or another, it obviously really means a lot to you.

1 in 35 is crap. I will need to go back home before watching the back-markers pass or will need to be physically restrained from yelling at anyone who isn't dressed in a heavy cumbersome costume or is at least 65+ and is walking that they've got a sought-after place and should put some sodding effort in….

All the more reason to try to qualify for a 2017 good for age, I guess.

I read the odds have gone to something like 1 in 35. Really annoying though that you don't find out until October.

Glad you survived soft play Summerhouse. I can remember when ds1 was a baby, I was quite excited about him getting to the age we could do soft play. Oh, how that changed

I'm sitting on my hands to stop myself entering I swore I'd never do London again and Brighton will be brilliant for the dses and DH to come and see me. London was a nightmare for them. The temptation is still there though......

Fingers crossed for everyone who has entered. Not sure what the odds will be this year with the ballot being open so much longer, I really hope it doesn't make it harder for people to get a ballot place.

It's really windy down here on the south coast. Not looking forward to tomorrow's run much!

Also applied for a ballot place. Not holding my breath though - the chances were low enough under the old system where they closed it after a max number of entries, and I suspect they'll have several times that number this year.

Morning all,

I never rujn wiht headphones as they just seem to fall out of my ears and annoy me (plus I am too disorganised to put stuff on my ipod...).

I have had 2 days off and am planning on doing 10k this lunchtime - getting lot of niggles so trying to be sensible so asa not to get injured...

alleypally - when will you find out if you have a place in the VMLM?

Did my entry for VMLM this morning, fingers crossed but not holding out much hope.

Happy Birthday Emski, I too have bought myself new running shoes for my birthday before.

Pootlebug, we are neighbours. I'm slightly further away now, but I used to run a pub mere metres away from the finish line. We hosted the meeting point for one of the charities and seeing the runners all come back motivated me to do it myself. I've done it twice now, it's a fantastic atmosphere, I love it whether I'm running or cheering on.

Oh god, soft play Thankfully my dose are older now, but remember well the hell that is soft play. Hope you survive SummerHouse

Run was lovely thanks, went along a bit of the seafront I've not been along before and found some posh bits of town. Ran into the wind so had a lovely treat when I turned back and got blown along

Last year when we had those awful storms, a couple of times they coincided with my long run and Oh my god, that was something else. That feeling of moving your legs at full pelt and hardly moving is very peculiar!

Happy Birthday Emski Enjoy your running shoe shopping.

I'm with you on running in the wind, it's tough! I'll be running 12 miles tomorrow and it's going to be blooming windy down here in the south coast. I imagine snails will be overtaking me

I listen to music when running but think it may be nice to hear your breathing and footsteps (foot stomps if ur me!!) But think I would really struggle. Ive always ignored the no earphones rules tho!! Naughty me!!
I ran 6.5 miles this morning but really struggled against the wind. It just saps my energy.
Off to buy new running shoes tomorrow. Its my birthday so am treating myself!!
I know what you all mean about running small races. Always a worry id be last!!