To want to do the London marathon

[Spck]

So watched a lot of the coverage today and so want to enter for April 2023. Is it worth the dark winter months of training for the buzz of crossing the finishing line in April?

Oh god don’t! I did it yesterday, awful, training was fine and I didn’t mind my training runs (longest just over 20 miles), but they were full of people getting in the way, being screames at, shoved by tired people who can’t get by without barging into you, waiting for ages in holding bays for your race release.

I did it for the 4th time yesterday (I’m fairly quick so have done it on GFAs rather than ballot luck)
I love it. Yes it’s busy but you just need to find a spot - the crossings are a pain but there’s what? 8 of them?
This year was the best I’ve ever had for not queuing for toilets - 5 minutes for me (admittedly was in an early wave - my friend in wave 12 said they were much longer) and got my bag back in minutes.
London is magic. What’s your half marathon time? If it’s under 90 mins you’ll probably get an automatic spot.

It's extremely difficult to get a place through the ballot (well, apparently around 350,000 apply and 17,000 get a place) so if you do want to do it, you'd have to get a charity place and commit to raising a huge amount of money. Unless you suddenly become a top class runner and run a GFA/championship/elite qualifying time of course.
So by all means enter for next year but the chances of you getting a place that way are fewer than 5%.

Marathons are very, very, hard and a huge undertaking in terms of time and effort. I sort of love them and hate them at the same time. But I keep coming back to the distance; it's an obsession..

Yes. I've entered the ballot for next for the first time in a decade, but your post completely reminded me why I've always said I'd never do London again.

It is great to experience once, but it's not a runners race, unless you're right up front. Congratulations though.

That's what I was told the one and only time I entered the ballot and I ended up having to run the damned thing 😆

It's not that easy to even get charity places now.

My husband ran yesterday and loved it, has entered the ballot for next year!

Try whatever you want to!

I signed up for a half marathon and then bought some trainers. I did two! Go for it.

Amazing, u are an inspiration. I’m trying to get into running. How did u begin? C25K?

I didn’t start running until I was 57 and ran a marathon when I was 60. It wasn’t London :- I did Manchester but it still gives me a buzz 9 years later to think that I actually did it. The training is tough and takes up a lot of time but I think it was worth it. I only ever wanted to do one marathon because of the amount of training time it takes but in the euphoria of having finished I did actually go in the ballot for London the following year but didn’t get a place. I’ve never done another one but I can still remember how amazing it felt when I crossed the finish line.

Good luck with that - I've just entered the ballot for the 15th time and have yet to get a place. The charity places are a cartel with every single one of them wanting £2500 in underwritten sponsorship. I don't feel I can sting my friends for that much for what is essentially a vanity project.

I cried most of the way round at the cheering and things people had written on their shirts. It was 28 degrees, I wore the wrong kit and got chaffing everywhere, had to walk most of the last 6 miles and took me 6 hours and 12 minutes but it was the best day of my life (until we got married this year! 😂) but I crossed that finish line, got that medal round my neck and went “I want to do it again!”

2018 was brutal!!
All that training in the beast from the east winter and then it literally turned scorching overnight!

I did it 2 years before and cried because it was snowing at the start!
Running a marathon for me is both about the training and mindset. The training is pretty tough and boring sometimes and staying focused and mentally strong for 26.2m. I've run 9 marathons and I've only felt I completed 4 feeling both physically and mentally strong from start to finish!
If you can't get into London I'd also recommend Brighton for amazing atmosphere (I think it's only charity places left but the fundraising targets are nowhere near as high as London) It's more spectator friendly than London too!

To be fair to the charities they have to give London a huge sum for the places, and so many people want them why shouldn’t they ensure they get a decent sum for it.
GFA for women isn’t particularly spectacular if you really wanted to do it stringing together a couple years good training and going to a really fast course - Boston U.K. or Manchester for example and trying to get a GFA is more realistic than a ballot place…

I’d never run more than 2 miles when I signed up in summer 2010 to run it April 2011. I ran for guide dogs as my dad was blind and his dog had died. Honestly I’d never do it again though I loved the day when I did it. Definitely a great experience. I ran regularly pre the Xmas - 5 miles I think, a few times a week, then started properly training in the January.
I did the Paris half marathon as part of my training and my 22 mile longest run in nyc, which was brilliant.
definitely go for it. My friend just did Couch to marathon in 5 months to raise money for a charity in memory of her father who died of covid, and she did it in 6.5 hours. Not fast but she didn’t care, she’s so proud of herself and rightly so.

I have done London twice, well, back in the day. My first Marathon was connected to quitting smoking after 25 years. Doing the London Marathon without stopping running was my goal, and I did it.

I got in again via the ballot the next year and it wasnt the same. I didnt get the buzz that I got the first time.

I get the same feeling watching London Marathon every year, wanting to enter next year, but it soon fades. I still love running, but I dont run more than 10k.

I would say to anyone, give it a go, the first time will be a magical experience and definitely worth it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to do the London Marathon.
I've just entered the ballot for the 6th time this year. Not expecting to get in though, but still hope I do.

I have ran the Yorkshire marathon twice and have entered for the new Leeds one next year which will be my 3rd. I am so excited now to do it, but know that I will regret my decision at some points during my training. The marathon is the easy part, the training however is not. Long long long runs with (what feels like) very little reward. No atmosphere, no medal. Just long hours putting into it. However, that finish line feeling is just the best and it is so worth it.

Before I entered the first marathon I asked for advice on here. I wanted to know the good and bad bits. The only bit I remember is that no matter what the maths say, you are not half way until 20 miles in.

IME a marathon is not two halves. It is a whole different experience. A good one (mostly)

I understand what PP's have said about London being pushy and too crowded. I've done GNR 5 times so I imagine the crowds are similar, but that means so will be the atmosphere. I think.

I think I will end up doing it through my running club. We have a queue. It might take me a few years, but I'll get there before I'm 50. I have no intention of a charity place. The cheapest place I have seen was £1500. I'd be lucky if I got 15 quid. Also GFA place!! HA!!! no chance. I'm not slow, but certainly way off the GFA place. Anyone who says that you can get one doesn't understand what is like to be a regular or slower runner.

I once read somewhere that the human body is designed to run up to 12 miles, so running a Marathon is an un natural thing to do. Honestly though, do it, it will change you.

Do it!

I was a non runner and I'm certainly not a running shape!

I signed up for a marathon with 6 months to go and used the book. The non runners marathon guide it was fantastic!

I'm a slow runner by size and shape ( short legs) I finished my marathon in 5 hours and I was chuffed . I cried the whole way around and the support was amazing ! It was one of the best days of my life! I still run now! Mainly 5-10k but I enter the ballot every year in hope of doing London!

Excellent post. I agree with almost all of it. Especially how much time it takes - not just the running but the tiredness afterwards eg the long runs at the weekend & needing to rest & refuel afterwards.

I don't recognise the recovery bit though. I had been running properly for a good few years before I did my first marathon, but honestly, I got up & went to work normally the next day, was back training a day later & didn't have any mental comedown

I had an utterly focused training plan and a very doable time to aim for (4:10) for my first. I trained 6 days a week but some of those days included short runs & sprints. It's absolutely as much about these as it is about getting the miles up.

I loved it. I had two horrible miles c21 miles but otherwise it was really enjoyable, not too fast & the biggest high bar giving birth.

It's absolutely brilliant!

However.. if you are currently a non-runner entering with next April in mind I would not recommend that. Leaving around 6months training from zero to marathon is asking a lot of your body. The following year would be more realistic though. You can always enter the ballot and defer to the next year.

Thanks for all the posts. I’ve been running for over 30 years but just U.K. to half marathon distance but wanting to try to get up to marathon before I get too old. I’ve entered the ballot - I know hard but someone has to get the ballot places.
the biggest drawback for me will be the time in training and wanting to sleep for the rest of the day after the long run.

*just up to half marathon

If you're already comfortable up to half marathon then to full marathon in 6 months is doable for sure.

Good luck with the ballot!

If you can run a half marathon you can run a full marathon. The worst part is the boredom of long slow runs.

There are better marathons to run than london though. It's not actually that great a course and the number of people running it is just crazy. Smaller marathons are much better and you don't have to go through a ridiculous ballot or commit to squeezing your friends for donations to get a place.

Yes. Definitely worth it. I’m not really a runner but got a ballot place in 2019. The start of training coincided with my world falling apart when dd1 died suddenly. The atmosphere and crowds on the day were amazing and I felt like a bloody superhero. I haven’t ran for over a year but entered the ballot again yesterday….

I'm a