London Marathon: An Introduction

There are one off events which maybe touch this city more, but on an annual basis, nothing affects Londoners more than the London Marathon. Whether you’ve run it, wanted to run it, no someone that has, sponsored someone that’s taken part, gone to soak up the atmosphere, been inconvenienced by the road closures or, in the case of many, given it as wide a berth as possible, you’re living in a very thick bubble if a 26.2 mile run round the streets of London aren’t in your mind on that Sunday morning at the end of April.

London isn’t the original big city marathon; however England’s capital’s contribution to this challenging event is arguably one of the most significant. When the modern Olympics were founded in 1896, the marathon wasn’t a fixed distance, varying from one host city to the next, depending on the chosen route with a, give or take a mile either side of 25 kind of approach to course planning. It wasn’t until the
1924 games in Paris that the current distance of 26.2 miles was adopted as the standard measurement.

Their had been one running of 26.2 miles prior to this,
London in 1908. This was so that the race could begin at Windsor Castle, the King didn’t have a TV in those days so for him to see the race from the comfort of his own home it had to start outside his window, and finish in the Olympic Stadium at White City. Originally the route was planned to be 25 miles, however protests over the course taking in cobbled streets with tram lines in the closing miles meant a rethink was in order, with an extra mile being added taking runners over rough ground at Wormwood Scrubs.

For the vast majority for whom running the marathon is a personal challenge and not something we can do as a professional or international athlete, the thought that the London Marathon as we know it was born from a conversation in a pub is hugely comforting.

Chris Brasher who, in 1954 was one of the pacemakers helping
Roger Bannister become the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes and went on to win 3000m steeplechase gold at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, found the idea of marathon running intriguing, following a chat in the
Dysart Arms just outside Richmond Park in South West London. After returning from completing the New York Marathon, he along with friend John Disley secured sponsorship which enabled the staging of the first ever London Marathon on March 29 1981. Their objectives were to promote long distance running, raise money for charity and create a feeling of community, without question it’s been mission well and truly accomplished on all fronts.

7000 took part in the first London Marathon in 1981, thirty years on filling in the online application simply to be in the ballot from where lucky names are drawn is a race for the prize similar to buying a ticket for a major music or sports event.

In his book ‘From Last to First’, 1984 London Marathon winner
Charlie Spedding talks of going for dinner in a Central London Italian restaurant the night before his victorious run. Sitting on his own, he was able to overhear his fellow diners on next door tables complaining about this retched run which was causing so many roads to be shut the next day. You can just imagine what they were saying:

“Who do these runners think they are?”
“Aren’t there enough parks for them to run in?”
“Don’t they know some of us have church to get to, how are we supposed to drive when all the roads are shut?”

You know, exactly the kind of grumbling that goes on now when the tube is shut. And given how running wasn’t nearly as fashionable as it is now, you can understand why the “not in my backyard” attitude might kick in. Times have changed somewhat since the mid 80s, Time Out for example list running, or at least watching the Marathon as one of the
essential things to do in London. 162,000 agreed in 2009 as that was the number of people who applied to take part in the 30th London Marathon in 2010, meaning that over 100,000 people were disappointed they couldn’t be on the start line in Greenwich Park on April 25. Half a million people are said to gather along the route to support the 35,000 taking part, and at key points like Canary Warf, sport and entertainment collide to create something which is a cross between the
Notting Hill Carnival and the Olympics.

And it is that link between the elite and the average Joe and Joanne which makes the London Marathon so special. For those up the front this is one of the key events on their race schedule, even the best in the world can’t grind out a marathon for fun at that intense level week in week out. So for the athletics enthusiast this is an opportunity to see world class sport for free.

For those taking part, be they the club runner who can pull out a sub 3 hour marathon or the charity fun runner looking for a life changing experience, this is a rare chance to line up in the same field as Olympians, even if in reality they’re likely to finish nearer the bloke dressed as a pineapple than Paula Radcliffe. And, given that they’re on the same course, the fun runner gets that special experience of being cheered on by thousands, as if they’re an international athlete. In 2002 I was lucky enough to be part of the England team at the Manchester Commonwealth Games. The stadium wasn’t full for the morning session my race was part of, and I didn’t get out of the heat in the 100 metres for elite athletes with disabilities, but being the English competitor in front of an English crowd, for that brief moment the biggest cheer was reserved for me – the fact only four people in the crowd of over 30,000 had any idea who I was made no difference at all.

It’s the potential for the Sunday morning jogger to have a piece of the limelight which makes the London Marathon such an appealing prospect. I did hear later about a friend making everyone in a TV shop stop what they were doing to watch my race that Tuesday morning in July 2002. For those taking part in the marathon, or more likely the friends watching at home, being spotted on the TV, or better still, be interviewed by one of the many reporters dotted around the route adds to the excitement. I did have a microphone shoved in my face as I walked off the track at the City of Manchester Stadium and so was able to add giving an unintelligible, breathless sound bite of words which make no sense whatsoever to
Radio Manchester to my list of experiences which gave me the full fifteen minutes of fame package.

So although I do have the experience of running in a large crowd atmosphere, I’m told the London Marathon is like nothing else. When I filled out my online form in May 2010 I’d never even been to watch the Marathon live, let alone run it. A sensible training schedule and luck with injuries should make my marathon debut something to remember.

How I Came to Get My Place

Dear Runner

We regret that we have to advise you that your application to run in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon has been unsuccessful. Once again demand for places has far exceeded supply.

We are sorry that we were not able to accept your entry this year and hope you will have better luck next year.

David Bedford, Race Director

An extract from the letter I, and thousands of others received after our names were not drawn from the ballot for the thirty-first
London Marathon. The letter went on to tell me about the many charities that still had places available, where a minimum sponsorship would need to be raised in return for one of the great experiences London can offer.

I had filled out the online form at the beginning of May; one week after the 2010 Marathon had taken place.

Like most of us, I had watched or listened to on
Radio 5 coverage of the London Marathon on numerous occasions. As a kid I dreamt of leading the field home, something which of course was never likely to become a reality no matter how much training I put in.

Throughout my teens and early twenties it was the total opposite of the running spectrum that concerned me – attempting to run the 100 and 200 metres that fraction of a second quicker than the previous summer.

Even while at my best over the 100 metres, getting down to 12.5 seconds and competing for England at the
Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, London Marathon day and the experience that came with it always had the effect of making me think “I fancy some of that”.

Once I’d got bored with sprinting and taken up longer distances, the appeal dissipated somewhat, there’s nothing like dragging your body over the finishing line at the end of a half marathon to make you think that doing another straight away is just madness!

As time went on and I mixed with runners who had several of the full jobs to their name, and my own endurance improved, it became obvious that I really should give the 26.2 miles a crack: every distance runner should attempt one at some point, right?

Receiving the sorry, it ain’t going to be your turn this time letter wasn’t as big a disappointment for me as it would have been for many. Although London definitely had its appeal, there was always another year and plenty of alternatives, Brighton, Stratford-on-Avon, Edinburgh and Belfast all happen around the same time. Then there were also plans B and C for how I could still run London if I really wanted to.

Virtually every major charity worth its existence has London Marathon places, plus, there was the running club route.

The Stragglers where I am a member, due to being one of London’s largest running clubs, gets five places. Anyone that fails to be chosen in the public ballot can put their name into the hat. As luck would have it, or not depending on how you view these things, mine was triumphantly drawn one Thursday night in November.

So here I am, four and a half months away from my marathon debut, as up for the challenge as I have been for any I’ve taken on.

Among the replies I got to my Facebook status update announcing the news to the 140 people on my friends list was one saying “I hope you’re going to write a blog about it”.

Given the repetition of the training required to complete 26.2 miles, trying to make preparing for the marathon interesting to read about could be as big a challenge as running the thing, but I’m planning to give this my best shot as well.