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marathon
The 2008 Flora London Marathon will be held on Sunday 13th April and is one of the highlights of the running calendar. Marathon runners come in all shapes and sizes, so no matter what your motivation or your target finish time, there will be many others running with similar attitudes and abilities. As in previous years there will be a group of runners from the Hare and Hounds competing in this huge event, and you can be a part of it.
If you need extra competitive motivation to enter, the London Marathon serves as both the official Varsity Marathon and the BUSA Marathon, so not only would you be running for a personal time, but also against Oxford as well as all other British Universities.
If you are interested in running in the 2008 Flora London Marathon, then you should contact (preferably via email) the CUH&H Marathon Secretary, Simon Gilbert, (smg49@cam.ac.uk), early in Michaelmas term 2007.
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There are roughly 32,000 runners in this amazing event, but over 100,000 apply, so gaining a place requires a certain amount of luck (or a very fast previous performance).
The entry fee for the Flora London Marathon in 2008 is £23 for
students and £26 for UK Athletics-affiliated club members. There
are
several ways that you can obtain a place, and they are as follows:
- Public Ballot Places
You can obtain a public ballot place by submitting an application form that is included in the August edition of the "Marathon News", which is available from a number of sports shops (consult the official London Marathon web-page for a list of the participating outlets). You are informed whether your application is successful in December.
- Club (Brasher) Places
The Hare and Hounds are given 8 (with the possibility of up to 12) entry places for runners in the London Marathon, called Brasher places (Chris Brasher, one of the London Marathon founders, was an alumnus of St. John's, Cambridge). These places are open to paid up members of the Hare and Hounds, and are chosen by ballot in early-mid December. The entry for these is organised by the CUH&H Marathon Secretary, and information regarding these places will be sent out in Michaelmas term on the CUH&H email list.
- Charity Places
Charity Places constitute a large number of the runners in the London Marathon. These are obtained by applying to a chosen charity, which can be done well in advance of the marathon (depending on the charity) until a while after the public ballot has been decided. However, by the time the public ballot places are allocated, a large number of the charity places will already have been allocated. If your application for a charity place is successful, then the charity will give you one of its guaranteed-entry places, on the condition that you raise a certain amount of sponsorship money (ranging from around £800 to £2000) for the charity. The details of the conditions of the places are different for each charity as is the amount of support (in terms of both training, advice and fundraising), so it is advisable to research a few selected charities and compare, to see which suits you.
- Automatic Places
Automatic places are available for runners who have recently completed a marathon in an appropriate time.. If you are male, aged 18 - 40 and have run a marathon in 2:45 - 3:00 hrs in 2005/2006, or are female, aged 18 - 49 and have run a marathon in 3:15 - 3:45 hrs in 2005/2006, then you are eligible for a good-for-age (gfa) place, which entitles you to automatic entry into the 2008 London Marathon. If you qualify for one of these gfa places (and have official documentation to prove it) then you need to apply for a special entry form by Friday 5th October 2007.
If you are even quicker than that (!) and have run times faster than those quoted above, under the same stipulations, then you are eligible for a Championship Place and must apply for an entry form by the 4th January 2008 and a place by the 11th of January 2008.
For more information on all of the entry routes, then have a look here.
Training
Attempting to run the 26 miles and 385 yards of a marathon, at whatever pace you aim to run it, will take a certain amount of commitment to training over a significant period of time. Most training schedules for marathons last in the region of 18 weeks, which means that for the London marathon, training should be starting just before Christmas! However, the initial weeks are quite light in most programmes, and so just continuing to do the usual Hare and Hounds runs will suffice until the New Year.
Over the duration of the training, a runner will run 15 - 40+ miles per week on average, depending on their ability and target time. The mileage increases steadily until about three weeks before the marathon, when the it starts to reduce in preparation for the race. Therefore, before you apply for a place, you need to be sure that you're willing and able to fit the requisite amount of running into your schedule, otherwise your marathon experience will not be a pleasurable one. In order to see what amount of running you would be expected to do, based on your ability, have a look at some of the example training schedules on the links below.
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Once into 2008, there will be a couple of weekly training runs (~5 - 8 miles) for the marathon group, separate from the Hare and Hounds runs. The most important session of the week for marathon runners is the long run (~10 - 20 miles), which usually takes place on a Sunday morning. A suggested marathon training schedule will be posted here each week, indicating which runs will be offered as group runs, with details of routes, meeting times and venues. All runs will be entirely optional, but are well worthwhile, as you can meet and chat with the other runners, and share experiences, training ideas and advice.
There will also be organised groups travelling to races as part of training, and so that benchmark times can be recorded. This will include the Silverstone Half Marathon. Everyone is also encouraged to take part in the club-organised Cambridge Boundary Run.
The Hare and Hounds had 24 finishers in the 2007 London Marathon with some brilliant results. This year we hope to have an even bigger and better group.
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If you have any questions regarding the 2008 Flora London Marathon, training, places or just fancy a chat, then please email the Marathon Secretary, Simon Gilbert (smg49@cam.ac.uk
If you're keen to find out more about the details of marathon training (and running in general) try visiting these links:
Last modified: Thursday October 11 2007 20:50:55
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