Are you Good For your Age? Don’t miss the deadline for 2011 Virgin London Marathon entries

Strenua — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:15:21 +0000

Make sure that you don’t leave it to the last minute this year to send in your ‘Good For Age’ proof for the 2011 Virgin London Marathon which takes place on Sunday 17th April. If you already have a particularly fast marathon time since January 1^st 2009 then don’t forget to send in your proof for guaranteed entry. The deadline is 21^st August 2010 with the completed entry forms needing to be submitted by 4^th September 2010.

From my experience last year and hearing from a few other runners don’t rely on Royal Mail on getting your entry in on time even if you send it recorded or registered delivery. Things still go missing in the post and its hard to get compensation for a piece of paper. Get you proof and entry in now and if it goes AWOL in the postal system you will have time to resubmit another entry.

Good For Age Entries

You can apply for a good for age entry if you’ve run a full marathon in the same time, or faster than, the times listed below:

Men	Time (in hours)	Women	Time (in hours)
Age 18 – 40	2.45 – 3.10	Age 18 – 49	3.15 – 3.50
Age 41 – 59	sub 3.15	Age 50 – 54	sub 4.00
Age 60 – 64	sub 3.30	Age 55 – 59	sub 4.15
Age 65 – 69	sub 4.00	Age 60 – 64	sub 4.30
Age 70+	sub 5.00	Age 65 – 69	sub 5.30
		Age 70+	sub 6.30

In order to apply for a good for age place you will need to send:

Proof of performance
A photocopy of your running results, for example a certificate or newspaper clipping, from a marathon completed in 2009 or 2010.
Proof of age
A photocopy of your photocard driving license, passport or birth certificate.

Send your good for age application to this address:

Good for age
Virgin London Marathon
PO Box 3460
London
SE1 0YA

Championship Entries

If you’re a member of an athletics club associated with UK Athletics (UKA) and you’ve achieved a championship qualifying performance for a marathon in 2009 or 2010, you can apply for a championship entry place in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon.If you are Championship standard and have achieved the standard below, then you have until 2 January 2010 to submit your proof. You will then be sent an entry form to complete which will need to arrive back by 8 January 2011.

Men	Time (in hours)	Women	Time (in hours)
Full marathon	sub 2.45	Full marathon	sub 3.15
Half marathon	sub 1.15	Half marathon	sub 1.30

To apply for a championship entry, you’ll need to send us the following:

Proof of performance
A photocopy of your running results, for example a certificate or newspaper clipping, from a marathon completed in 2009 or 2010.
Proof of UK club membership
A photocopy of your athletics club membership card.

Send your championship application to this address:

Championship entries
Virgin London Marathon
PO Box 3460
London
SE1 0YA

More information about Good For Age entries can be found here or for Championship entries here. If you entered in the general ballot you will find out in early October.

Were you lucky in the ING New York City Marathon ballot?

Strenua — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:03:23 +0000

Paula Radcliffe 3 times winner of New York City Marathon

Last week was the ballot for the ING New York City Marathon. Over 100,000 people applied to be part of the 40^th running of this event, on 1^st November. Less than 40,000 will get to run it on the day, so if you didn’t get in you are not alone.

Fortunately for me as a New York Road Runner member I was able to secure a place. This will be my 12^th marathon and second in New York after running it last year. I have also volunteered at the start and finish areas of this race, so I will have loads of advice and tips specific to this race, to bring to you over the next few months.

If you didn’t get in the ballot and still want to run this year then you can still get guaranteed entries through the charity program or if you live overseas through the international travel partners. If you have never run a marathon before or are desperate to race in New York this year then that could be an option for you. Personally I would try again next either in the ballot (after 3 rejections your guaranteed to be accepted) or by running a time fast enough to automatically qualify (Men half 1.23; full 2.55. Women half 1.37; full 3.23).

Many people want to run New York because it is one of the big five, part of the world marathon majors. I admit that there is a great atmosphere running in one of those races, having also run in London and Berlin. But there are also great experiences at other major city marathons held later in the year. Dublin and Venice marathons are held the weekend before New York. At the end of November I have previously enjoyed racing the picturesque marathon in Florence, Italy. In the US the Philadelphia marathon is held a few weeks after New York, starting to Rocky’s theme tune and finishing in front of the museum of art. For more ideas check out 42k195k.com, this site has a great comprehensive list of marathons around the world. So if your training partner got through to New York you can still enjoy your long training runs together as long as you each taper properly as your race approaches.

If you are not up to marathon standard yet why not take part in the additional shorter races that often accompany the main event. Philadelphia also runs a half marathon and 8k at the same time and in September, Nottingham hold’s the Robin Hood Festival of Running combining full and half marathons, fun runs and relays.

So there are only 142 days till I will be on the start line on Staten Island, New York. Wherever you decide to race this autumn, keep checking Strenua’s World for training suggestions, recovery advice and tips for race day. Also let us know if you are running this year in New York or if you have any great marathon advice.

Strenua's World» Entry

Are you Good For your Age? Don’t miss the deadline for 2011 Virgin London Marathon entries

Good For Age Entries

Championship Entries

Were you lucky in the ING New York City Marathon ballot?