It’s that time of the year again, when aspiring London Marathon runners start finding out if they are lucky enough to have won a ballot place for the race in April.
By now, most of you would have heard if your application has been successful and for the lucky few who have managed to get a place – you are envied by thousands of runners, gutted that they have been rejected (again).
Of course all is not lost.
Unsuccessful applicants can still run for a charity and “pay” for their place by raising at least £1500, but this target is often very difficult for many people to meet and often puts runners off applying for a charity place – which is a shame. Most charities are incredibly obliging and have specialist teams to give you support, tips and advice on how best to fund raise and make the process of “paying” for your marathon place as easy as possible. Why not just give a charity close to your heart a call and see what they say – you never know!
As for you lucky few who have your ballot place, do not waste the opportunity and get training as soon as you can. You have the chance of a lifetime to fulfil what is probably a lifelong ambition to run the London Marathon and poor preparation can easily make you a statistic as one of the thousands of runners who don’t even reach the start line – let alone the finish line.
Even if you just start off with some very gentle 3-4 mile jogs with the occasional walking break, its best to get going right away to get your tendons and muscles used to pounding the pavements.
For more information on how to get your marathon preparations off to the best start, check out my book The Marathon and Half Marathon: A Training Guide.