London Marathon - club places

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Old Croc Nov 2017 1:50pm, 20 Nov 2017 28,833 posts	0 Old Croc we haven't got any English Athletics members
larkim Nov 2017 1:53pm, 20 Nov 2017 3,356 posts	0 larkim It does strike me as peculiar that for the sake of relatively few places (I don't disagree with 500 as a decent rough estimate) they are making this choice. I doubt there were hundreds of small, one man band athletics clubs being registered with an intent to bypass the system and get into VLM skewing the system heavily. There will be a fair few like my club which is primarily a juniors club but which has a handful of adults also as members for convenience as much as anything else, but equally from our junior membership there are some who will come of age in the next few years who really could / should be progressing to a marathon in due course so would be ideal candidates for getting club places allocated. I'd be surprised if it was done completely in isolation from England Athletics and the other home nation federations. I can see an argument which says that the club places are surplus to requirements - if you are a "good" club runner you should be entitled to a GFA place in any event would be the argument - but that is narrow-sighted and ignores the fact that not every club member will by definition be fast. And after all, the sport is supposed to be about inclusivity these days. I've tried to flag this to EA and to Athletics Weekly but with no success so far.
larkim Nov 2017 1:54pm, 20 Nov 2017 3,357 posts	0 larkim LOL @ Old Croc - I'm guessing that's due to Scottishness Allocation is be the same for all home nation bodies isn't it?
Old Croc Nov 2017 2:58pm, 20 Nov 2017 28,834 posts	0 Old Croc yes it is
Weath Nov 2017 4:55pm, 20 Nov 2017 122 posts	0 Weath As a very bang-average runner who would never get in under GFA I'd have no problems with them limiting club entries solely based on that criteria. At this time however that is not their position and the current reductions announced at what effectively is the 11th hours decision smacks of a '2 fingers to you' attitude. Frustratingly, with the small numbers they've just disappointed it will also not lead to any significant negative criticism either.
larkim Nov 2017 5:10pm, 20 Nov 2017 3,363 posts	0 larkim I don't know whether they've updated this since the publication last week, but the club entry page link now talks abuot 800 additional GFA places being honoured this year, so that must be the scale of the issue they are trying to resolve. Simple for next year - reduce the ballot places!
LazyDaisy Nov 2017 5:20pm, 20 Nov 2017 20,476 posts	0 LazyDaisy But the TV coverage doesn't want 'serious' club runners (of whatever pace) - they want people dressed up in fancy dress, or 'battling' something or other. Filling the marathon with regular runners in their club kit doesn't make for heartwarming telly
The_Saint Nov 2017 5:49pm, 20 Nov 2017 6,111 posts	0 The_Saint Journey, don't forget the journey
Marvin Nov 2017 5:51pm, 20 Nov 2017 59 posts	0 Marvin You probably already know. It's possibly of no interest. It may well be a kick in the teeth rather than a consolation, but Brighton marathon are offering 10 places (at £69.50) to all EA registered clubs. englandathletics.org
LazyDaisy Nov 2017 5:52pm, 20 Nov 2017 20,480 posts	0 LazyDaisy Yes but it says 'up to 10 places' but doesn't say what the levels are - I've emailed for further info.