London marathon 2021

49 watchers

ChrisHB Oct 2021 11:29pm, 5 Oct 2021 21,231 posts	0 ChrisHB There were 22000 men and 11000 women in the virtual race. I think I posted somewhere that there were 22000 people. If so, that was wrong.
Little Miss Happy Oct 2021 6:16am, 6 Oct 2021 5,024 posts	0 Little Miss Happy I'm guessing it's because of the 'age group championship' Kinky.
Brunski Oct 2021 8:29am, 6 Oct 2021 1,897 posts	0 Brunski I agree entirely KS, it can’t have been any fun having runners like me coming up behind and hunting for gaps (p.s. I said slower, rather than slow) It would’ve been far more sensible to spread the race based on an individual’s predicted time, I was left without anyone really to run. The groups that form in big marathons didn’t seem to happen, and there were one or two 45-49 runners I picked up on during my congested solo jog that I tried to stay close to but that ended when I needed a toilet stop. I probably wasted a fair bit of mental and physical energy picking a route through the field. As LMH says I think the waved start was compromised by them trying to put all the GFA runners in the same pen for their race. In all honesty I don’t think this was very well thought through as there were also age groupers in the champs start. So you could be ‘winning’ your waved start but there’s someone like Tommy Hughes running off champs start completing their run 15 minutes quicker.
Pothunter Oct 2021 9:37am, 6 Oct 2021 4,869 posts	0 Pothunter They didn’t have pacers specifically to prevent groups forming so I wonder if there was similar thinking around the age group v predicted time grouping.
Marvin Oct 2021 10:36am, 6 Oct 2021 131 posts	0 Marvin 100% agree with Brunski, it was poorly thought out. Even at the early pinch points I felt squished between slower runners I couldn't find space to get around and faster (older) runners trying to get around me. It's much smoother normally. And yes what was the point? All the people running for the competitive positions in your age group were in the champs start anyway. I hope they fix it for the future.
SailorSteve Oct 2021 10:44am, 6 Oct 2021 2,097 posts	0 SailorSteve I think I’m in a minority that doesn’t like pacers (not the individuals, obvs😁). Having taken responsibility for my training I like to take responsibility for my own ‘race’ and have found the roadblocks that they can create to be a significant obstacle. That’s leaving aside the fact that, subjectively I am aware of more examples of rubbish pacing (“banking time” and missing targets) than good practice. Each to their own of course. Just another variable to be dealt with on race day, one way or the other.
Shoddy Oct 2021 2:59pm, 6 Oct 2021 134 posts	0 Shoddy I found it a total joy from start to finish. The rolling start meant I could set off at race pace instead of shuffling along for the first mile or two. I enjoyed being able to run among people in fancy dress and offer encoragement to people slowing down or stopping. Aside from that I was able to focus on my own race without worrying about who I was overtaking or leaving behind. Overall my best if not fastest marathon, albeit two minutes slower than predicted, as I was able to maintain a decent pace into the last few miles. The weather was great and the support along the route was nothing short of phenomenal.
Pothunter Oct 2021 3:00pm, 6 Oct 2021 4,871 posts	0 Pothunter Agree with you on the pacers Steve. I certainly didn’t miss them and it definitely alleviated some of the congestion at points. In 2017 when our red start merged with the blue start we were running at 3:45 pace and they were at 4:30 pace. The huge groups around the pacers were very challenging to get past.
sallykate Oct 2021 3:04pm, 6 Oct 2021 8,315 posts	0 sallykate I think the rolling start would only be feasible in conjunction with bags being dropped at the Expo, not on the day. In previous years, the baggage trucks left very promptly as soon as the race started at 10am, to make sure that everything was organised for the faster finishers at the other end. You couldn't have fast runners setting off at 9.30 and the trucks not leaving until 11am. Logistically, I'm not sure you could separate baggage trucks to have some leaving earlier than others.
sallykate Oct 2021 3:05pm, 6 Oct 2021 8,316 posts	0 sallykate Shoddy, that is a lovely account of a brilliant day for you!