The ugly side of the London Marathon 2019 #NotInclusive

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larkim May 2019 4:15pm, 2 May 2019 7,388 posts	0 larkim @FDNB - agree with those points about the finish line time and water stations - the pre-race booklet definitely says 7pm closure of the finish line. Though I did note in her facebook post her only evidence of the finish line shutting down early was third hand information, so not sure if that was actually true or not. If they set off at 11:04, 7.5 hours would take them to 6:34 anyway, so that wouldn't be an issue. She didn't actually say that they weren't allowed to start until 11:04, just "VLM said we'd be off and out from around 10.48 but we didn't cross the line until 11.04 so definitely a lot of hanging around before I could get going." Not sure if that was them being prevented from starting by the penning system, or just crowding etc etc. She may have commented in more detail on TV / radio etc. I'm risking being unfair to her, and I do 100% support what she was doing and the fact that VLM appears to have stuffed up "something" here. But her rant reads like a moan about everything, not all of which was anyone's fault if she'd read the stuff in advance and prepared properly.
bish May 2019 4:25pm, 2 May 2019 4 posts	0 bish I was in the penultimate wave on the blue start and I didn't cross the line until 10.56 - I wasn't at the back of the wave either so its entirely possible that the front of the final wave didn't cross until 11.04
Homer May 2019 4:34pm, 2 May 2019 12,589 posts	0 Homer Congrats on your marathon bish
Autumnleaves May 2019 4:52pm, 2 May 2019 13,554 posts	0 Autumnleaves facebook.com If this link will work - another perspective on being even further at the back.
Lorraine May 2019 4:56pm, 2 May 2019 1,465 posts	0 Lorraine She was messaged and told they were closing the finish line at 6:40pm. The question that needs answering is why have a 7:30 pacer if they knew they had to start opening the roads after 7 hours ? The knew there was a 7:30 pacer so surely they should have started removing water stations after they had gone by. They had no access to water at any station. It was a hot day, they hadn’t run out of water. The verbal abuse was simply not acceptable. She knew what she was doing, how to pace but had no support from the officials.
swittle May 2019 5:02pm, 2 May 2019 54,374 posts	0 swittle AL: this competitor's ^ account of her VMLM reads more like guerilla warfare
larkim May 2019 5:12pm, 2 May 2019 7,390 posts	0 larkim Some shocking behaviour from members of the public there. Though I did cringe a little when she claims to have done "as much training as the next man". Hmmm. I hope that doesn't sound uncharitable, as she put herself through a much more significant challenge than I would face running a marathon - doing anything for 9 hours like that if she was close to her physical limit by the end is a monumental effort, even if in objective terms it is a very, very slow marathon.
larkim May 2019 5:14pm, 2 May 2019 7,391 posts	0 larkim @Lorraine - agreed, there is a fundamental issue in having a 7:30 pacer when the roads open after the 7hour pace train has gone through. Though if the 7:30 pacer had read the booklet in advance she could have queried that oddity (and equally, VLM / Runners World could have commuicated with her to explain what the 7 hour sweep would mean, why it was in place, and discuss the consequences of it, whether that is water stations, photos etc etc).
swittle May 2019 5:17pm, 2 May 2019 54,376 posts	0 swittle A very fair summary, larks. To have to 'orienteer' around much of the course without many of the mile markers and to rely on passers by for directions would bring most to tears, regardless of the anti-social conditions in places.
Fragile Do Not Bend May 2019 5:22pm, 2 May 2019 4,385 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend I’m making an assumption (I know, a big assumption) that she followed one of the training plans designed to get a novice to marathon distance in 16 weeks or so, if that’s the case she probably has done as much training as a lot of other runners on Sunday. (IMHO beginner to marathon in 16 weeks sound like a good way to break yourself, but that’s a whole other discussion)