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The London Marathon Essential Runner's Guide
2.9k Plays29 days ago
In this series, we dive into some of the world's biggest marathons to give advice and tips for runners taking part.
Between us, we've taken part in the London Marathon more times than you can shake a "Tap to Power Up" cardboard sign at (...probably about 20). In this episode of the pod we talk through everything you need to know before running the race, from when to go the expo to the best places to meet your family afterwards.
If you're running London, give it a listen.
Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at https://www.patreon.com/fearoftigers
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Transcript
Introduction & Podcast Format
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey, Tommy from the Run Testers and welcome to the Run Testers podcast. In this episode, we're doing a guide to the London Marathon. So we have all done London Marathon a number of times. And in this podcast, we're going to be talking through everything you need to know if you're going to be taking part in the race. That includes the start line, the expo, what the actual route is like and what you can expect at the finish line.
00:00:24
Speaker
This podcast is also a video on the YouTube channel. So if you would prefer to watch that, then don't listen to this
London Marathon Overview
00:00:30
Speaker
podcast. Right, let's dive in and talk about Luton Marathon.
00:00:42
Speaker
Evening, gentlemen. How are we doing? Very well. and very well, thank you. how are you? Very well, thank you. Another year, another London marathon. oh How's it come around so quick?
00:00:54
Speaker
know, I and know. Well, I'm not doing it this year, so it's not that big a deal, but you guys are, aren't you? It's not important anymore. London's dead. Yes, I'm doing it again, although I have just PB'd at Seville.
00:01:08
Speaker
um ah so I am trying to train hard again, but the motivation is a little little lower than usual. Okay, so this podcast is quite simple, really. We're going to be and doing race guides for a lot of the big marathons coming up over the course of the year.
00:01:23
Speaker
So what we're going to this podcast is talking through all the things to do with London Marathon that people who are running the the race, and this is recording this a few weeks before London Marathon, but if you're running London Marathon, you should find something useful in this podcast. And if you're not london running London Marathon, at the end of this podcast, we'll talk about how to get in next year and if it's how easy it would be to get in.
00:01:44
Speaker
Let's start off with just a little bit about London Marathon. think most people know it's getting pretty popular these days, increasingly every year. I think it was, I've some stats here. talking about. 840,000 people in the ballot. Was that the record?
00:02:02
Speaker
yeah oh yeah, it's definitely a record. Yeah. The 2025. So one website.
00:02:08
Speaker
according to one website um and obviously all of those people don't get to take part probably think it's around 17 000 people from that um all those people that have entered get to do it so it's quite small small percentage and that's done completely randomly but the number of people that are running in under marathon does increase a little bit every year uh it was the biggest year last year for uh for runners with 53 000 53 000 runners completing the race
00:02:35
Speaker
And they're going for the record again, aren't they? They just out there keep sparring with Berlin and New York, I think, for being the holding the world record for the biggest. This year they're going hopefully be the biggest again. That's her aim. I thought it was New York. I didn't know London and was the biggest.
00:02:49
Speaker
At the moment, it is New York. if they I think this year with a number of participants, they will flip over and kind of beat them yeah by hundreds, I think, not not thousands. but It's like when Spurs built their stadium to be like 60 seats bigger than Arsenal. Yeah. Well, we'll just have to wait and see how big it gets because those streets can only hold so many people and spectators.
Pre-Race Considerations & Expo Tips
00:03:20
Speaker
Let's start at the beginning. Let's talk about before the London Marathon. So probably the most important thing before the race is, well, there's probably two things important before the race. One is for people who are visiting London to do the marathon and they're maybe coming from abroad and they're not entirely sure where to stay.
00:03:38
Speaker
And the other thing is the expo as well. So let's start with, ah if you're coming to London to do the marathon, where are the best places to to stay? Perfect. Well, London's a big old place, but I so i live west and i can manage to get to the expo and the start you know fairly easily. It's an hour or so. So you've got the whole of London to play for, really.
00:04:00
Speaker
But for me, a lot of the main stations where you'll be leaving, you know you're talking about iss Victoria um is one of the key ones to to drop down. So anywhere in and around that area. and Yeah, but...
00:04:12
Speaker
London Bridge as well is a good way. I mean i would say just being if as long as you're on Transport for London, TfL, yeah I wouldn't worry too much about it. if you go outside of London and you're relying on national rail, they will just occasionally have train disruptions on marathon weekend, which seems incredible to me. But um once you're on tfl everything is kind of an hour and a half, isn't it? Almost maximum.
00:04:31
Speaker
But yes, the start is obviously in Greenwich, that's the southeast of the city. The expo is in Docklands, which is the east of the city. So if you've got an open, if you want to just be to minimize your travel time, you could look at that. But then obviously the finish is right in the center of town. So if you do stay far out east, that will be a longer journey as well. So I come from the northeast myself. It's very easy to get to the start, I find, with a couple of trains. But yeah, anything around, like I say, Victoria, Waterloo, ah London Bridge, all get you to the start pretty quick. and tfl on the day the transport's free isn't it so on the day of the race you can travel on the underground for free as long as you have your race number i believe yeah i mean actually in the mornings everything just seems to be just open up everything don't they don't they start checking numbers too much but yeah it's definitely worth having a number handy in case they do check yeah so uh for any anybody come to london marathon as you can expect the hospitals and places do get quite expensive on marathon weekend because there's so many people come in so if you are ah
00:05:29
Speaker
you're you're trying to do it on a budget, ah London is a pretty good place to actually stay further out. And as long as you're on the, on the, on the transport for London line, you can actually save yourself some cash because as nice as it is to stay around Tower Bridge and near, near the, near the finish line, it's going to be pricey.
00:05:46
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. the The one thing I would say, I'm not sure I would personally choose to stay near the start. No. I think because then, you know, if you're traveling in, you want to be part of the city and part of all of it. You know, you're going to have a day to trek over to the expo, but for the rest of your trip, you're going to be a little bit disconnected if you're over way out east where the start is.
00:06:05
Speaker
Greenwich is nice, but yeah, you're not seeing much of the city. It's good views from Greenwich, I suppose. Okay, Expo. but Lots to talk about with the Expo. All big marathons have an Expo. You go there a few days before the day before the event, and that's where you pick up your race bib and your i think your T-shirt as well and some other bits and pieces. But it's basically ah massive, it's like basically a trade show, isn't it? A lot of it, the Expo. So once you've picked up your...
00:06:32
Speaker
all your stuff then you can wander around look at all the different brands that are there and there's normally a massive shop for ah new balance at the expo there will be this year again where you can pick up kit the choose of people buying london marathon t-shirts and shorts and hats um so the expo what people need to know about the expo Expo is where you get your race number. I would say first, extract always check your race number in your bag because I think just just make sure you got everything clear in your mind. You actually got everything you need from the Expo because you never want to have to go back. I recently had to go back to an Expo marathon and it was bit annoying.
00:07:07
Speaker
um But yeah, it's on the Docklands Light Railway, the XL, which is one of the train lines in London. That's the easiest way to get there to get to Custom House or Prince Regent. think the stops are I think both are pretty good.
00:07:18
Speaker
You can a lot of walking, the Expo, and it can be really busy certain times. So this is what I was like. If you're coming from outside London, it's often you can't do this. You have to come in and go on the Saturday to the Expo, which means you can do a lot of walking and have quite a lot queues and stuff like that the day before the marathon. So if you can get to London a bit earlier, the Expo opens on Wednesday, I think now.
00:07:39
Speaker
And if you can go there Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it's much quieter and you get those steps done earlier in the week rather than doing 20,000 steps a day before the marathon. But other than that, the Expo's pretty fun. There's always actually very nice atmosphere. I think the atmosphere's probably even better on Saturday. theyre a little bit more hectic and usually are some nice guest speakers. There's loads of cool like kit to look at and nutrition stuff to look at. and all that kind of thing. But it's a busy, hectic environment. For me, as so I've done London a lot. I always try and go out here in the week because i live in London. If you do do that and you have the chance to sneak out you know after work or the break or something like that, it's worth doing because it's pretty wild. It takes a while to get there.
00:08:13
Speaker
And yeah, on Saturday, it's chaos, right? Yeah. Yeah, I always try and get in on the Thursday for sure, try and get it done early. It's nice and calm, nice and quiet. You get all of the, know, if you want to do all the photos, all the little photo op places, they're more empty.
00:08:25
Speaker
There isn't, obviously, as much of the atmosphere, but there still are a lot of the talks going on. The other thing, I think now the um the Elizabeth line runs in as well, which is actually really quick. That's a really quick way because the Docklands Light Railway can be a bit slow and chuggy, but the Elizabeth line will zip you in.
00:08:40
Speaker
and out there really quick. So that's that's now a really handy way to get in, particularly if you're staying over west, which is how I access, but anywhere further west or from central, you can jump on and it's quick.
00:08:51
Speaker
100%. Forget what I said about Dogland Light Railway. Elizabeth Line the best line in London. That's what I'll be using. And if you land at Heathrow, you can go straight to the expo. Just knock it out from the Elizabeth Line. Do it straight away. Get your bib and then go to wherever you're staying if you are flying in.
00:09:03
Speaker
God, yeah. Elizabeth Line. What a line. yeah um and if you'll go you will have to go to the expo but make sure you take the right stuff with you so i believe you need a ah identification with you uh when you're picking up your your bib yeah and you probably need there's the email with the qr code as well isn't there so yes it's normally a very very quick process as long as you've got the things that you that you need to show them and that otherwise it can be quite a longer process Okay, so that's the expo done. You've got all your stuff. You're going for dinner the night before, getting your pasture in.
Race Day Logistics & Start Line Tips
00:09:35
Speaker
Let's head to the day.
00:09:44
Speaker
Okay, so the the London Marathon start is at around 9.35, which is done in waves. So um I can't remember how many waves there are, but you'll be allotted your wave based on the projected finish time that you're given at the point of signing up to the race.
00:10:01
Speaker
And those waves can go on for a while. So from that 9.35 start point, they will go on until like half 11. So yourll startup you'll know your start time from the pack that you're sent digitally.
00:10:12
Speaker
And that's when you know when you need to get down to your pen. We talked a little bit with before about how to get to the start. So we don't need to cover that. But when you get to the start, what can people expect? Lots of different starts is the big thing about London. Yeah. Is it three, Kieran? Yeah.
00:10:26
Speaker
There are three, blue, green and red. Yeah. And this year there's an interesting one. There's ah there's ah there's a ah team green start as well, which is for people who agreed not to do a drop bag and there's a special start for them. I don't know which ah which place that is, but if you signed up for team green, you'll need to find out where that is.
00:10:43
Speaker
How's it the green start? It would make a lot of sense. if they've done it with the blue be messy i'd love it those people are going to get special um there's a little bit more there's more toilets and i think access to coffee and stuff there's bit more room if you've been sort of more environmentally friendly so they're not having to truck all the bags which i thought was an interesting that's a great idea tom you hate you never drop your bag you love just carrying things with you it's ideal you i've not used a backdrop in years yeah that's nonsense um but yeah there's three there's the start they're all dotted around greenwich park and actually in your documents telling you your starting pen you'll get your color your just your start time but also they usually suggest the station to go to because there's there's greenwich there's maize hill there's blackheath all of these are slightly nearer the different starts and the idea is that it will funnel people into different
00:11:29
Speaker
areas so the transport is less busy the starting area is less busy and it just means that the whole process is hopefully a little bit it is very frantic there are still 50 000 people going to one place in london and they're all going about the same time and then those three starts set off and they all converge after about three miles 5k in the race so it does mean again it's a little bit less busy right at the start when you're running on the roads so yeah your starting area color is definitely key because if you go to the greenwich park's big and obviously there's loads of people there if you if you're at the wrong color it can be quite a long walk to yeah your correct starting pen and again like if you get there and you know you're actually a little bit short on time you don't want to be sprinting through greenwich park it's a hilly park as well um to try and um to try and get to your right start and and there's also the the starting where the starting group in um just on that was it blacky green or something which is just outside greenwich park oh yes right
00:12:19
Speaker
same general green area same general green area but just in case anyone's watching this going this is that's not in greenwich park might my tip for this i think it's like if you the way that i've always done it it's much better to be i mean i'm early to the airport right so i'm always there i'm like that kind of guy but it's much much better i find to get there earlier than you should because the trains do busy up quite quickly they get quite packed it can be frantic and then it gets know if you're a stressy person like me and you're sort of seeing trains pass and you can't get on them, or it just feels packed. It's too much.
00:12:50
Speaker
The headspace goes. So I prefer to get down there early. If you get into Greenwich as well early enough, there are some cafes. And if it's a cold day, you can get in there and perch where there's access to a toilet.
00:13:01
Speaker
And then you can leave a little bit later and walk over to your start. But you've had that kind of nice warmth. You get yourself of a coffee. You can chill out a little bit. if you get in early enough rather than do that kind of last minute frantic run that's what I've done a couple of times and it's been it's just sort of flipped that from being quite a stressy morning into being nice and chilled where yeah 100% and it's worth is Greenwich Park like even the starting if there's there's no cover really so yeah Like you are, there's occasionally, I think in a couple of, there's lots of tents for people to change in, like very small, like tents, like white those white canopy things. So, you know, if it's a cold day and or it's raining, it's exposed. So is that balance, like you say, yeah being there early enough, but also if you yeah if you can be somewhere nice rather than waiting in the park.
00:13:41
Speaker
Don't wait too long in a cafe. I've a friend who's done that though and then ended up running in a way. Yeah. so when when you get into those um those those start areas, there's not a lot in there. You'll, of course, have toilets. And normally the toilets are actually pretty good at London Marathon. and There's always queues, but some of the marathons are much worse than others. In London, I've always found to be pretty good for toilets.
00:14:01
Speaker
Yeah. Cue before you need those. The key I think. Just get queuing straight away. you're there early, get queuing. Get changed, get queuing because it could be 20 minutes and by the time you're at the front, if you don't need to go, great. well you've done is stood around anyway. is's what you were doing anyway, so you might as well stand in a queue.
00:14:15
Speaker
Yeah. that's I mean, it is massively dependent on the weather, isn't it? There's some years that people are just huddling around and the the other side of fences in the toilets to try and hide from the wind and rain because they've not bought ah ah a jumper or anything and they're stood in a vest.
00:14:28
Speaker
yeah And then some days it's really hot and you're doing a similar thing where you're trying to try to get out the sun. So that's another good point as well in the starter area is that you might be there for a while. You're fairly isolated when you're in there from other things. So you if it is cold, if is it is really hot, you need to but prepare for that in advance because you could you could be there for a while.
00:14:47
Speaker
yeah the heat can be actually the last couple of years it actually has been in the starting area getting a bit hot uh and there was also lots lots of races places you can hand in like jumpers that you use to keep warm then they'll take to charity shops or recycle in some way so if you have an old jumper that you're willing to or an old race t-shirt that's usually what i do that you're willing to give up just to keep yourself warm you'll be able to dispose of it in an appropriate way don't just fling it at people yeah And make sure you take, I always take loads of water with me into the start thing because you can't get any in there. So, um, make sure you, you can have plenty more than you need, but just, you know, don't down it before you start the race.
00:15:22
Speaker
Um, and then, then if you need any snacks or anything, take them in there because, you know, if you get in there early, you know, you might, you might realize you're a bit peckish by the, by the time the race starts. So that's it really for for the start area. And then what happens is you start to, um the way that they did it last year, they have separate sort start areas that come off of that that pen that you're in.
00:15:44
Speaker
um And that's that's sort of done on a random basis, isn't it? So you just basically get siphoned into these different areas. ah don't so I know some of the good for age runners are at the red start. Yeah. I think then green has a lot of... Green is quite... Yeah, it does seem pretty random, but I know certain groups have moved to certain starts, but I always thought the red was the biggest start, I don't think that is even true. Yeah.
00:16:05
Speaker
So yeah, so that, so once once you're in there, you do all you're doing is you're waiting, you'll hear whoever's presenting it in your in your start line, you'll hear some music probably, and then you're just basically waiting for the for the for the start of the race, which is very exciting. But by the time by the time it comes around, you're desperate for it to happen.
00:16:26
Speaker
Yeah, especially when it starts and you're actually still quite a long way from the start line because it's you know such a big crowd and your heart's just going nuts and you could actually wait like a couple of minutes to actually get across it. Oh, and this one, this one bit out as well. The, uh, there will be lorries in the start area as well, which is where you put your, uh, bag if you're dropping off a bag, uh, and those lorries will drive to the, to the end of the race and that's where you pick them up. So they, they, in the same lorry that you drop off in.
00:16:50
Speaker
You have to, yeah, and you have to give them your bag quite a long time before the start because you need to get going. So will have like half hour, 40 minutes without the stuff in your bag. So that's where need to maybe have an old jumper or something with you.
00:17:01
Speaker
yeah Yeah. Yeah. The other thing, if it's really wet, it might be, it can be smart to take something to put over your shoes. I can't remember if it's, it can be very grassy like it. If you get, wet feet for that first bit so some people I've never done it I've always just handled the wet feet but people take bags to wrap over their shoes just to keep their feet dry for a bit I know if you're not keen on getting wet cold feet then that's probably a good idea as well yeah it's worth mentioning it it is you are waiting on grass pretty much every start is on grass so even if it isn't raining there's a bit of dew there you know kind of like you say you like Kieran says getting your feet wet
00:17:41
Speaker
Okay, so let's talk about the big bit, the race itself. So the London Marathon course, very famous course, it goes past some pretty big landmarks. But if you haven't done the race before, it is is quite a differing race from start to finish, if you've if you've only seen sort of the highlights on TV.
00:17:59
Speaker
What are your views on the London Marathon course? For me, starting early, the the first bit, I think, to point out to people who've not run it before, thinking it's that convergence of the three different routes that come in, the three starts where they converge.
Race Course Insights & Challenges
00:18:13
Speaker
you will If you've got someone else in another start, one thing to say is forget any idea that you might meet them up. That's not happening because it's I've tried that. That's absolutely magical. well, if we run a up about the same pace, when we converge at, what it, three and a half miles or something? Yeah. Yeah, you won't.
00:18:27
Speaker
um It starts quite downhill as well, doesn't it? and that's there's So it can be quite a fast start and that's one thing. Any marathon, obviously, you want to pace it nicely, but this one, I always remember it feels like a big charge and it is very easy to to take off too quickly and particularly where those then those those starts converge because it converges on a downhill and there's a bigger bit of atmosphere and you can get swept up in that and you can kind of kill your pace if you're not careful.
00:18:53
Speaker
Yeah, I would say London Marathon is probably the hardest of the mate of the big ones I've done to pace because you want to try negative split ideally to run your best marathon. And it's really hard to do that there because there are those big downhills in the first half. There's a couple of small uphills in the second half. And, um, yeah, so you kind of got to take, take a bit of the speed down the hill, which really, really important to slow down bottom the hill back to your actual race pace because lots people won't be, and you'll just be, well i was running with him down the hill or her and I'll just run with them now. And, um,
00:19:21
Speaker
That's how you yeah you can kill your race quite easily at London. But um yeah, that's definitely the biggest thing I think about in terms of the actual course profile. like There's loads things to talk about in terms of the great points with the crowds around certain areas. But the actual course profile is that.
00:19:34
Speaker
That's the big thing that can make or break a race is messing up those downhills and just getting way too excited. Yeah, so um a lot of people talk about the ah the way that the London Marathon is is set out.
00:19:45
Speaker
And the first part of it, maybe the first half, is is the harder section for a lot of people. Trying to remember where all the places to go, you're basically running around, you're coming out of Greenwich, you're running down to Woolwich.
00:19:57
Speaker
Yeah, you go ah you go east at the start to curve around to then come back, get to basically the banks. You're not really on the banks of the Thames, but you're adjacent on a street. And then, yeah, the first really big point is Cutty Sark at 10K, which is unreal.
00:20:12
Speaker
I mean, there are now crowds in every bit on the London Marathon route, I would say. yeah The last few years, I don't think I've seen a single spot where people haven't been going bananas. Cutty Sark is crazy, and it's the first taste of what's to come. And then you have quite a long stretch through like Rotherhithe and stuff all the way to London Bridge and um Tower Bridge. And that used to be a little bit more chilled and it isn't chilled at all now. It just ah it just gets progressively every mile madder and madder the crowd until you hit Tower Bridge, which is like the best feeling of your life. That's okay.
00:20:39
Speaker
I always find the first bit ah the toughest bit. I mean, you've got the excitement of Kuti Sark, but you've got quite a bit of energy then. It's quite a nice point there. But then you start to lock in and you're getting towards Tower Bridge and you start to yeah you you start to get hit by a bit monotony at some point.
00:20:54
Speaker
Although there's some great... I mean, there's not i yeah, that first bit, not so many views. there's a bit sort digging in It can be a bit... Well, don't know. Yeah, there's not loads to look at, but there is some brilliant things. Like very early in the morning, there will be people standing outside pubs.
00:21:09
Speaker
Yeah. Necking beers and doing whatever. can't believe how drunk the crowd is at London. know Yeah, and by that time, it's like, what, 9.45 or something? of this Yeah, there's people already at it and having fun. And yeah, that's quite it's quite amusing. So there's there are things you could... you could In the space of a mile, you will see someone in their dressing gown on the on their like house in Woolwich drinking a cup of coffee and then someone yeah fully dressed in a pub just hammering it already. yeah But like I you build we bat build up to tower the the mile, but even before Tower Bridge is crazy. like The amount people going bananas, it's amazing. the you know The adrenaline goes crazy. You go up Tower Bridge, obviously the first half is slight uphill, most bridges, and it's going bananas both sides. Then you come down the downhill Tower Bridge and
00:21:49
Speaker
that you know you're just before the halfway point you're probably feeling good if you're not feeling good you have gone out too fast um and the uh the crowd's going to list and yeah that's the point when you start dropping like unbelievable fast k's and you really have to rein yourself in because it's a downhill it's yeah you're it's like you're a footballer suddenly getting cheered by 50 000 people and it's yeah it's brilliant it is brilliant i absolutely love it um And then you turn right and go into back or towards Lion House stuff like that. And it's still crazy, but at least that's when you that's nothing you really have to dial in because almost the first half you're thinking about Tower Bridge, I think quite a lot. You're almost thinking about halfway, oh, Tower Bridge me amazing. And after that, it kind of hits you that there's there's a long way to go and you've done Tower Bridge. And now there are still crowds, but it's, I've done the big crowd bit almost until the finish. And now I've got to kind of go through Canary Wharf, Mud Chute and all these places. And there's still loads of people there, but it's not quite the same vibe as Tower Bridge.
00:22:40
Speaker
Yeah, and I always find with that bit that like I think Canary Wharf is is a really difficult bit because of the way it winds around the roads and everything. And the fact that you're actually going away from London. So mentally, it's quite tough yeah move to make because you're thinking, Christ, it's going to be another 45 minutes until I see this better road again. Yeah, turning right on Tower Bridge and seeing people going the other way towards the finish is...
00:23:03
Speaker
is that's ah That's where I remember seeing you going the other way. So you've been quite far ahead of me. and I guess that kind of makes sense. I don't know. I can't don't know how much time is down there. But yeah, the Canary Wharf is also really tough. If you are someone who's going for a PB and pacing yourself, your watch is going to go crazy in Canary Wharf. It is not going to be useful for you. Like even the best watches of dual band GPS lose it a bit around there. So that's the point to start manually splitting, you know, you working out your lap pace by actually looking at the markers and clicking your watch on them.
00:23:33
Speaker
after when you're out of canary wharf they're pretty accurate again i find but you will have a couple of k there where it goes a bit goes a bit crazy but yeah when you turn and go back towards shadwell limehouse that is when you are on the direction to home but it's what's that it's probably you still have quite a long way yes you still only probably got what 32k i think when you start turning back still got too good yeah good 10k to go there Yeah, and it won't but once you're past Tower Bridge again, and you are pretty close. But that, I find, is a bleak stretch along ah a long Embankment.
00:24:03
Speaker
It's straight, it's long. The crowd is great. There is the Tower. We wouldn' can come but we can talk about the tunnel. the tunnel is The tunnel is one of the darkest places on the London Marathon route because it's the only place where there aren't crowds, which means a lot of people take a chance to um to basically have a moment without the crowd seeing them, whatever that might mean. And also just in general, yeah, have a little stop and a cry or something else.
00:24:22
Speaker
The Embankment Tunnel is bleak. lots of people not wean guys is it but i would one thing say about the tunnel is there's been a couple of people who've collapsed in that tunnel or in the last years i think or at least one person and it feels like they almost got out of the pub of the crowd before they stopped and actually realized what a bad state they were in that That is a hard place, I think, for the emergency services to get to. So, and obviously people aren't seeing you. So I think it's not a place to stop if you're reading really bad. I would go to the ambulance services. They're on the route all the way. And if you're tunnel, you are a bit more isolated. And actually obviously can be dangerous if you are in real trouble.
00:24:59
Speaker
if you If you roll it back a bit just before, there's two there's two bits. when you I think when you turn off Tower Bridge and and you do that right and you know you're going into that section, that's a bit where I feel this race can get a bit lonely. you know you're You're a bit isolated. It's the bit where you actually have to dig and it's kind of hurting.
00:25:14
Speaker
You've come away from all that kind of noise and the hubbub and all of a sudden that adrenaline dies off and you're like, yeah okay, now I'm in a battle. And that's where that real battle might hit, particularly if you've overcooked it on Tower Bridge or a little bit after that. Yeah.
00:25:33
Speaker
ah the fast couple of k off the tower bridge that's where people tend to to kill and then but actually when you come back and i think it's sort of shadwell where you do there is that out and back yeah that's a great place for to have people um give it away because ever will go there but and' go and watch, you can actually get to see your family or your supporters twice very quickly. So you go through the sort of bit which can be quite bleak, but having people there to do a little switchback can be, you get like a double boost within a couple of miles, which is really, really magic. You see them twice. So that's a good way to to offset that if you're thinking about where to to position your support. and then they can still, they should in theory, and unless you're running as fast as Nick, have time to
00:26:10
Speaker
get back to the finish line as well or close to it along the embankment to see you again. Yeah, I think that is a nice spot. I think once you get back to the area where you've, when you've, basically once you're back past Tower Bridge, you feel like, because yeah, when you turn right, you feel like I'm just going to see all this twice, even though you're not really apart from that one little bit, it's like, I've stopped going back on myself now. I'm now on the final bit towards the air finish.
00:26:29
Speaker
Which is a long stretch. It's a really, it is a popular stretch. I mean, I, I've always been struggling there. You know, even when I've run PBEs, that's the most scenic point of the whole course where you can see across the river and stuff like that, but I've never enjoyed any of it.
00:26:42
Speaker
So then then once you've got through that bridge, the famous bridge, well, tunnel, sorry, um and that you you get out to the the bit that everybody remembers, that you're coming up on embankment, that's where the crowds are absolutely mad. You're on the final stretch then.
00:26:57
Speaker
I actually really struggle with that bit. We spoke about it before, but normally I'm in a lot of pain at that point. And the last thing I want is people cheering me going, you can go faster because I can't. You're a really grumpy person about that, yeah. There's a great focus of Tom in that section. There's nowhere that you can hide. You can't go either side of the road just to have a little walk or just a you know little jog where you're struggling.
00:27:17
Speaker
can't go in the middle because there's so many people there. So it's a real it's a real tough one. It's great for you know the crowds and people some people obviously love it because they um you get all that support and everything along the way. But yeah, I'm just a grumpy man, so...
00:27:29
Speaker
Yeah, I find I just, yeah, I struggle with that bit as well. Like you are just trying to drag yourself home and tour about Big Ben and when then you hit Birdcage, Birdcage Walk, which is quite a long way still from the finish, but you are in the last K, I guess there, last mile.
00:27:44
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And then they get the signs, which i now I don't know why any race ever does this. I hate these signs. 800 meters to go. That's a long way. i don't want to be told that. and I will say my family often go to Birdcage Walk for young kids.
00:27:58
Speaker
And it seems counterintuitive that that would be a good place to go. But it's one of the quietest places on the whole course for spectators because most people go to the really big points. yeah and actually not only is it quieter it's easy to see people you're also right next to st james's park uh you're in james's park actually of course and you can um you can walk around there if you are bringing kids to support someone you've got something to do until you watch it's much calmer zone and obviously then they finish straight away so you can see them quite quickly after the race so yeah when i know people who have young kids who want to come watch i always just let's just go to the finish because it's a nice place to see people it's a bit more easy to see people especially small kids because you yeah you've got like a six-year-old they're not seeing people at tower bridge it's just too crazy yeah
00:28:36
Speaker
When you that red tarmac as well near there, that's that's the bit. So it's very – your instinct will go, I'm on the red tarmac. The the road changes. You think, this is done. like Now it's going to swing up around. And it's a long way to go. If you kick too early on that bit and you're already on a knife edge, you're going to get to Buckingham Palace and you're going – yeah, you're going to be feeling sick. And still got to go around.
00:28:57
Speaker
So you've got – you kind of have to – you have to – I mean, it depends how you're racing it, but yeah, just I, my advice is just don't go too hard too soon at that bit. If you're, if you're really on a knife edge, but once you turn, it is close.
00:29:10
Speaker
it's It's pleasingly close when you turn around the corner at Buckingham Hallis. I was on birdcage bit, even though i know no one's I'm not racing anyone really, obviously, but But that's where I go, oh, that guy 20 meters ahead. I'm going to try and catch that guy because obviously you're both moving terribly at this point. You're not really racing and I you know i might not catch them, but it's just it's just something to think about for the first bit if I'm not looking for my family because yeah it's a long straight. That's the only bit where I technically try and race someone in the whole London Marathon.
00:29:36
Speaker
Yeah, okay. And then we're at the finish line. Yeah. Then you're still a long way from everywhere. You've got a long walk now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is a good finish line. Out of all the marathons, that is ah a fantastic last kilometre.
00:29:50
Speaker
It's beautiful. i would say definitely the crowd is less than like Tower Bridge. But and yeah, you it's it's very cool to finish on the mail. It's, yeah, it's nice. You do turn right by Buckingham Palace, which is quite bland building. not a fan. I'm going to say it.
00:30:04
Speaker
Yeah. I'm not. I'm not, i did know i'm I'm also like, I love that bit. I love, well, I like that, you know, that you get that sort of running the curve around that feels sort of good. And then you turn, you can see The one thing is I think as you sort of head down the mile to the woods, the finish line, actually the crowds just disappear. Yeah. And you sort hit the VIP zone where, you know, everyone's basically not really paying much attention. So, That intensity that you've had all the way along embankment, even around birdcage, a bit of crowd. It sort of just vanishes at the last 100 metres when you probably need it the most. Well, I'd say, yeah, it's the 108. Yeah, you're not getting... It's weird, isn't it? It's actually really weird to think about that.
00:30:41
Speaker
There's no atmosphere at the finish. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's because, yeah, everyone everyone's, ever you know, I don't know. It's always like VIP crowd, people, prawn sandwiches, right? Polite applause. I don't Yeah, or they're just looking for people the the people, they're waiting for the for the the big names and the celebs to come in or it's, yeah. Yeah. And it's set quite bad. Not us. Yeah. Nice. And also, it's obviously, there's no you kind of support both sides there because of the way, i guess, the road show closures and stuff work. So it is, yeah, you do only get one side in that last bit. But at that point, you don't care. your're hardest You are just wanting to finish, really, I guess. Yeah, so you cross the you cross the finish line. you're You're very pleased with your time. And then somebody, you keep you just basically walk keep walking down that road.
Post-Race Logistics & Entry Methods
00:31:21
Speaker
Somebody's going to put your medal on you. um You're going to pick up. I think bananas and drinks and things like that along the route do they give you but they'll give you foil won't yeah you there's foil if you want it I think I don't know if it's just standard but there's definitely foil if you want it yeah and then basically you just keep walking and and until you can get back out again and that's when you wander back into the what's the area or something but the the gunnery area It's horse guards parade. but yeah you the baggage trucks are before that. Yeah.
00:31:48
Speaker
Get your bag. Yeah. And that can be a scrum. So yeah you might want to do this. Obviously you want to to sit down, but once you finish it's worth just trying to keep moving and get your baggage because you might end up in like in a queue there as well.
00:32:10
Speaker
Okay, so you're done. Well done. ah Now you're trying to find your family and friends. What are your what would you advise? that There's places um around the park that have ah the it's the letters, isn't it? ah Yeah, the alphabet letters. yeah we go just go for don't go for Go for a random letter is one tip. i've never I don't bother to use them. I just escape. I go ahead and make a beeline for Trafalgar Square and get out and meet my family on Trafalgar Square where it's calmer.
00:32:37
Speaker
um But if you are going to meet by a point, yeah, it's a smart move. Even if you you know just say, we'll meet you by the Z. Yeah. Because ah very fewer people are going there. I always work on the principle that you know if you're in a marathon, if unless you're Nick and you can give like absolute certainty of when you're going to turn up at that point. Like for me, if I was saying to you know my family, I'll be there at this point, I could be 45 minutes late. they They're not going to be waiting for me.
00:33:04
Speaker
So yeah, I always say i always try and meet them somewhere where they can relax and not worry about the fact that I'm um'm up running a bit late. so yeah, normally pick like a pub or a restaurant or something that's a little bit further out Trafalgar Square because you're not going to get a spot in a bunch of the ones around there.
00:33:19
Speaker
Yeah, you can book some of the ones around Covent Garden like Franco Manca stuff like that, especially the ones that have deal. So there's obviously there's lots of things you get for free with your London Marathon medal completed, including things like a Franco Manca pizza. So it can mean that all those areas are very booked out.
00:33:32
Speaker
There's the letters on Horse Guards Parade, which is the nearest way to get out Trafalgar Square anywhere. That's where it gets busiest, I would say, if you are trying to find someone. You actually also can just look at a map of St. James's Park and pick like the cafe there. That's where I met someone, my wife last year. And um then it's not any of the letters, but you'll know roughly where it is. It's on Google Maps as well. Your phone actually has signal there now. I think first couple of years did London, did not have phone signal at the finish. It was too busy, but last couple of years it's been okay, I think.
00:33:57
Speaker
And then I, this, every last five years I've gone for a meal around the Covent Garden area. And this year we're thinking, let's just get on a train and get out of there because yeah it's it's quite tough around there with, um especially with kids. It's so busy to get places to eat and and it's, yeah, you don't want queue you and wait for a meal. might just jump on the train this time. Yeah, yeah. But if you do want to go, it it it doesn't take that far to get out of the the heat zone of of the London Marathon. you can Once you've walked out a bit further, it will quieten down quite considerably.
00:34:27
Speaker
But the heat zone is where everyone just goes and meets. and Okay, so last lastly on the race, so spectating. Spectating has become a very, very difficult London Marathon, as we've said it's like ah there's so sometimes you'll be running down the road and it's like five six people deep no chance of of of seeing you know your family and friends in in a lot of the places on on the course i've i've had people before who have come to see me i didn't see them at all um didn't have a chance um yeah there are There are some places that are better than others. So it's a bit tricky. It's sort of weighing up the pros and cons because for some people, it might be going somewhere nice like Cutty Sark because you think that that's the nice place to go and, um you know, be ah good to to visit there and take some photos there. But that that will be so busy if you're trying to trying to see people. So your best bet is trying to find areas that are a little bit quieter that you can definitely, you know, get ah get a nice photo. Yeah.
00:35:20
Speaker
Yeah, and you might a lot of people do the kind of two or three stops, don't they? So if you stop if you do somewhere around kind of Bourbonsey there, you're quite near the train. You can be and you can be in near on the right side for the train to get on and then get to towards kind of Shadwell, Limehouse, I guess, and then get to the finish. So if you want to try and pull off that kind of three-peat in one race, that's that's pretty impressive.
00:35:39
Speaker
It used to be quiet around Mud Chute, didn't it? And what's that? Isle of Dogs. That used to be quieter. That is still quieter. You're you're guaranteed to be got to stand by the side of the road there, I would say. yeah if you really want to do that and you're going to see a runner at a point they really need to see you as well yeah that used to be empty didn't it i remember doing it the first time and they're thinking what is going on we've gone the wrong way yeah not anymore worth it's worth checking trade i think do they clo like some of the time after a certain point like embankment and some stations might get they might be closed temporarily or whatever there are bits yeah there are some yeah So you need to check those and also some of the crossings, particularly around finish birdcage and that, there are bits where you're going to have to walk a long way to get over and and do these temporary kind of bridges that they've put in. So that's worth thinking about if you're trying to cross certain points as well. Yeah, you just can't cross the route basically really at all, well apart from maybe the early stages. Yeah, if you're going to finish, that's a definitely a key point. You want to get a train, I guess, to the south of the park to then approach the finish.
00:36:34
Speaker
Yeah. On the right so you can see people in birdcage. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so well done. You've done the marathon. Congratulations. But for some people who might be listening to this, they're maybe not doing none of the London Marathon this year, but would really like to do it. um And getting into the London Marathon is quite a tricky tricky thing these days because obviously if you're trying to get through the ballot, it's the percent that the chances of you getting in on a ballot spot are very, very slim now.
00:37:01
Speaker
And people tried for many, many years and never get one those places. But there are lots of other routes that you can take to get into the marathon. So one of them, and most one of those popular ones at the moment is Good for Age.
00:37:11
Speaker
um So Good for Age is, you can find you can see it on the yeah London Marathon website. um Effectively, if you get a certain time within another another marathon that is classed as being um allowed as as a ah certification race, you can get a spot in London Marathon, which is how Kieran got in this year.
00:37:32
Speaker
It is. Yeah, it's worth checking that certification, right, isn't it? Because it's it's got to be an approved course. So you really don't want to marath run a marathon. I mean, they might still let you in if you use it as your application. I don't know. I've never heard any stories about that either way.
00:37:46
Speaker
But yeah, yeah it needs to be an officially measured course to stand. yeah and you if if you're if you're looking to go through the good for age route most big marathons will be absolutely fine but it's it's probably tends to be those sort of more local ones that like probably aren't as verified um and then the good for age times are actually different for everyone so of So you have the normal times for all people. And then once you start getting to the good for age times, then they will differ for men and women as well. So it's worth checking all of those out to see where you fit um and what you aim for.
00:38:16
Speaker
And the other thing worth noting with that is that it isn't does not guarantee you a spot. No, I'm probably under it now. Because there is an allotted amount of those places um per the Good for Age sections.
00:38:29
Speaker
And if there are lots of people that are in those, then the number will come down to to to mean that they can get the right number of people in there. So it doesn't guarantee it. And Kieran found that out last year. Yeah. Yeah, lucky this year I'm a bit older, so i didn't have to run any quicker. I just got older. You did run a lot quicker though, didn't you?
00:38:47
Speaker
It's like um Boston, basically, isn't it? Boston Marathon, the same thing. It's a similar amount. is It's like five or six minutes. You have to be under the time last year to get in And they even out the places between men and women and trying to get and even across the age groups as well. So think it was 6,000 places, but case.
00:39:02
Speaker
andmate is awesome so Also, shout out to the international runners who might be looking at this. I think it's slightly different for internationals as well. I think it's even harder to get in. but yeah um So that's a good phrase. Very popular route to get in because obviously you're you're paying the same as the ballot people. And, you know, it's that's not guaranteed, but it's pretty, pretty close to getting in, which is the ballot isn't.
00:39:22
Speaker
ah Other routes so you can get in is championship places, which Nick has been in before. Yeah, I'm championship age year. Last year's London. There's ah that's a set time. I think it is currently 238 for men, but you can also get in with a half marathon time for that.
00:39:37
Speaker
If you're, you know, someone who's run a very fast half marathon, you can get into the championship race that. So that was a completely guaranteed spot before. If you ran that time in the time period and accredited race, you were getting in. It's still kind of is guaranteed. But now if there's too many championship places allocated, they start to move them into the good for age area, which is then also going to bump more people out good for age.
00:39:56
Speaker
But you are still, I think, practically guaranteed place. It might just not be a championship place if you're on those times. Obviously, this is a ah more niche way of getting in because it's a pretty, it's a reasonably fast time. And um then you get to start right behind the male elites at London Marathon, which is very cool. You have your own little star area, better access to toilets.
00:40:13
Speaker
Good stuff. Yeah, i think I'll stick to trying to get good for age. and Other options you've got are charity, obviously.
Charity & Tour Group Entries
00:40:20
Speaker
London Rarity is massive for charity runners. This is where you find a charity and you pledge to get a certain amount of money. It's normally a minimum of around £2,000 now, I think. don't have the exact numbers.
00:40:32
Speaker
But that's a very, very popular route. But obviously, it's quite hard to do because you do have to raise a lot of money. So it's a big investment in your time to do that. And another route is tour groups. So tour groups are there's various companies that do this. that Basically, you book a trip with them and the marathon is part of that trip. You do not need to qualify or anything like that. It's like the good but for good for age.
00:40:54
Speaker
But you will be paying quite a lot of money to take part in it through those routes. They probably will organise a lot of stuff for you, which is quite nice. Yeah, it's it's a lovely way to do it. I know quite few people have done it through the tours and it's very nice. But um yeah, it just depends how, you know, it's it's a good route to go in if you want to guarantee a guaranteed place in it and you and you're happy to spend a bit of money for a nice trip.
00:41:14
Speaker
So say with the also with if you get good for age or championship place, I think you can't defer either of those. I think actually you can if you're a woman who's pregnant. i think there are now proper rules in place. That means that you don't have to qualify the time again. But I think if you like so myself, if i I couldn't defer my championship place because it's a time based on a certain year whereas if you get through the ballot, you can defer for one year if you're unable to run.
00:41:34
Speaker
But that is it. You can't defer any longer. Okay, and then the final group, which I can think of, is the running groups. So if you're in an affiliated running club, um they're quite often, and I believe this changes a bit over time, but um they many running clubs will be ah allotted places in the London Marathon, which are often given out to um as part of like awards that running clubs do and things like that for most valuable volunteer and things like that. So that might be a nice route, but I don't think there is...
00:42:04
Speaker
commonplace these days that there's not as many of them around my club does this we get some spots but they've been i think i have been they've been dropping a number my club is a london club in man's one of the drink stations on the course the elite drink station so i think that's one of the reasons why they have lots of volunteers helping out but i think i think there's no yeah like tom says their numbers are smaller than they potentially used to be so there they' are all the routes that you can get in i think that'll do is for uh for the uh for the london marathon that's plenty of information for people lot information yeah If you're listening to this, the chances are that you are running London Marathon. So good luck. You're going to have a great day. And hopefully you found something useful in this in this video and podcast.
00:42:40
Speaker
Yeah, we'll see there. See you the line. Yeah, Kieran and Nick, we'll see you there. Good luck. If you're on the right start line, because otherwise we'll just try and see you when we converge at three miles. We'll meet you there. Yeah. Oh, spectators, Tom. One point, we should have said get the app because you can see when people... the app, yeah. Yeah, the app will show your runner what time they're going through certain checkpoints. That is a really good way to know when they're going to be roughly. You can see if they start to slow down. That's how I tracked Tom in the Valencia Marathon when he saw me and told me what a terrible day having. thought the app had broken. Yeah, he was so far behind this projected thing. I'm not having a nice time. Oh, hi, Tom. Good to see you. here Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, let's not talk about that on a marathon. um Well, lovely stuff.
00:43:22
Speaker
Good luck at the marathons, people, including both of you. Cheers. Have fun. Thank you.
00:43:30
Speaker
This episode of the podcast was presented by Tom Wheatley, Nick Harris-Fry and Kieran Algert. It was produced by Tom Wheatley. The music was by Fear of Tigers.