Virgin London MarathonHere's how RW members rated this race in the past (1962 votes). 2011 race reviewed by: Robert Mole 2
 | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: My forth and my finest, pen 1 and a PB improvement of 9 mins as i didnt have to dodge slower runners!
In full: A magnificent race and organisation. A 3.12 last year got me in pen 1 so i could start at 7 min pace instead of 8 or 9's and got a new PB of 3.03, sub 3 next year is the plan. The only downside is the T shirt, being cotton and XL it was a disappointment again, GNR ask you for your size when you enter and they have more runners, Why cant VLM? And just how many runners are XL anyway?
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: michael baker 12
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: great day fab run all ready looking at doing it again a ++++++++
In full: if you think about doing the marathon then do it it was my frist time and ill do it againt the support is the best ever thank you to my home town london for all the support.
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Leigh300
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Great day and support, well organised a true experience.
In full: I did not have a great race, but I still enjoyed the experience. My 1st marathon, and initially I never wanted to go near one again, but now I have signed up for Brighton, I want to do better. Great race, support and atmosphere.
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Jackie Harrison 4
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Wonderful day, can't wait to do it again
In full: Absolutely flawless organisation so no stress at the start. Wonderful atmosphere but it would have been good if the walkers had kept to the sides and if some runners had taken more care disposing of their bottles - it meant I had to concentrate to much on the road in front, rather than the sights.
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Lady Wot Jogs
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Excellent organisation
In full: A race like no other.....
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Mollov
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: One of the best things I've ever done!
In full: This was my first marathon and I can honestly say I totally loved it. I struggled with the heat and missed my sub 4 aim as I should have realised you can't get into a rhythm when you are just stuck in the middle of thousands of runners.
That said I raised a lot of money for charity and feel a great sense of achievement.
The organisation was great, the crowds wonderful and I think I will still be on a high for weeks to come. Definitely something I will remember forever and I'm so grateful I was part of it. I now hate the thought of Lucozade after drinking 1.5 litres of it and love Torq gels as they stopped me hitting the wall.
I want to do it again! It still hasn't sunk in I've done it!
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: michael rix
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: It's alright but not (in my opinion) 'The Best'
In full: Too easy to get carried away with this race. It's great from a crowd support point of view, and to see the sights of London but is it the best? For me - no. Paris has it all - great sights, massive support, wide roads, great course and easy Metro access for supporters.
I've done London 4 times and Paris 3 but don't think I'll be going back to seriously race London again. Thanks for the memories but I'll leave it to others.
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: KarenG
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Unforgettable as always
In full: A magnificent event with something for everybody from fun runners to the elite. Great crowd support absolutely everywhere. My only complaint would be about the 'one size fits all' i.e. XL cotton (?) t-shirt. It can't be that difficult to arrange small, medium and large in quantities. I wouldn't begrudge paying a bit extra to get a wicking shirt either - something for Virgin to think about ...
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: ChrissyUK01
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: wow - truely amazing
In full: This was my 3rd time at London and I can honestly say there is nowhere better for crowd support to get you through those 26.2 miles. New York comes a close 2nd but the huge number of charity runners make it something special. Given the very high temperatures this helped enormously and I like all other runners stayed in good humour. Hats off to the organisers for once again making everything run like clock work - never yet found anywhere else that can match this level of organisation. Water etc in abundance - and all provided with a smile and a word of encouragement even if they had seen thousands of runners pass through already. The showers were a life saver! Disappointed not to have been able to meet my target after so much training but keeping this in perspective as no one can control the weather and I am really pleased I did this one last time. Might be a good idea to periodically remind runners to move to the side if need to walk at any stage as this really helps everyone. Full of admiration for all those who ran in costume -some of you guys must have been desperate for some rain!
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Rachel Daniel 4
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: My first time running an event and thoroughly enjoyed every minute, even the pain at the end!
Date of review: April 19, 2011
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