London Marathon 2013 - Events

gizmo83

27/12/2012 at 13:08

Hi there,

I ran my first marathon in Brighton this year and my fiancee struggled to find me before mile 18. She is travelling to London on the morning of the race and we are currently debating whether it is worth her trying to see me or just watch out in the vague hope she might see me on TV.

Any advice for London Marathon veterans? I'm aiming for around at 4:30 finish (which I understand is the busiest time) - what would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Katie

Emmy H

27/12/2012 at 13:14

Hi Gizmo, I think it depends where you are. Are you hoping that she'll see you at the finish line or along the route?

From my experience this year:

- Start: Very easy to meet up
- Along the course: pick your points wisely. Some are incredibly busy (tower bridge), others less so (canary wharf).
- Finish: Nearly impossible.

My husband tried to 'follow' me using the times on the VLM website and my chip. The only time he saw me was at Mile 25 coming round at Big Ben... and I barely saw him as he was 5 deep with spectators.

I'm sure others will come by and give you spots which are easy to spot at/be

Pop-Up Schmunks - The List Fairy

27/12/2012 at 13:25

Enlist to be a volunteer at Mudchute (mile 17)

Dave The Ex- Spartan pirate

pirate

27/12/2012 at 13:34

I saw my OH on 4 different parts of the FLM route

gizmo83

27/12/2012 at 14:37

All - thanks for the advice!

Emmy H -. After 7 years of trying to get a place I finally secured a charity place the very same weekend one of her closet friends is getting married - so we don't know yet what time she'll make it to London.

I doubt she'll see the start though. I was hoping for finish - but it sounds like there is little chance of that. Last night I did say I didn't mind her just trying to spot me if the BBC had a 'red button' camera over the finish line or something...

Schmunkee - what is the mudchute? I will look into that.

gizmo83

27/12/2012 at 14:49

Schmunkee - just read about Mile 17 - thanks for the tip - that sounds amazing!

Wilkie

27/12/2012 at 15:03

Unless both the runner and the supporter know exactly where the spectator will be, and the runner is looking for the spectator as well as the other way round, spotting people is really hard.

Unless they get to the spectating point early, supporters are likely to be behind a lot of other folks at the barriers.

Mudchute is the best bet.

Emmy H

27/12/2012 at 15:06

*smacks head* If SBH finds out that I didn't instantly think of Mudchute -she'll not give me a beer at the next marathon Of course - Mudchute is a fantastic place to see supporters. It's a quiet-ish part of the route and you can aim for a certain area.

Good luck with your training

gizmo83

27/12/2012 at 15:44

Emmy - I won't tell anyone!

Wilkie - agree, by the time Anna saw me at Brighton I was in so much pain with my knee that all I ready did was complain in her direction rather than say thank you - and the spectator numbers there were nothing like London.

Mudchute it is. Or..the TV!

cougie

pirate

27/12/2012 at 16:10

Tv is rubbish for spotting people. I think I've been spotted about twice in ten Londons.

In person is far better - as at least you will be running past them at some point.
There are quieter bits where you'd have a better chance of seeing each other - there's a long road about the 10 mile mark that always seems nice for a rendezvous and it's got grassy verges all the way along. A distinctive top helps - our black and yellow pirate kit stands out brilliantly.

I forget the name of that road but it will be in the race mag you get. Probably tricky to get to - hence why it's quiet.

Sister Bad Habit

27/12/2012 at 16:12

Too late Emmy, you've been busted. That's the last time I let you drink my beer at one of my events Just as well I luvs ya!!

Mudchute is a big party all day and we always have good feedback from our runners we're pretty easy to spot as well, so most people are able to find us. I loved it when I did FLM in 2009 as it was the one very definite part of the course where I knew I had people waiting for me, even though I'd not met them before - big hugs from Nam and Bear later plus a half hour chat and all was right with the world (in case you hadn't guessed I wasn't going for a time lol).

Official Mudchute thread will be started in the first week of January hopefully, so keep an eye out, it'll be on the Spring Marathons board

Mr Puffy

27/12/2012 at 18:14

As a spectator event it is superb, the atmosphere is amazing and much better to be there part of it than watching on TV.

I think it's much easier for runners to see spectators...can you make a banner or a flag of some sort? A bamboo cane with a "hi Gizmo" sign on top or something similar?

Then you can decide roughly where they are to be, on which side of the road, and you can pick them out.

There are alphabetical meeting areas at the end, so you can meet up under A pre arranged letter. Or you could meet in a pub?

If she can get there, she will love it, whether she sees you on the course or meets you at the end.

georginagem

29/12/2012 at 00:23

Ooh I've just read about Mudchute here. This will be my first marathon, fantastic to know there'll be some RW support! Will be looking in the official thread in January

gizmo83

29/12/2012 at 16:45

Thank you all for the suggestions and help - I'm even more excited about it to know there is RW support too.

georginagem - what an amazing first marathon! Brighton was my first this year and I loved it!

Laudy

29/12/2012 at 22:22

My other half and I support each other at Brighton and then at London. He drops me off at the start, then watches me at Cutty Sark, Docklands around Mile 19, and last year managed Embankment at Mile 25 (although my parents were already holding a space close to the barriers and it was tight for him to get there) and then gets to the end about the same time as I get there. I am a 3.30 (+/- 5 min) runner. If you have prearranged which side of the road to be on and the runner is watching the crowd and have a sign to look out for its not too bad.

Or get your name on your T shirt and have unknown but just as uplifting support the whole way!!!

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