Rotterdam 2009

great blog Bedders, let's hope there is nothing to match that this year! I would really rather have an unseasonal snow-fall than have to deal with heat.

Good luck with the recovery Steve, hope the beers improved the cold!

Eeek Bedders, thanks for that!

Hope you're feeling better Steve! Hot toddies, that's what you want!

Last interval session done and it was okay - today was "only" 12 miles and it was a lovely day for it, if a bit windy again. Now just tempo and easy runs of up to 8 miles to do........and time to really believe in that schedule!

Hope everyone's okay and starting to look forward to the day with no worries.

I think the cold is clearing, still full of snot though. Sorry, no other way to put that Hot toddies, beer & wine. I'm trying all the remedies

Last long run today, 20 miler at easy pace and quicker than planned. Just very snotty! So all looks well at the mo. Taper time now, nothing longer than 5 milers during the week and only 8 miler at the weekend.

The only worries now should come after I've packed my bag and start to panic about forgetting something!

HELP!!!!

Hi there, doing Rotterdam marathon (i think!!!!!) in 2 weeks (yikes).

Entered in Dec, got e mail to say I have entered, my name appears to be on the list opof entries, but I haven't had any official confirmation sionce. I ahve e mailed about 5x , with no reply.

I can omnly assume if I pitch up with a print of my Dec e mail, I'll be OK, but getting a little anxious.

Anyone got an comments to help here, ie " don't worry, the Dec e mail will do " etc... .

Or, anyone got a reliable tel number (any tel number), web page only has  afax number.

GC

Well, that's all I've had. Nothing in writing was coming out this year, just email confimation I believe.

Did you get the email with the link to the magazine in pdf format?

Hi Grant, did you get this email dated 23/01 (we all seemed to get it on the same day anyway):

Dear participant,

The 29th Fortis Marathon Rotterdam is coming closer. You are a participant, and will therefore experience the unique ambiance along the course and especially at the Coolsingel on 5 April 2009.

Hereby you receive your confirmation of entry. Be sure to print this confirmation of entry and keep it safe and don’t forget to bring it to the Marathon SportExpo! Your confirmation of entry is strictly personal and not transmittable. You can only get your bib number and your ChampionChip, if rented, at the race secretariat. Click here to access the 'Looking ahead to...'-Magazine for more information on opening hours of the race secretariat and everything else you need to know.

This year, for the first time you only receive your confirmation of entry by e-mail. If you have any questions, please contact us by mail: info@fortismarathonrotterdam.nl.

For the latest information check our website regularly: www.fortismarathonrotterdam.co.uk.

We wish you a good preparation and a successful day.

Kind regards,

The organization of the
Fortis Marathon Rotterdam

The confirmation of your number that you need pick up your bib and everything was attached to this along with the magazine.

If your name is found when you do the search on the site, you must be registered....but the only contact I can see is the email and fax. Not sure that's too helpful, but try to stay calm - I'd email again, or even send a fax of my email just for belt and buckle effect!

Steve/Rebekah

thanks for repsonse.

Steve, the confirmation e mail on 23rd Jan is what I'm missing. All I can hope for is that I have a copy of my original "acceptance" when I entered in December , I've printed out the part on the websiter that has me as "entered", and I've just phoned the bank who confirma that may payment was made and accepted. I am sure that I can reason with officialdom that I don't need the actual confirmation itself (after all, I could have changed my e amil address etc...), I am just worried that I am someone "not entered", and there is no number waiting for me!!!!

Anyhow, fax number conatantly engaged today, and my 5 panis e mails in the last week have received no response.

What a lot of nonsense.

Oh, good luck with the race,

I hear its a good one.

I'm flying into Amsterdam from LHR on the Friday.

Will run the damn thing anyway, with, or without official number.

GC.

Hi Grant -

sounds like you will be ok. At the Amsterdam marathon you just had to give your name to get your bib, I don't remember them bothering with the bit of paper, they had the participants arranged in alphabetical order and were processing them at a rapid rate with no bureaucracy. If your name is on the list, then there should be no problem. Especially since you have an Anglophone name - might have been different if you were Jan De Vries or somesuch - probably 10 of them registered!

By the way, is the stress of registration stopping you worrying about the race, or distracting you from your focus?!  could go either way, the rest of us just seem to be worrying about getting through the 26 miles!

Blimey,

forgot about that bit.

Better start training soon

g

no worries, still 12 days to go, lots of time, you just need to compress the schedule slightly.

Only problem is I don't think you can start to taper until around 1059 on 5 April.

Oooh Ooooohhhhhh oooohhhhh! I've just found the map of the expo and the (rather short) list of those present.......if anyone is interested, go to the Dutch site - Select Deelnemers -> Marathon SportExpo, scroll to:

Plattegrond
Klik hier voor een plattegrond van de Marathon SportExpo en een lijst van de standhouders.

and select the link (hier). Sportweddingshop sounds a bit Las Vegas......I'm going to have to google some of the names!

Found a phone number, I'm in....bugger.....I mean.....GREAT!!!!!

Had a corteson injection in my knee today, just for the hell of it, so only need worry now is my achhilles, and lack of bleeding training!!!!!

Anyhow, I love this marathon madness bit, all the hard work done. Will do 6 miles tomorrow, a lap of Richmond Park ( 7 miles), and thats it. Everyone says uyou should do a few little runs in the run up to a marathon, and "everyone" will be right, but I just feel rest is good.

Apologises for asking qu's which probably appeared in earlier pages, but anyone know of a cracking pub to celebrate afterwards????

Reb, after London, expos are usually so small in comparison. I have done Hamburg and Paris, and always surprised as how small they are compared to London.

Love the way I'm bluffing experience. Got to convince yourself that you're good haven't you.

Anyhow, happy tapering.

Hope no-one minds me gatecrshing your gang late on.

Cheers, GC.

gatecrash away Grant - I don't think we have enough in our party to justify employing bouncers at the door!!

If you've done FLM, Hamburg and Paris, then that's at least 3 more than RebekahJane & me put together!

Well now I can really bluff experience.

All I can say, is that I have yet to run (this will be my 7th) a marathon that everything has clicked, either not fit, or carrying an injury, and twice being ill on the day. If all goes to plan, you will be very lucky.

 The key thing if this is your first, is to love the experience sufficiently well to want to do it all over again, and I guess that means not being too ambitious at the start. The last few miles WILL be tough physically, but mentality wonderful. The best advice I can give is to have enough energy to enjoy and run the last mile. If you have enjoyed it, you'll do it all over agin, and then crave for a time.

Run the risk of patronising. If so, sorry..but motivations are sound.

Anyhow, now I've gatecrashed the party, I think we should now emloy a bring a bottle policy. Keep the riff raff out and all that.

GC.

I think we need to state that the bottle must be full, or you'll get clever clogs arriving having already drunk the suntan lotion.......

All are welcome in the big panic, er I mean taper. Am I alone in feeling slightly more lightheaded with each passing day. I'm starting to obsess about pacing - what is too fast, what is too slow - if I am comfortable am I really comfortable or am I just laying up trouble for later!?!?!  I've learnt to pace myself quite well in races up to half marathon, but this is a whole different ball game. <mutter on>I believe in the schedule<mutter off>

Injections are bad enough (slight phobia over here), but in the knee . Hope everything is holding up for you and everyone else!

thanks for the tip about the email Steve - I found it in my inbox eventually. Sender's address is the unhelpful 'info' which had led me to consign it to spam!

Yes, I'm getting nervous too! Pretty sure that I can make the distance in a reasonable time, but like RebekahJane I'm starting to obsess about pacing... the better I feel, the more worried I am that I'll set off like superman for the first few kms and pay the price later. Think I'm going to deliberately set off 15-20 seconds per km slower than my 'target' pace, and see how I feel after 8-10 km or so. Really don't want to mess up by starting too fast, would rather have a target to chase in the second half if  I feel up to it.

Sorry Steve, didn't think the nerves were smelling that strongly

That's it exactly Simon, I feel that training went well and I'm horribly confident - and the road will be flat and it can't possibly be as windy and what with the atmosphere and the keeness to get it all over with! I'm determined to keep it slow for the first few miles just to be on the safe side. If I can remember that on the day anyway..... Just as well I'm only trying to get round, eh