Calling all Flora London Marathon 2009 hopefuls...

Thanks everyone for the replies!!  I appreciate it.  My enthusiasm for training is getting worse at this stage because it's so cold, so, I HAVE to book an event this week.  Hopefully it will keep me motivated once I've booked it.

Just to confirm, I have told the charity that I wouldn't be running for them, I was worried about them keeping the place for me as well, but thanks for the gentle reminder!

 I'm looking at the Edinburgh Marathon as a finalist. But since you've mentioned the one in Beachy Head, I'll look into that as well, because it's not too far from where I live.  Has anybody done the Rome marathon?

Name: Silver Fox
Brief running history:

I began running about 5 years ago at the ripe old age of 49. Originally this was to lose a bit of weight and to fill my evenings whilst working away from home. At that point I could run for no more than 15 minutes at a time at a decidedly leisurely pace.

Now I am a regular runner i.e. between 2 and 5 times a week and have gradually improved over time. My best Marathon time is 4:28 at the FLM 2008, best HM is 1:48 at Gosport 2009, best 5K 23:06 at Richmond ParkRun 3 weeks ago. I am doing the Henley HM very soon and the Amsterdam HM. 

Previously all I did was focus on running long and slow but now I'm trying to introduce a better pace and to that end am running parkrun 5Ks pretty much every week now and I have seen my time come down from over 26 mins to  23 mins and already feel that 22 is achievable over the next couple of months.

My feeling is that with the 5K/HM combination on a fairly regular basis a sub-4 hour marathon is achievable and I would love to do that at London because, having done it in the past, it is just a fantastic day.

 Reason why we should train you:

I believe I can achieve sub 4 with the right advice and training and I know I have the discipline to follow the guidance and instructions provided. I am also of course a regular and dedicated believer in Lucozade sports drinks during races and for recovery (so a good advert). 

Having run before in teams I know how to provide support and encouragement to other team members when the going gets tough in the winter months.

Predicted marathon time: Sub 4:00 (maybe 3:50) with the right advice and programme

Name: Laura Bugg

Age: 34

I love training whatever sport it may be, but I now feel rather then running just for fitness that  I would really like to challenge myself to run my first ever marathon. Where better to start then the Flora London Marathon where the atmosphere and crowds seem to make it the one of the best marathon experiences in the world.