VLM 2013

l've just received my magazine and have a place in the VLM 2013. Congratulations to everyone who has a place so far and good luck to those still waiting to hear.

First entry and I got in. I realise how lucky I am and still really excited about it.  Just trying to decide if I want to run for a charity as really I only want to do it for myself, not sure if that makes me selfish.....

Hi Gaz im the same got in for my very first ever marathon . im so amazed that its going to be London but its been a big dream of mine for years . Im finding it hard to decide if to do it for myself or to raise money for a charity too. Im not sure what to do either

I got in at the first attempt in the ballot. This will be my first London marathon...but my 3rd in total. Everyones reply when i tell them i got in is 'well done...are you going to raise money?', but i don't think i will. It is great to see some like-minded people on here.

Congratulations on your places Gaz, nicola and dave -- this will be my second VLM and l think l'm more excited this time than l was last year.

l think the charity thing is a personal choice and is actually (in my opinion) a small part of the overall experience. l wasn't going to raise money last year but then decided l would, a simple page on virginmoneygiving.com gave me somewhere to point people at who wanted to donate but l didn't really mind if l raised £50 or £500. l didn't hold any events or email all of my friends, l just let it happen naturally. l was amazed at how generous people were and it did feel nice to raise some money for a charity but as l say, it felt a small part of it really.

l celebrated my 2013 place with a 5 miler yesterday -- thankfully my legs still remember the longer distances so 5 miles is still a joy.

Are you all regular runners or are you now starting to work out plans to get you ready for April?

At the moment i am a very regular runner as i am training for the dublin marathon at the end of october, running six days a week!! After that marathon i think i will take it easier in November then start plan again beginning of December (winter training- don't you just love it???) For my first marathon i didn't follow any plan. I just ran when i could and got longer and longer at the weekend, but for this one i have followed the Hal Higdon Advanced marathon plan. I have loved the structured training and hope that it will lead to an improvement to be seen in dublin.

ps. regarding charity...i like your idea djh77 of just having a justgiving page so that if anyone wants to donate they can. I think what put me off fund-raising was that if it had to be a certain amount and i had to hassle people to donate or arrange events to make up the amount. Keeping it simple...donate if you want...seems easier.

l really enjoyed the training for last year's VLM and knew on the day (whilst waiting at the start) that l was going to miss it before it was even over. Good luck with the prep for Dublin and if l can make a suggestion, have a good rest before you get back into the plan for London.

Ps -- have a look at virginmoneygiving as well as justgiving. VMG are not for profit so more money makes its way through to charities

I'm a regular runner, have only been running 18 months though.  I always wanted to run the London Marathon but through my teens I ballooned in weight and thought I never would.  Now a considerably lighter 30-something I think it's fate that I've got a place when I'm probably the fittest I ever have been.  I've got my 3rd half marathon at the end of the month and will kick on from there with the long runs. 

If I decide to go the charity route I'm going to go small or local, there are plenty of people who run for the big charities.

Hi all

I ran the London marathon in 2009 and did it for charity, but I don't plan to do it for charity next year.  it was my 1st marathon and I had various niggles and pains and trips to a physio, but I was more stressed by the thought of not running the race and yet all those people had given me money.  In the good old days of pen and paper sponsorship, if you didn't do the event, you didn't get any money.  But I guess if I'm fit  a month before the race, perhaps I'll set up a page...

I've been a regular runner for about 5 years and race frequently (about 30-40 times per year).  Like djh said, its such a great event that you want to do it again even while you're running it. 

l seem to struggle to be motivated by anything other than a marathon. l've done a few other events (10m's and half mara's) but l never have the same level of enthusiasm or committment as l did when training for last year's VLM. l'm actually a real novice when compared to Shadow, Gaz and dave b, this is only my second marathon but am as excited as l was last year -- in fact probably more. l had a reasonably serious injury 8 weeks before last year's event so l couldn't do much training towards the end and l had the exact same experience as shadow in that l felt l owed so many people a marathon l just grinned (well not during miles 21-24) and put up with it. This year l want to run the whole thing and really feel like l have 'run' the London marathon

I'm in for 2013, took four attempts and strangely enough my attitude back in April was "I'll enter the ballot, but I'm not fussed if I get in". I'd just run the Dusseldorf marathon, my fifth and was 12 seconds off breaking the 4hr barrier. Damn and blast was my initial reaction crossing the line, but an 11 min PB was nothing to sneer at. So, for next year I was thinking Dusseldorf again, or maybe Hamburg until my entry for the real marathon came through yesterday.

The masterplan is being drawn up, had to withdraw from the Frankfurt marathon later this month due to Plantar Fasciitis, had some deep tissue physio on it last week, by heck that hurt, was a bit down, but have something to focus on. I'm concentrating on making sure I'm in reasonable shape for when the running can start again, lots of cycling and swimming, stretching and weights. Looking forward to the next 6 months now.

Im in, on my second attempt. Ive been runnning on a regular basis since May.

Looking forward to upping my training and distances. I run once or twice in the week then a long run at the weekend. may have over done it a bit on sunday so taking a few rest days this week.

Look forward to see you guys at the start line. im aiming for 5 hours

l've got a half marathon in November, am planning on taking it fairly easy in Dec and then handing myself over to a 16 week plan in Jan. Last year l trained too much and got injured the month before London. My plan for VLM 2013 is to have fewer but higher quality training sessions.

Anyone got any advice for a three sessions a week plan?

djh- I've always used the Runners World schedules and i see they have a 3 session/week plan, although I used the 5/6 session ones.  I plan to build up to doing regular 12-14 mile long runs in Nov and Dec so that i've got a good distance base to build on from January

dg- as I hinted above, I'd suggest building up slowly over the next few months before the official 16 week training plans kick off.  You are less likely to get injured that way and build a better baseline fitness.  You'll enjoy the day so much more if you've done the training. 

Another tip is to write out your schedule- you're much more likely to go out for a run on these cold damp evenings if its written down!

I can't understand those folks you see walking only 4 or 5 miles into a marathon- surely they've done much bigger distances in their training?