Are you inspired by Alex Vero's ambitions, or slightly insulted?

MM - have a look on the Blackpool thread on events.  There are Garmin readings (which mean nothing in themselves) but also experienced runners analysing their times and smelling a rat.  Also go onto Athletics Data and see how many runners ran significant pbs.

It's not been proved one way or the other it was short, but there are serious questions about it.

Hiily,
Thanks for the info.

That's really depressing.

The last thing you want to hear when you've put your heart and soul into an event such as a marathon is to learn that the organisers couldn't get things sorted enough to produce a course of the right length.

Still, could've been worse, imagine being Tomas Abyu and missing a slot at Beijing because the Dublin course wasn't ratified!!!!!!!! 

LizzyB,
Long time, no speak.
Sorry but I totally disagree.
Can't imagine that I'd ever be bragging that I once won a 26.1M race.
Doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Frankly, I'd be furious and I'd be seeking a refund from the organisers.

LizzyB - no one is belittling his achievement in winning handsomely.  The point I was making was that the course was short.  I know the runner you mention quite well and have raced against him on many occasions.  I generally beat him in road races - so yes, a good standard club athlete and one of the people MM says would have trained hard and been robbed of what would be a fantastic time for him.

I believe I said the winner's performance was impressive, coming from no running background and winning a decent standard marathon.  I just wanted to point out the times are suspect.

BR
For gawds sake, don't tell Mr Abyu that.

Have to agree after looking at the thread (thanks for the link Hilly), and the data that it looks *very* suspicious. What a bummer, I'd be gutted. But to be honest I'm not totally suprised. A chap that I know (in terms of race results) managed to convert a 76 min-flat 1/2M in mid-Feb into a 2:35 marathon at Blackpool. I'm not saying that's impossible, but it does seem extremely unlikely. 

Again, I'd be furious. 

<delurks> 

Hilly,

Someone on the sub-3.15 thread posted a link to the course measurement website.  As I recall, it said the last time Blackpool marathon was measured officially was 2002 and the course has changed since then, as it was certainly a single lap course in 2004 (when I ran it) but is now a two lap course.  Now, I accept that that website may be wrong and the new course has been measured, but it's a real pity if it hasn't.  It can be measured afterwards and retrospectively corrected, apparently.

<relurks>

Alex,
How's the training going.
Is a sub-2:30 on the cards in 24 weeks?

Re: Tomas Abyu in Dublin

 I don't think it was because the course wasn't ratified. It wasn't on the list of courses you could achieve an Olympic Qualification which the IAAF posts out and anybody can get access to the list. The Boston marathon also isn't on this list.

If you want to make a qualification attempt as far as I'm aware you've to tell someone I suppose in UK athletics that you're making the attempt a few days prior. Now if he had have told someone surely they'd have said "that course isn't on the list, it won't count" and he wouldn't have raced it. Instead it appears he got the time and then told them he got it and they pointed out that he was meant to tell them before hand and the course isn't on the list. All a bit stupid really - a quick google would have told him not to race it!