If you entered the London Marathon Ballot, you will find out this week if you’re in. Here’s my guide on what to do if you get in and what to do if you don’t.
This is the week of the year when runners get more excited and nervous with anticipation than Christmas. The results of the 2020 London Marathon Ballot are released and for this of you who entered, you will either get the ‘good news’ magazine or the ‘sorry’ magazine, accompanied by a branded training top.
If you got in then you might be thinking “oh crap, I better start training” and if you didn’t get in, you might be thinking “ah well, I’ll try again next year”. Either way, you need to know what to do next so let me help you.
If you got in, here’s what to do next
- Tell the world! You’re one of around 17,500 who got in through the ballot out of hundreds of thousands who entered. This is your moment so tell everyone you know and share it across social media. This will also help to hold you accountable when everyone starts asking how your training is going. This may sound daunting but it will help you massively.
- Book your hotel. Everyone will be looking to book a hotel so as soon as you’ve received your acceptance magazine, go online and get yourself a hotel as they’ll fill up pretty quickly. I would recommend looking for somewhere within close travel distance to either Greenwich (for the start) or London Bridge station (train to the start).I always feel that the less you have to travel on race day, the less stress you will face and the more relaxed you’ll be. Travelodge and Hilton have hotels close to London Bridge and offer good vantage points close by for family members coming to cheer you on.
- Get a training plan. It’s useful to go and find your training plan now even though the bulk of the work will start in January. There are plenty free training plans available on the internet but also look at some paid options. You want to find a plan that’s going to work for you, will take you from where you are right now to where you want to be.You want something that will work within your schedule and offers some flexibility in the event you get ill or injured, have to work more or something else.If you need help, check out my Running Coaching as not only can I provide you with a training plan that fits around you, I include a workout plan that will get your body in the best condition for running, weekly support, monthly catch ups so we can plan the next month of training and also help you create strategies for training runs and the race itself.
If you didn’t get in, here’s what to do next
It’s ok you’re in good company with several hundred thousand other runners who entered the ballot and didn’t get in. You’ve expressed the desire to run a marathon and here’s what you can do:
- Apply for a charity place for London. If you really must do London then have a look at a charity place. Charity places are limited so expect to raise a minimum of £2000 to get a place.
- Choose another race. While London has a huge appeal, there are lots of other marathons taking place around April/May that are worth looking at. There’s Manchester, Brighton and Edinburgh to name but a few. Here’s a list of all the major marathons and so you can even try one abroad and build a short break around it.
- If you do go for another marathon, repeat steps 2 and 3 from if you did get in.
Hopefully these tips will help you if you have got in and not sure what to do next or give you the inspiration to try another marathon if you haven’t got in.
Did you get in through the ballot?
If you have, how are you feeling about it?
If you haven’t, which race will you sign up for instead?
If you would like help with your training, contact me here
Image copyright of the London Marathon.
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