London Marathon Application: How To Enter The London Marathon

The Flora London Marathon usually receives much more interest from participants than it can accommodate in the tightly packed streets of London. Should you gain entry into the London Marathon, you will either be very lucky or very talented or will have worked hard in raising money for your favourite charity organisation.

There are four main ways to enter the London Marathon:

• Apply through the online ballot system
• Obtain an entry through a charity
• Enter as a championship runner
• Through your running club
• Get a good for your age place

The Online Ballot System

The Flora London Marathon, accept UK entrants through an online ballet system. The 2009 ballet system is now closed, however if you are interested in entering the 2010 Virgin London Marathon, you may do so here. 2010 Virgin London Marathon Online Ballot Entry Form For UK Residents.

The way the ballot system tends to work is that expressions of interest are taken until 120,000 applications are received. From these, the selected entrants will be drawn randomly.

You are usually advised in early October on whether you were accepted or not.

If you are not a UK resident, then you can enter the overseas online ballot. The 2009 has now closed, and the 2010 ballot has not yet opened.

To find out when the overseas ballot for 2010 becomes active, you can periodically check the London Marathon Web Page, just be sure to register relatively early as there’s usually a lot of interest in the event.

Obtain a Charity Place

If you would like to raise money for a charity organisation, or your luck was not with you in the online ballot, you can register your interest in a charity place.

A selected number of charity organisations are allocated entry spots in the London Marathon. To enter this way, you need to register your interest with one of these organisation.

Charity places are not given out free. Each charity has to pay £250 per place and you will be expected to raise a large sum of money to cover this. Expect to have to raise in excess of £1,000 for your place in the event.

Follow the link to learn more about running for charity.

Running the London Marathon for charity.

Fact: In 2009, the Flora London Marathon Official Charity is the Children’s Trust of Tamworth.

Entering as a Championship Runner

If you are an elite runner, you can gain an automatic entry to the London Marathon.

The championship qualifying standard is 2:45 for men and 3:15 for women. Half marathon qualifying standard are also recognised. For men the half marathon time is 1:15 and for women 1:30. Qualifying times for the 2009 Flora London Marathon must have been achieved since the 1st of January 2007. For the 2010 Virgin London Marathon, this cut-off date is likely to be the 1st of January 2008.

Runners must be UK Athletics Affiliate Club members and UK runners are required to send proof of qualifying performances (either a photocopied race certificate or a newspaper results clipping) and proof of ID (a photocopy of passport, driving license or birth certificate).

More details can be found here.

Championship Entries.

Entering Through a Running Club

UK Athletics-affiliated clubs via England Athletics, Scottish Athletics, Welsh Athletics, the Northern Ireland Athletics Federation are eligible to apply for club entries into the event. Entries are allocated according to the number of first claim members in the club.

If you are a member of a UKA affiliated athletics club, talk with your club about obtaining an entry into the London Marathon for 2010.

Obtaining a “Good For Your Age” Place

If you have achieved an age-based qualifying standard then you may apply for an automatic entry by submitting proof of your performance. The good for age entry system is now closed for the 2009 race, but check the London Marathon website periodically if you wish to participate in the 2010 Virgin London Marathon.

The qualifying standards are as follows:

MEN 18-40	2:45:00-3:00:00	WOMEN 18-49	3:15:00 -3:45:00
MEN 41-59	sub 3:15:00	WOMEN 50-54	sub 4:00:00
MEN 60-64	sub 3:30:00	WOMEN 55 - 59	sub 4:15:00
MEN 65-69	sub 4:00:00	WOMEN 60 - 64	sub 4:30:00
MEN 70+	sub 5:00:00	WOMEN 65 - 69	sub 5:30:00
		WOMEN 70+	sub 6:30:00

Paula Radcliffe: Out Of the Flora 2009 London Marathon With A Broken Toe

Paula Radcliffe who was hoping to make it a 4th win in the 2009 Flora London Marathon has withdrawn with a broken toe, sustained while training at Altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Conor Lawless

Paula had this to say about her withdrawal from the Marathon to be held on April 26th:

I am desperately disappointed that I have to pull out of this year’s race especially as I was looking forward to running in front of the amazing crowds of spectators in London that always offer such great support.

I am considering surgery to get myself totally healthy as soon as physically possible and ultimately prevent the bunion causing any future problems.

Paula has won the London Marathon in 2002, 2003 and 2005 including a world record performance in her 2003 victory.

Paula had a disappointing run in the 2008 Olympic Marathon in Beijing, a race in which she was clearly under-prepared after missing training due to a stress fracture in her femur. She managed to bounce back by November to win her third New York Marathon in a time of 2:23:56.

Although the elite women’s field will sorely miss the three time winner, the field is one of the strongest ever assembled and should provide an enthralling spectacle.

All three Beijing Olympic medallists will line up including champion Constantina Dita of Romania, word champion and Olympic silver medallist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, China’s Olympic bronze medallist and 2007 Flora London Marathon champion Zhou Chunxiu, defending champion and World Marathon Majors winner Irina Mikitenko of Germany and a string of others will make the 2009 contest one of the most anticipated London Marathons ever.

Here is a full list of entrants in the women’s event:

Athlete	Country	Personal Best Time
Irina Mikitenko	Germany	2:19:19
Catherine Ndereba	Kenya	2:18:47
Zhou Chunxiu	China	2:19:51
Berhane Adere	Ethiopia	2:20:42
Lyudmila Petrova	Russia	2:21:29
Svetlana Zakharova	Russia	2:21:31
Gete Wami	Ethiopia	2:21:34
Yuri Kano	Japan	2.24.27
Tomo Morimoto	Japan	2.24.33
Mara Yamauchi	Great Britain	2:25:03
Martha Komu	Kenya	2:25:33
Mika Okunaga	Japan	2.27.52
Kirsten Melkevik Otterbu	Norway	2:29:12
Inga Abitova	Russia	2:33:55
Kate O’Neill	USA	2:34:04
Liliya Shobukhova	Russia	Debut
Jo Pavey	Great Britain	Debut

The Flora London Marathon 2009

Everyone is counting down the days to the 28th Flora London Marathon, to be held on the 26th of April 2009.

Always a hugely popular event the 2008 London Marathon, which is also the largest annual fund raising event in the world, accepted 46,500 starters from a record 80,500 applicants and saw 34,497 runners crossing the line in 2008.

Photo Credit: dan taylor.

The event is part of the World Marathon Majors, a two year championship style competition over the marathon distance that offers a $1 million cash bonus to be split equally between the top male and female marathoners in the world, and never fails to attract a high caliber elite field.

With the shock announcement that world record holder and home town favorite Paula Radcliffe has withdrawn from this years event with a broken toe, the question is now, who will take the 2009 title?

Among the leading contenders are Olympic champion Constantina Dita or Romania who last year became the oldest marathon champion at 38.

With faster times are Kenyan athlete Catherine Ndereba, with a personal best time of 2:18:47, German Irina Mikitenko who has clocked a 2:19:19 and Zhou Chunxiu from China who has recorded 2:19:51 over the marathon distance.

Other contenders for the women’s race are:

Athlete	Country	Personal Best Time
Berhane Adere	Ethiopia	2:20:42
Lyudmila Petrova	Russia	2:21:29
Svetlana Zakharova	Russia	2:21:31
Gete Wami	Ethiopia	2:21:34
Yuri Kano	Japan	2.24.27
Tomo Morimoto	Japan	2.24.33
Mara Yamauchi	Great Britain	2:25:03
Martha Komu	Kenya	2:25:33
Mika Okunaga	Japan	2.27.52
Kirsten Melkevik Otterbu	Norway	2:29:12
Inga Abitova	Russia	2:33:55
Kate O’Neill	USA	2:34:04
Liliya Shobukhova	Russia	Debut
Jo Pavey	Great Britain	Debut

In the men’s event, all eyes will be on Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru who last year ran what some have called the best marathon of all time, in a brutal race in the Beijing heat where the leaders set a sub-3 minute kilometer pace from the start of the race. Sammy held on to win, beating compatriot and last year’s winner of London, Martin Lel, who is also entered and considered one of the favorites.

Martin Lel spirts to take the 2005 men’s marathon title.
Photo Credit: yaaaay

Lel who has had victories in London in 2005, 2007 and 2008 is aiming to become the first man in history to win four London Marathons, but according to Flora London Marathon race director David Bedford he will face stiff competition and will have to be at his absolute best to win the 2009 event.

Recent form in the Lisbon marathon shows that Lel is in good touch winning easily from competitors Robert Cheruiyot and Maroccan Jaouad Gharib in 59:56, in what was a tactical race well off the course record.

Wanjiru, who also competed in the Lisbon race does not look so promising finishing in over 61 minutes, well off his world record half marathon best of 58:33 run two years ago in Holland.

Either Wanjiru’s massive 2008 is starting to take it’s toll on the Kenyan champion, or else he is doing insane amounts of high volume training, likely over 100 miles a week in preparation for London and it’s crippled his performance over the shorter event.

Either way all eyes will be on him when the 26th rolls around.

Another athlete to watch is Etrian Zersenay Tadese who will make his marathon debut in London. Tadese recently finished 3rd in the IAAF World Cross Country 12k, an event noted as the most competitive endurance race in the world. Tadese was the 2007 champion in the event and received US $10,000 for his third place effort.

Other competitors entered in the men’s field include:

Athlete	Country	Personal Best Time
Abderrahim Goumri	Morocco	2:05:30
Khalid Khannouchi	USA	2:05:38
Felix Limo	Kenya	2:06:14
Emmanuel Mutai	Kenya	2:06:15
Tsegaye Kebede	Ethiopia	2:06:40
Hendrick Ramaala	South Africa	2:06:55
Jaouad Gharib	Morocco	2:07:02
Viktor Röthlin	Switzerland	2:07:23
Yonas Kifle	Etrian	2:07:34
Tessema Abshiro	Ethiopia	2:08:26
Dathan Ritzenhein	USA	2:11:06
Hicham Bellani	Morocco	Debut

London Marathon Facts

• The London Marathon has been held each year since 1981. The event is usually held in April
• London is one of the top five international marathons
• The total amount of charity raised over all London Marathons since 1981 is £315 million
• The official charity of the 2009 London Marathon is The Children's Trust, Tadworth.
• London is the only Marathon course run in two hemispheres, both the east and the west. This is because the course spans either side of the Prime Meridian in Greenwich.
• On 16th of May, 2008 London Marathon Limited signed a new five year sponsorship deal with Virgin and Virgin Money worth £17 million.
• The first London Marathon was held on 29 March 1981. More than 20,000 applied to run. 6,747 were accepted and there were 6,255 finishers.
• In 2008 34,497 people crossed the line making it a total of 711,260 finishers since the race’s inception.