Did you get a place in London Marathon?
I had to go out and run some errands today. As my hybrid is currently stuck behind a couple of old sofas in my garage, I had the choice of driving or walking. The devil on my shoulder said that it was cold and I’d enjoy singing along to music in my car. The angel won, so I put on a jacket, filled up my rucksack and headed out on foot.
I was really glad that I chose to walk. I’m not getting as much exercise as I usually do, and my baby pokes me less in the ribs/back when I’m moving, so walking is less painful than driving. It was also surprisingly warm and sunny. However, there were lots of signs that autumn is here
Rejection in the London Marathon ballot
When I got back from my errands, the post had arrived:
Yet another London Marathon rejection. Bizarrely, there was no London Marathon news for Stuart, so we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out whether he has got in. If he does have a place, then I really should go and support him, but I had my heart set on running Southampton marathon, and one of us has to look after the baby! (It may be that Stu doesn’t receive a magazine. Apparently only half of the rejected applicants will receive a magazine and the rest will get an ezine).
I’ve been keeping my eye on social media this afternoon and can see that my friends Jo, Tom and Matt have got places (and my speedy friends have Good For Age or Championship places), but most people seem to have rejection letters. I’ll get a second chance in my running club’s ballot, but won’t be too upset if I miss out this year.
Replacing our bikes
Stuart is getting back into the swing of training after taking a month off following Ironman Copenhagen. He hasn’t got a bike yet, but it won’t be long before he has something to ride. Hopefully, he’ll keep me company on the turbo trainer every now and again. I’ve also had a quote email from Cyclescheme. I’m just waiting for a couple of details to be resolved and then I should be able to order a new bike 🙂
In the late afternoon, I received an unexpected email:
One of my Polish-speaking friends has translated the message for me: “Hi, your bike has been found in Poland. The whole case has been directed to the police. It’s only a matter of time to get your bike back.”
I’m not really sure how to respond to this. I don’t think it’s a scam as the sender doesn’t have any of my contact details. There is a form for them to complete on Stolen Bikes. I have no idea what state my poor bike will be in and also whether it would be possible to get my bike back from Poland. If it’s been trashed then it probably isn’t worth it. It does make me feel there’s even less chance of getting our other bikes back as they’ve probably disappeared in Poland. I’ve contacted the local police officer assigned to the case, so hopefully, he’ll get back to me.
Tri Club swimming
This evening, we went along to Tri Club swimming. It was a nice session and I did almost all of it, only missing out 100-200m.
I’m now in limbo… will I make it to Tri Club swimming next week? Will I make it to parkrun on Saturday? Will I be able to run with my friends on Thursday afternoon? It almost feels like I’m living on borrowed time. I’ve changed my Tri Club membership so that from November, it is a non-swimming membership. I’ll still be allowed to go to track running sessions and turbo trainer sessions (when I get the all clear from the doctor and assuming I want to go).
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Fingers crossed for Stuart for a London place. Dave hasn’t heard yet but will be giving his away if he gets one. He’s run London already and thought it was too big and too busy, although the it’s a bucket list marathon. He saw you in his running mag today. Hopefully I’ll be able to grab it eventually and have a read!
I keep glancing at the doormat in the hope that post has arrived for Stu. He’s run London a couple of times, so I don’t think he’s too fussed about doing it. (I’m hoping that if he does get in he’ll agree to defer his place, so we can run in Southampton… supporting him all day in London with a buggy sounds like hard work!)
Dave didn’t get a place. He got the email today.
At least the decision is made for both of you. Stu didn’t get a place either, which was a relief.
I hate days like that, where you get a bunch of answers but most aren’t the answers you want! Tough day.
In some ways, I’ve been making peace with my beloved bike being stolen, so it’s opening up wounds again. The resolution that I’m hoping for is criminal convictions so that no-one else has to go through the heartbreak.
I’m still waiting to hear from London. I’m going to guess it’s a no as I refused to fundraise.
I really wish that they would email everyone simultaneously or just post up a start list. It’s so unfair that some people ahve to wait longer than others to hear. My husband still hasn’t heard yet, either.
I agree. My father-in-law, who lives in Hertfordshire, was notified yesterday as well. He’s run London before, but he got rejected (assuming because he wouldn’t fundraise) although he can still try for a bib through his running club as well. Are your friends who got in fundraising? Or did they just enter the lottery?
There are just too many people who enter the ballot 🙁 My friends who have got in were some of the lucky few – I’ve had a few friends in the past who have gone the charity route, but the required minimum amount of fundraising is usually £2000, which is quite a lot of money. It’s easier to raise that much if people know it’s a charity close to your heart and you’ve never run a marathon before, but as a regular runner it’s harder to get people to sponsor you.