Enigma Marathons - MK - GFA

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James_olliffe Apr 2018 11:52am, 13 Apr 2018 First-time poster!!	0 James_olliffe Morning, Apologies if this is covered elsewhere in the forums but I can not find anything. Has anyone on here ran any of the Enigma marathons in Milton Keynes and then used that time as a GFA for London or any of the big city marathons? I am unsure as to whether they qualify and having email London Marathon organisers they have been less than helpful.
fetcheveryone Apr 2018 12:07pm, 13 Apr 2018 19,143 posts	0 fetcheveryone I've put a shout out to Foxy - he'll know
Foxy Apr 2018 12:40pm, 13 Apr 2018 34,044 posts	0 Foxy Good question ? I would imagine for GFA the race would reqiire a permit from UKA, ARC or similar which the races dont have. However for a definitive answer phone VLM - I dis a few years ago wiyh te same question about another event & they were very helpful.
DeeGee Apr 2018 12:46pm, 13 Apr 2018 17,924 posts	0 DeeGee I'm pretty certain an ARC permit won't cut it, Foxy, as that's what my event has and I had to look into it after someone ran a 2:48! As I understand it, a UKA road permit is the requirement. That said, if someone can run GFA at Caldecotte, they can certainly do the same if they pick their road race and go for it. I used to be much faster on the road than at the lake, and I maintain that has nothing to do with my hydration strategy the night before
Fizz :-) Apr 2018 9:26pm, 13 Apr 2018 2,701 posts	0 Fizz :-) virginmoneylondonmarathon.com The VMLM FAQ's say “Any official timed road marathon which is 26.2 miles in length is eligible.” so I guess that excludes Foxy’s as they’re trail? Although quite what “official” means I wouldn’t like to say.
Old Man Apr 2018 10:18pm, 13 Apr 2018 3,292 posts	0 Old Man Is it not to do with whether the course has been accurately measured by a qualified measurer and then been issued with a certificate of course accuracy? As just such a person, it makes no difference to us whether we are measuring an ARC or EA event, they would receive the same certificate which a race organiser then includes in their bundle to either EA (or other home country NGB) or ARC for the race licence A certificate cannot be issued for an off road event as it cannot be accurately measured, hence the inclusion of the word road
DeeGee Apr 2018 12:27pm, 17 Apr 2018 17,934 posts	0 DeeGee 200m of track of insufficient integrity to be measured accurately per lap, 7 laps. 1400m off-road. As I understand it, 2.6km is permitted to be off road before it's considered to be too much, so there's no reason Foxy couldn't have a calibration certificate if he wanted one. A road permit isn't always necessarily about course accuracy, but also infrastructure and equipment.
larkim Apr 2018 1:01pm, 17 Apr 2018 4,404 posts	0 larkim They've updated their guidance in line with the new GFA rules and now are clearer about this (which will mean Enigma races don't count) - "Q. Which marathons are eligible? A. Qualifying times must be run at an event that has a certified marathon course. Race courses must be certified by UKA, the Association for International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), or a national governing body for distance running for the country in which the race is held."
plodding hippo Apr 2018 1:15pm, 17 Apr 2018 51,001 posts	0 plodding hippo The route at Caldecotte has been officially measured
larkim Apr 2018 1:13pm, 18 Apr 2018 4,438 posts	0 larkim There's a difference between "measured" and "an event that has a certified marathon course". There are additional requirements for the certificate beyond just the measurement - I'm imagining timing, course markings, etc etc. I've never run an Enigma race, but I get the impression they are run with a degree of informality (because they can trust the participants). And the certificates cost money too, UKA gets paid (not very much) by the organisers as I understand it.