London GFA
25 watchers
Feb 2016
1:22pm, 15 Feb 2016
38 posts
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willdowney
So i got an email telling me my number had changed so i phoned them to confirm i was still starting at the GFA start and he said something about Fast GFA and GFA. Because of the hight number of GFA running 2016 they had to split it out between red and green start. I asked him if GFA qualification times will change next year and he said they wont know until after the race this year. So...Anyone with experience on GFA had thier number / colour changed before? Heard of GFA and fast GFA? Am i reading too much into this email and telephone conversation? It would be good to know if they intended to change it from 3.05 to sub 3hr before race - ill have to work my a#se off this year to get sub 3.05 due to injuires but if it isnt going to get me qualification again i would rather know so i can run round at a slower pace |
Feb 2016
1:29pm, 15 Feb 2016
6,613 posts
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becca7
Isn't this always the case? Fast GFA runners go from the Red Start. I think that they have times sub 3:15. Therefore most younger men will be on the Fast GFA Red Start and the Green Start tends to be women and older men with GFA times slower than 3:15.
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Feb 2016
1:34pm, 15 Feb 2016
39 posts
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willdowney
I dont know, this is my first time at GFA I assumed (probably incorrectly) the was one GFA start...The email and conversation i got seemed like " dam, we have a lot more GFA's this year then normal so we will have to split it and review the times next year in order to reduce the numbers" |
Feb 2016
1:40pm, 15 Feb 2016
6,614 posts
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becca7
I see. It's normal for there to be the Fast GFA and ordinary GFA. I hadn't heard before that they might review it in the light of increased numbers.
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Feb 2016
1:40pm, 15 Feb 2016
12,327 posts
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TRO Saracen
As Becca said. I went off in fast GFA in 2014, and will be there in April. Both GFA's are great pens to start from with good facilities. Green you also get the celebs and a marquee. As far as I know the division between GFA and fast GFA pens has been 3:15 for a while. Does not matter which AG your are in, or by how much you 'beat' your actual GFA time, it's just a time split to divide up the GFA's to the front of Green and Red starts. The actual times to get your GFA can be tweaked annually, so they may change it any year. There is such competition for places and more get GFA each year, so the bar does get raised periodically. At least you know for sure in advance. For Boston, there is in indicative time and this gets moved according to how many get it. My wife beat the 'target' time by a couple of minutes, which looked safe but when they totted up the numbers, the cut fell nearer 2 and a half inside the target and she was 23 seconds off |
Feb 2016
1:43pm, 15 Feb 2016
25 posts
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UsedToRunaBit
I got the email too, I qualified by running 2:58, so not sure what group that gets me into or where I am now. I did feel it was only a matter of time before we get squeezed even more.
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Feb 2016
1:50pm, 15 Feb 2016
40 posts
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willdowney
ok - thanks for the replies - Maybe its not as panicked and dis-organsied as the email suggests and was probably reading too much into it
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Feb 2016
1:53pm, 15 Feb 2016
27 posts
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UsedToRunaBit
I gave them a call too, we are still in the GFA area/pen, just that the number of which group you will start in front of will change.
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Feb 2016
3:03pm, 15 Feb 2016
5,329 posts
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paul the builder
I assume that we're all talking about the same email (for those who received it, I'm sure there are plenty of FGFA who haven't, and we are the 'lucky' ones """Dear Paul, Please be advised that due to the large number of people who have qualified with Good For Age times, we have had to move some runners to a different start. As a result, when you receive your registration form in March, the running number printed on it will be different to the number that was stated on your acceptance form, but please do not be concerned by this. Your new running number for the 2016 Virgin Money London Marathon is: 29xxx""" So sounds like will, UTRABit, and me are shunted to Green start?(*) I've only ever been off FGFA at the Red, so I don't know what Green's like. Much fewer people I should think, and possibly have to barge a few C-listers out of the way when the gun goes. (*) Wonder why we got picked? Are we all vets? (I'm V40). Did we all defer places? (I did from last year when I was ill). Maybe we're all highly photogenic? (for mixing with the celebs).:-) I wouldn't immediately read anything in to this regarding changing standards for next year. *But* if they have got more than expected this year, they'll surely be thinking about it, Stands to reason really, if demand for VLM places is going ever upwards (ballot over subscriptions seem to get worse with time), then that's probably also true of the GFA applications too. |
Feb 2016
3:25pm, 15 Feb 2016
28 posts
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UsedToRunaBit
I'll be 40 when running it and my number was 30K something. I was at the front of red 2 years ago, quite liked it, green is meant to be a bit of a better route I hear though.
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