VLM 2018 GFA
12 watchers
Oct 2017
4:08pm, 18 Oct 2017
6,267 posts
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paul the builder
Fair enough, and very easy for them too if they're sub 2:45 ability. Still think he should join a club (you never actually have to go) just to experience the champs start. 
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Oct 2017
4:37pm, 18 Oct 2017
32 posts
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Spideog
Well there are "reasons" for entering the way they do, and as the walls have ears I'd best say no more.
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Oct 2017
5:04pm, 18 Oct 2017
379 posts
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Little Miss Happy
I'm well over 40 and was promoted from the green to the FGFA start last year so I don't think it's necessarily an age thing. I have a slightly lower number this year - a 32xxx rather than a 33xxx
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Oct 2017
5:14pm, 18 Oct 2017
7,471 posts
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becca7
Sorry if I'm being slow but why were you not on the Championship start rather than FGFA Little Miss Happy?
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Oct 2017
5:59pm, 18 Oct 2017
11,054 posts
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paul a
I’m sure it is an age thing. In 2016 I entered with my fastest GFA time in my 9 LMs and was shunted to Green. The same happened to friends of a similar age with quick times that would normally be well within the FGFA bracket.
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Oct 2017
6:07pm, 18 Oct 2017
12,009 posts
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Bazoaxe
I agree with Paul A....Ive been on green last 2 years when using 3:00:57 then 3:00:27 which are my 2 fastest times. Albeit I can see why a 2:45 is different despite age
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Oct 2017
9:54am, 19 Oct 2017
33 posts
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Spideog
I "only" got a 3:05 and change in 2017 due to having medical issues over the last two miles. That still would have counted for an age group GFA, but I went and did another marathon shortly after to ensure I still had the sub 3 counting time for another couple of years, so taking the pressure off needing to get a fGFA time again in 2018. My 2:58 qualifying race number is similar to another club mate with a 3:00 and seconds time though, so I would expect us to both be in the same start which I'd expect to be fGFA. This is the order the numbers were allocated for 2017: 401 to 1900 - championship 1901 to 24400 and 59901 to 63200 - blue 24401 to 31350 -green 31351 to 34000 - fast good for age 34001 to 59900 - red Assuming they do things in the same order, even if the numbers don't exactly match, then a higher number shouldn't mean you've been bumped to Green. It makes my mate with the sub2:45 time race number an oddity, but the number of people getting GFA each year isn't fixed. Will have to see if I can dig out the number ranges for previous years to see how the spread of number have changed. |
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Oct 2017
10:14am, 19 Oct 2017
12,014 posts
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Bazoaxe
I think my number this year is 25k ish although I had to use my VLM 3:12 time as my qualifier as the Edinburgh 3:00 wasn't accepted due to the Edinburgh results not giving me a unique page to link to and VLM don't accept having to search results themselves. I do subsequently have a 3:02 qualifier I can use for next year though, but suspect I may need to break that sub 3 barrier at VLM if I am to get back on to FGFA for 2019. This will be my 10th GFA and 3rd of those on green with the others on Red FGFA. |
Oct 2017
10:27am, 19 Oct 2017
652 posts
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Oranj
Thanks Spideog, I recycled last year's final details magazine and couldn't remember what the number allocation was. I've always had a number in the 25000-29000 bracket, so green start, but after last year's speedy sub-3 finish, this year I have a FGFA number 33XXX. Is that blue? |
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Oct 2017
10:41am, 19 Oct 2017
34 posts
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Spideog
Definitely won't be Blue if you got in through the GFA system, will only be Green or the very front pen of Red. Officially they do have two pens in the fGFA area and you get a 1 or 2 on the bottom corner of your number, really it's just one big pen though. The guys going for a sub2:50 just need to queue up on the road section a bit sooner than the rest of us and the queue snakes back onto the grass with no real order to it. Everyone in the fGFA section though is capable of running times within a 20minute range of each other (except for the few oddities with silly fast times but not in championship) so it makes for a very good start with minimal congestion or need to get past people as we are all on the same target pace to within a few seconds a mile until the courses merge at 3 miles in. The other start pens are a lot more random in the allocation of times, even the championship start the range of paces for people in there will go from sub 2:30 times to 3:15 for the women so a lot more opportunity to get congestion behind people going the wrong pace for you. |
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