London Marathon 2020

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Old Man Dec 2019 5:34pm, 3 Dec 2019 3,565 posts	0 Old Man On the other question of accommodation, I'd say stay some where around the finish On the morning of the race you simply follow the sea of Lycra as it makes its way to Blackheath, if you stay closer to the finish then when you finish its quicker back to the bath, bed, beer or whatever you need and there is simply more choice in central London than there is in Blackheath
Bazoaxe Dec 2019 7:17pm, 3 Dec 2019 15,632 posts	0 Bazoaxe Somewhere close to the DLR is good for staying. FMail me if you have any questions
larkim Dec 2019 9:02am, 4 Dec 2019 9,668 posts	0 larkim Thanks all. The mechanics of London frighten me compared to just getting in my car at 7:15 and driving to a free parking spot 800m from the start of Chester!! How far out from London could you conceivably travel on the morning to still arrive in good form at Blackheath? I suppose heading up from South of the river would be easier than from North, but perhaps it's not as straightforward as that. As it's my 19yo that'll likely be doing it, I suspect he'd be happy enough to travel light, dump a bag at the start and then after the finish be heading straight home - no need to go back to accommodation. Depends I suppose on whether any of the family also go down to cheer him on. If we drove down and back, we'd need to be able to get back to the car easily enough from the finish though which I suppose suggests staying somewhere North or West makes most sense for us. But not really knowing London transport well enough makes it harder to pick!
Oranj Dec 2019 9:09am, 4 Dec 2019 1,762 posts	0 Oranj If you're anywhere inside the M25 and within reach of London Transport, it should be straightforward. I've always travelled from Oxford on the morning of the race; this makes for a 6am start, but still leaves nearly an hour for faffing at Blackheath. The size of the bag you can leave at the start (you get a clear plastic tote to put everything in) is quite limited if you were thinking of an overnight stay, something to bear in mind.
larkim Dec 2019 9:17am, 4 Dec 2019 9,670 posts	0 larkim Cheers Orange, that's a helpful benchmark. He travels light, so even an overnight bag for a teenage lad should fit in the VMLM allowance!
Windsor Wool Dec 2019 11:26am, 18 Dec 2019 4,411 posts	0 Windsor Wool I've tried out quite a few locations over the years lark. Let me know if I can help at all. It's much easier than you might think though....London is very well set-up to cope moving folks to a set point all at once. One thing I have learned is to ignore the advice of the VMLM mag that you get where they tell you what station to arrive at for which start. Here it is: 'The easiest way to get to the three start areas (Blue Start, Red Start and Green Start) is to travel by train. Blue Start runners should travel to Blackheath station. Red Start runners should travel to either Greenwich station or Maze Hill station. Green Start runners should travel to Maze Hill station.' My experience is that going to Blackheath is best for any of the starts. Most importantly for me it avoids the need to walk up the bloody great big hill from Greenwich to the starts while carrying your over-night bag! Like I said, let me know if I can help with anything.
mulbs Dec 2019 11:55am, 18 Dec 2019 13,645 posts	0 mulbs Windsor Wool - I shall be watching out for more top tips. I'm lucky enough to be relatively local to London so won't have an overnight bag but I've done a few runs where I did have and know advice like that ^^^ is hugely helpful
larkim Dec 2019 12:11pm, 18 Dec 2019 9,817 posts	0 larkim Cheers WW - as it turns out, he's probably able to stay with a mate about 1m from the start, so that seems to be a done deal. Just need to work out how he gets back up to the NE for the start of term / lectures the next day! SWMBO and I just need to think about whether either of us want to be there in person on cheering duties (or scraping off the floor duties!) at / near the end.
Windsor Wool Dec 2019 1:21pm, 18 Dec 2019 4,412 posts	0 Windsor Wool hope you make the decision to come down lark, you could assist me from my normal semi-prone state on The Mall!
auburnette Jan 2020 12:31pm, 10 Jan 2020 1,598 posts	0 auburnette bump...how's everyone's training going? Up to 16 miles now for my LSR, need to keep the build nice and steady and the legs uninjured! Last month was my highest ever mileage (not saying much) and expect this month and March will also be new highs.