There have been many comments on social networks about the process for the entry to the London Marathon including various questions about the fairness of the ballot. I think many people think that the ballot is a totally random pull names out of a hat type ballot but I do not believe this. I think that ages and times entered on the entry play a part. I don't know if I have read that this is fact or that it was something that has been suggested, either way it is a possibility.
The only way that people would believe that the ballot is truly fair is for the organisers to be totally open about the process. The drawback to this is that if there are factors around age and estimated times people would try to give themselves a better chance by fiddling these factors on their entry.
So it is a bit of a dilemma for the organisers if they give out too much information then they risk people trying to rig the process and if they keep it too secret they are accused of a lack of fairness.
I can't complain about the entry process personally, I have been lucky enough to get a place in the ballot twice and also ran the marathon twice more on a charity place. The first ballot place I was successful with was just after they had scrapped the 5 rejections and your in rule, this is a rule that is widely being complained about not being in existence anymore. I guess the problem is that there were too many people who qualified for a place under this rule so it became impossible to honour and I can understand it being
removed.
The other rule that has changed this year that has come in for criticism is the Good For Age time changes, something that was never going to affect me. My thoughts on this are that the times needed to be revised due to too many people achieving the standard, people are getting quicker! the issue I have is how the change was implemented mid year, surely the change should have been effective the following year when people had not trained and planned for the previous standard?
I do understand that there is huge frustration out there due to some people getting a place multiple times through the ballot whilst others enter the ballot every year for years and always get a rejection, something is clearly wrong with the entry system but I can not come up with an alternative that would suit all!
One thing that I do not understand is the delay between entry in April and finding out if you have been successful in October, this has not changed since the old paper system that I completed back in 2000 for my first attempt. Now the entry is fully computerised and it still takes the same length of time and we still have to wait for a magazine to drop through the letter box, surely this could be changed to be more efficient?
Other marathons have a first come first served entry process which people are suggesting for London, the issue I can see with this is that there are only so many places for the public, I am not sure the exact figure is ever published, but it has got to be less than 30,000! The ballot allows 100,000 people to enter and that sells out in a matter of hours, I remember the first year that Virgin sponsored the event the website could not cope with the numbers entering the ballot so how feasible a first come first served entry system would be I don't know. I'm sure some people would claim that is not fair either.
As many people have pointed out there are plenty of other marathons around the UK to enter, personally I have run the Brighton marathon every year since it started in 2010 and I have entered for next year too, how long I can keep running it every year I don't know, I guess it depends how long it is that it remains a first come first served entry marathon!! I have run 9 marathons all together and along with the 4 in London and 4 in Brighton the only other one is at the end of The Outlaw Triathlon, I really must widen my marathon tastes!
So in summary, the London marathon entry system is not perfect but I don't have a solution for it but there are many other marathons out there that people can run if they want.
I can't complain about the entry process personally, I have been lucky enough to get a place in the ballot twice and also ran the marathon twice more on a charity place. The first ballot place I was successful with was just after they had scrapped the 5 rejections and your in rule, this is a rule that is widely being complained about not being in existence anymore. I guess the problem is that there were too many people who qualified for a place under this rule so it became impossible to honour and I can understand it being
removed.
The other rule that has changed this year that has come in for criticism is the Good For Age time changes, something that was never going to affect me. My thoughts on this are that the times needed to be revised due to too many people achieving the standard, people are getting quicker! the issue I have is how the change was implemented mid year, surely the change should have been effective the following year when people had not trained and planned for the previous standard?
I do understand that there is huge frustration out there due to some people getting a place multiple times through the ballot whilst others enter the ballot every year for years and always get a rejection, something is clearly wrong with the entry system but I can not come up with an alternative that would suit all!
One thing that I do not understand is the delay between entry in April and finding out if you have been successful in October, this has not changed since the old paper system that I completed back in 2000 for my first attempt. Now the entry is fully computerised and it still takes the same length of time and we still have to wait for a magazine to drop through the letter box, surely this could be changed to be more efficient?
Other marathons have a first come first served entry process which people are suggesting for London, the issue I can see with this is that there are only so many places for the public, I am not sure the exact figure is ever published, but it has got to be less than 30,000! The ballot allows 100,000 people to enter and that sells out in a matter of hours, I remember the first year that Virgin sponsored the event the website could not cope with the numbers entering the ballot so how feasible a first come first served entry system would be I don't know. I'm sure some people would claim that is not fair either.
As many people have pointed out there are plenty of other marathons around the UK to enter, personally I have run the Brighton marathon every year since it started in 2010 and I have entered for next year too, how long I can keep running it every year I don't know, I guess it depends how long it is that it remains a first come first served entry marathon!! I have run 9 marathons all together and along with the 4 in London and 4 in Brighton the only other one is at the end of The Outlaw Triathlon, I really must widen my marathon tastes!
So in summary, the London marathon entry system is not perfect but I don't have a solution for it but there are many other marathons out there that people can run if they want.
Now hopefully tomorrow I can get back on my bike and start training again ready for Brighton in April and Ironman UK in July!!
No comments:
Post a Comment