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After my previous post on my marathon plans for 2009, I managed to forget all about my club’s ballot for places. I convinced myself that I was quite happy with Edinburgh for a first marathon, and I really didn’t care about not getting in to London in 2009.

I’d also discounted going for a charity place. I suppose I felt that asking people for sponsorship, when I (expect to) enjoy it all so much, was a bit of an ask. 

With the draw for club places taking a bit earlier than previous years, due to a change in the deadlines for applications, I got to thinking about things afresh over the weekend. It’s very clear to me that London is THE marathon to try for. It’s one of the biggest marathons in the world, and the support along the route is, I’m told, second to none. And that’s even before my running club’s support crew are factored in. It’s quite an expedition of other halves and supporters. Quite the club event. I understand there are usually between 20 and 30 participants as we’ve got a good few ‘Good for age’ entrants, in all age groups.

So I figured I couldn’t not put my name forward. I could always recant to my original position of not being bothered if I didn’t get picked. 

So on a cold evening, the names were in the hat. I was quite surprised by the odds. Six names in the hat, for four places allocated to the club. Much better odds than in the main ballot! Two names were drawn out without my being mentioned, so it was down to a 50/50 chance of a place. The third name was drawn, and after what felt like an eternity (un-peeling post-it notes with gloves would appear to be quite a challenge), my name was read out.

Suffice to say I’m absolutely delighted, and chuffed by the congratulations from many of my fellow runners. I don’t think the grin came off my face for a good few miles into last nights session, which was quite tough, as I’ve a feeling I’ve the onset of a cold. Didn’t help that I was running with the faster ‘B’ group, when I should probably have been taking it a bit easier.

Training kicks off early in the new year, and what with the Glasgow parkrun to organise (at least until a few other volunteers step forward to help with things), my Saturday mornings are going to be quite busy. But I’m really excited about the prospect. Despite this rather amusing video sent by my friend (and fellow London 2009 marathoner), David.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 4:13 pm and is filed under Personal, Running, Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.