I’ve been a bit quiet for a week preparing for, running and now recovering from running the London Marathon.
What a day! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and it certainly lived up to all the hype. I managed to get around the course in 5 hours and 43 minutes. My longest run had been 17 miles prior to the big day, so where the energy came from for the last 9 I don’t know except it’s true what they say about the crowd really lifting you towards the end.
What I was struck by was how organised it all was. When I registered on Friday night at the Excel Centre in the docklands there was no queue. We got fitted with microchips for our shoes which tracked our time from start to finish, and at strategic points around the course to ensure no one could cheat.
72 hours after the race they’ve scanned 1000’s of photos and digitally picked out your running number and stuck them on a website where you can now download images of yourself struggling around the course.
Tonnes of runners were using GPS tracking devices to measure speed and distance via satellites but also enable friends and family back home to watch their progress online.
But the big news is that after a trial this year, you can now apply to run next year’s race online.
The bad news is they reached initial capacity of 80k entries by 10pm the day after this year’s race.
Just think of how much time, money and trees have been saved by going digital!
