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Hi, we're down in London this weekend as Mrs HTO is running the London Marathon.
We're staying in Kentish Town.
Where would be a good place to spectate during the race, before then moving on to The Mall for the finish?
And how realistic will it be to move around anyway? Presume there will be lots of road closures, bus diversions, loads of people, and the tube network will be heaving?
Ideally, I'd have us moving around by bike, but 2 teenage girls who are, at best, ambivalent about riding anyway, have vetoed that!
Cheers.
In a pub.
In a pub with live music
https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/21486620.watch-london-marathon-best-pubs-spots-en-route/
When my MIL did it we waited down on the Isle of Dogs by Tiller Rd, then walked across to Eastferry Rd where there was music etc. and saw her again. Then we got a tube to the finish area. Maybe via Tower Hill.
The areas with music are great but I prefer to avoid them when supporting someone specific.
Tube is doable, it's busy but compared the the shambles of Manchester tram on marathon day it's a dream!
Last time I did the following which worked well:
Get to Bermondsey early enough to watch leaders through.
Then to Canary Wharf to see them twice
Then to Westminster and can walk to meet after finish.
Cutty Sark then tower bridge or then Canary wharf then embankment or and the mall.
You might not be able to see her on the mall as think it's a stand so either meet in park after or cheer her on bird cage walk. If you're seeing her at the start you might be able to nip round to the main road in Charlton. Maze hill might be an option train wise if you go Charlton but not sure how train is anymore. Make sure her name is on her number if not already. Sun lotion too.
Basic version is see her at 1/2 way at Tower Hill , get the tube to Westminster and see here in mile 25. There are quite big time gaps there so, if you want to do some running and get smart you can see here go in Rotherhithe, out of that area/Tower Hill.
We cheered a mate on - and twice I was climbing street furniture to get above heads of the crowds to see him.
We also set up an agreement that we would always be spectate from his left side.
He said the three times we cheered and yelled his name was the three highlights of the run...
Take a rucksack and sprinkle some orange powder on your clothes - you'll be able to stand where you want then, for a while.
Our family spectating plan (me and my two siblings have all run it) tends to be some minor variation on, Cutty Sark, Isle of Dogs/Canary Wharf, then Embankment
All give a decent chance of being actually able to see the runner. The cheers on Embankment were perfect timing for me as I was just realising I wasn't going to get my goal time.
It's easy then for runners and spectators to get to horseguards for a meet at the end.
When I've spectated before the Surrey Quays / Rotherhithe (mile 9/10) bit was pretty quiet and easy to see people. Then a quick hop on the tube to Canary Wharf and you can see them go past a few times within a short walk. Another quick tube ride to London Bridge, cross the Thames and see them in the last few miles. Walk the last bit (it's a nice stroll along the Thames) or back into London Bridge and get a Charing Cross train that gets you close to the Mall.
As said, it'll be heaving around the finish - agree a place to meet after!
Low effort option (that I did 😀) is brekkie at Tower Bridge spoons approx m12 (wasn’t too busy there at all really so great view of all the runners), return to sink a few pints, then walk across the bridge and see them again approx m23 near Tower Hill.
If I see Mrs HTO in the blue wave sees a Robin and Batman - say Hi.
BEst spectator energy seems to be at Tower Bridge, on the Highway (spectate both ways) and on Birdcage Walk.
(I've never spectated, but run many times)
As a runner, you need picking up most on the Isle of Dogs, around the Mudchute point. QUiet, lonely and getting tired.
Also around mile 22/23 along embankment, when you are in your own little bubble of pain and concentration, and there aren't many spectators.
Best tip as a runner is to get your name writ large on your vest, and run to the side of the road (where the spectators can see you) - you'll get lots of personalised cheering.
Also - if you can - run toward the front of the pack where you can be easily spotted - the spectators will be fresh and there won't be that many other runners for them to cheer on. (clearly this tactic requires the small detail of being fit enough to keep a good pace going).
My best run was when I set off in the front pen, 3 secs after the leaders, and kept a good sub-3 pace going. It felt like every spectator was cheering me on personally, as I had my name on the vest.
The only downside to this tactic is if you have friends who know you and are shouting for you - if there are already half a million people calling your name, then spotting the handful of people who actually know you is pretty hard!
My best run was when I paced a group aiming for 2:13 (Olympic qual time) as I only had to do the first half 🙂
@wbo sounds like you're the person to ask all my questions after watching yesterday...
how does it work with pace making for the elites? surely they are so in tune they don't actually need pacing?
do runners request a pace or is it set by organisers? do elites bring their own pacer or are they selected by organisers? how come there was three pacers on the front group? are there rules about how far pacers stay with the race?
Depends on the weather to an extent, but they can help a lot if it's predicted to be windy. Bit of both with the pace definition, especially for the very top guys - if you're looking for a record you'll have a very specific time you want to hit. The organisers and athletes will discuss what they want. The top guys will generally be very good at running a pace, but often the less experienced guys will want someone to follow who knows what to do.
For the group I helped pace we had 3 people as at any point you might struggle and need to just concentrate and someone else can take over. We were looking to get British runners to the Olympic A standard time that I think was 2:14 that year, so got people to 1/2 way about 66 minutes- the orgaisers and UKAthletics wanted it - and I recall we went thro' 10miles in 50:50 which was a couple of seconds slow. I found it pretty easy compared to a comparable race as you need to taper, you get drinks, open, good course, big group, no need to chase down and so on. I'd been preparing to run the whole thing but it hadn't really gone so well, so changed plan. I was being coached by one of the organisers, was running very consistently at a pace fast enough to be comfortable, and had some other pacing. No twitchy juniors!
The top guys will normally bring their own pacer as there aren't that many people around who can knock out a casual 61,30. They'll come from an agent with a lot of runners in the race. Usually they're also getting ready for another race, and are used to pacing in one of the big pulk training runs (Kenyan long runs). They do however sometimes mess it up, and will occasionally just finish tho' that's pretty rare.