No need to shop at the expo. All the surplus ends up at the NB outlet store in Birchwood the following week - will pick up something for you if you’d like 
3 Likes
Let’s get a tracking list up here then. Who’s running VLM this weekend?
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Funkster - 13465 (anything under 3:55:29)
9 Likes
This is it. Will I be lured in or can I stay strong?
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@Adam You going up today?
I’m hoping to be there about 13:30
I completely forgot I had a sports massage booked for this evening so I need to get back for that. Friday after work now
Funkster - 13465 (anything under 3:55:29)
Tupperware - 1058 (sub 3, but sub 2:51 has appeal as V45 club record)
Desperately trying to avoid colds/flu this week…seems every member of my family is coughing or sniffing 
11 Likes
Funkster - 13465 (anything under 3:55:29)
Tupperware - 1058 (sub 3, but sub 2:51 has appeal as V45 club record)
Adam - (will add # later) (finish no slower than 3:30)
I’d like to think I’ll be quite a bit faster than that but I’ve done bugger all training for this. I’m just pleased I can run. I’ve got no expectation and no pressure so I’m aiming just to enjoy myself
6 Likes
I’m in the same boat - returning from injury. So happy to just be running. I think the atmosphere will be great
Realistically 3:30 ish to 3:45 - but happy to get to the end
Toby - 9154
3 Likes
Aside from giving London Marathon the opportunity to sell expo space to retailers, isn’t part of the reason behind making people pick their numbers up from the expo an attempt to stop people giving their numbers to other people?
That reminds me of a story about one of my mates, who might possibly have rowed for Australia at the Olympics a few times
He had a female friend who had a VLM entry but injured herself shortly before the race, so rather than defer, she collected her number and gave it to my mate so that he could run instead.
Despite having done no running training apart from a few ParkRuns, my mate ran sub3:30, giving his friend a GFA time for the following year. He enjoyed himself so much that they hatched a plan so that they could both run the next year.
His friend went to the expo to pick up her number and when she was out of sight she took the timing chip out of the envelope. She then went back to a different counter and told them that her envelope didn’t have a timing chip. They cancelled the original chip and gave her another, so now they had one number and two timing chips.
Next he scanned the number and Photoshop’d it to swap 2 of the numbers around. He bought a pack of the waterproof paper used for the race numbers, took it to his local print shop and got them to print his new, fake number.
Now they had two numbers and two timing chips. My mate wasn’t bothered about getting an official time, so he took the fake number and void timing chip and his friend used the legitimate number and chip. They both had a great time running the race and someone was probably very confused when his official race photos included a load of pictures of someone else with the same number 
7 Likes
… still - no bag 
( maybe they’re getting sold off on eBay )
Interestingly…
3.7% of those that entered the ballot got a place: 457, 861 ballot entries. 17000 got a spot.
3 Likes
Funkster - 13465 (anything under 3:55:29)
Tupperware - 1058 (sub 3, but sub 2:51 has appeal as V45 club record)
Adam - 5360-TBC (finish no slower than 3:30)
Toby - 9154 (3:30 ish to 3:45 - but happy to get to the end)
BadAsh - 31912 (aiming for 3:30 but expect to die badly)
I got my bag on Monday, and wondered why they bothered sending it to us? It’s going to take me all of 5 seconds to bung a hoody in there, why couldn’t I just do that when I pick up the bib? Must have cost a bit, both financially and environmentally, to send them all out. If you are going to send them out, then send out the bib too FFS.
5 Likes
Ffs - a very significant chance I will be rolling in last 
Anyone got the app? I had a play around with it last night. I see that if you use the app while you run it will send out GPS updates if you enable it, which you can only up to 15 mins before the start, so something very easy to forget.
Haven’t decided if I’ll take the phone, was hoping not to.
I did take my phone (iPhone) for Brighton and tried using live location on WhatsApp. However, I found out afterwards that it seems that it didn’t work while my phone was locked
The Great Bristol Run appeared to be giving real time location when I was tracking my other half and some friends, but I soon figured out it was complete bollox.
I downloaded it. Not taking phone for the race
Spent yesterday stressing about all the travel
Even if you don’t have the app in previous year the tracking has provided times through gates (every 5 km, half way, etc) so they can work out roughly where you are providing they can do some basic maths and read a map?
No bag, but I’m on the train on my way, so let’s see what happens
Just seen a guy at the DLR waking in his pristine Alpha Flys
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Breaking them in before Sunday?
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All done.
The S halls are at the East end, so Prince Regent DLR is what you want
1 Like