Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
A Record Day For Moaning
by Russell Turner - 17:09 on 10 May 2018
The big news from London Marathon HQ: a world record 414,168 people have applied for the (roughly) 17,000 ballot places for next year’s event, more than half people who’ve never run 26.2 miles. The organisers are delighted; would-be marathoneers are less so because the odds of securing a place are now barely more than 4%.
All over the country can be heard the wailing of despondent runners facing their third, or fifth, or tenth bad luck letter in October. It’s not fair, they say, at great length on the LM Facebook pages. Something should be done, although there’s no agreement about what. (Any thoughts, Cathy?)
I’m staying out of the furore, although I do agree that the four-month wait to find out if you’ve got a place seems a bit excessive. Surely the computer can pick the random winners in a day or two?
Another memory of my day in the sun, eyes fixed firmly on the finish line just a few yards away.
I’ve still got my fingers crossed for a Cats Protection charity place, but if the odds are equally lengthy (I’ve enquired how many are ahead of me on the reserve list) maybe I should offer my athletic services to another charity. Assuming they’ve any places left.
Badger Update: Our monochrome mate (or mates) has (or have) provided lots more Bushnell snaps over the last couple of nights, of which a few are worth keeping. Visits begin around 11.30pm with a return around 2.30am when, presumably, Brock is on his way home. I’ll keep trying for more.
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