Virgin London Marathon 2011

[marathondan]

Well whaddya know, I got a ballot place. At only the 5th (non-consecutive) time of trying, I guess that makes me one of the lucky ones.

A shame I don't actually want the place. Assuming I wouldn't get in, I've already paid for a place at Brighton (the week before London), chosen a charity and come up with a fancy dress plan, with quite some personal attachment. Of course it would be quite special to run London in the Olympic year, and I was already assured of a place in 2012 under the 5 year rule.

So I guess the obvious plan is to defer until next year. Has anyone ever done this? Is it strictly on the basis of injury or illness, or is it basically no questions asked? It feels slightly churlish to not take up the offer. Then again maybe I'm ascribing too much greatness to the VLM organisation.

And yes, two marathons in a week would be a worthy charity challenge. But I know how long it takes me to recover from one, and I think at my level I would seriously risk injury.