2018 was the my 7th consecutive London marathon. That tells you all you need to know about this race. London marathon is essentially a charity event which involves running - the vast majority of runners are doing so via a charity place. The race entry fees are actually only around £34, but charities buy places and sell them on to runners who commit to raising a certain amount for charity, typically about £1500. There are a few other ways of entering, one is a "good for age" qualification system (as per Boston, but with more stringent cut-off times), or a ballot (maybe about 6000-8000 places, but typically around 500,000 applicants.
Transport in London is very easy, and free on marathon day. The race uses the same route every year and the organisation is as good as you'll find anywhere. You can get to the start line via tube, rail, bus, boat, ferry, even a ski chairlift (no, really). All free for runners. London is a great marathon for family or friends to see you at multiple points on the route, because the transport system is so good and many points on the route are quite close together.
London is busy. Very busy. There are three start lines, the biggest being the red start, which is a road within a large grassy park, and is where most runners start (this is the charity runners start). Being charity runners, there's a whole lot of fancy dress going on, with some great costumes on display. The green start is for celebrities (don't get too excited, they tend to be Z-listers, if people in the UK don't know who these guys are, then people from overseas certainly won't recognise them) and good-for-age,. This also includes the best starting group of all, the official Guinness Record attempts - this is where you see people doing the most amazing things. Running dressed as dinosaurs, or four guys in a canoe. I once saw two guys running three-legged (i.e.- each had one leg strapped to the other person) at 3hour pace. The blue start is for elite runners and (I believe) the ballot entries.
Toilets are everywhere at the start area, and being in a park, there are many bushes and trees which get a good dousing on marathon day. Bag drop is via buses, which leave surprisingly early, maybe an hour before the start – you have been warned! The buses are allocated by number, and are organised so that at the finish line people who’ve finished close to each other don’t all go to the same bus. It’s this attention to detail which allows London to accommodate so many runners.
The green and blue start lines join after about one mile, and the red start joins at 3 miles. This is at the only hill on the route, which is a downhill leading to the river for about a mile. Once everyone has joined and is on the same route it gets a bit busy, but the route is wide enough to cope with this. It’s very important at London to make sure that you start in the right pen, so that you’re running with people at the right pace. Otherwise, there will be too many people to get past or who want to pass you. Pens are based on estimated finish time, so be honest with this.
The race is naturally divided into quarters by three main landmarks. The first quarter is all about running in a crowd, and getting into a rhythm. From 3 miles onwards, there are glimpses of the Thames to the right, and you’re running through fairly non-descript roads and streets. The first thing that will hit you is the crowd support. London has huge and very vocal crowds, all the way from start to finish. Partly because of the charity aspect, partly the elite runners, partly the costumes, partly the celebrities, the crowds make a day of it and there’s a lot of barbeques and beers going on. If you have your name on your vest, be prepared to b shouted at even louder. Mile 6 brings Cutty Sark, a famous old sailing ship. There are a couple of very tight bends here where the road narrows and you get really close to the crowd. Great atmosphere, and a good place for high-fives.
The next landmark is Tower Bridge at just before 13 miles. You’re running along a normal road, you turn a right corner, and suddenly the world’s most famous bridge is right in front of you. It’s shut for the day, and there won’t be an inch of space at the sides without a shouting spectator. There’s TV helicopters filming live for BBC and reporters trying to get you to stop and tell them how you’re feeling. This is a moment you will never forget, and may be the best memory you take away – your legs are still fresh, you feel good, you’re on Tower bridge, and can see right up and down the Thames, looking across to the Tower and all the iconic buildings of the city.
Then it’s a right turn onto “the Highway”. This is an undulating dual carriageway, where you run on the right, and you’ll see the faster runners coming back on the other side of the road. This is where I normally see the elite runners, it’s always amazing to see the empty road fill with vehicles and flashing lights and then see the world’s best runners showing how it can be done. So fast and with so little effort, seeing them up close on the same route is very humbling. After 16 miles it’s into “the Narrows”. The clue is in the name, and it gets a bit congested as you run through the old docks area, watch out for speedbumps here. Then you run under a large roundabout and onto the isle of dogs. Not much to say about this – I find this a low point of the race, the tiredness is creeping in, the crowds here are much less and the scenery isn’t up to much. Then it’s back up to the new financial area at Canary Wharf, lots of impressive new architecture and huge crowds, this I always a great stretch. Then there’s a few twists and turns back towards the Highway, going back past the Tower at 23 miles. Through a tunnel where everyone stops for a pee (no crowds or TV cameras). Onto the embankment next to the Thames with Big Ben coming into view. Turn right at Big Ben with less than a mile to go, you’ll recognise everything around you by this point. Slight downhill down Birdcage Walk and you know you’re going to finish. 800m to go sign. Then what seems like an eternity later the 600m to go sign. Turn right and there’s Buckingham Palace in front of you, turn right again at the gold fountain and onto the red tarmac of the Mall. There’s the finish line, let loose and sprint all the way now, remembering to smile for the cameras.
Everything afterwards is as well-organised as what went before, just very busy. Use the family meet & greet areas. Time to spend your free beer vouchers that you got at the expo.
Boston has the history and the tradition, and is a purer race for runners. But London has a party atmosphere which is unique, and every runner should try it once.