Aug 05

If you are one of the unlucky runners who did not secure a place in the London Marathon Ballot you may still be able to run in 2011 with a charity entry place.

Requirement for Running for Charity

The charities allocate the limited slots to runners on the basis that they will raise an agreed amount of money for the charity.

The Official Charity of London Marathon

Oxfam is the official charity of the london marathon, they have more places available than other charities.

The following charities have a set number of entry places in the Virgin London Marathon each year,

1. Macmillan Cancer Support – Make a difference to lives of people living with cancer

2. Rainbow Trust Children charity -

3. Breast Cancer campaign – Make a difference to lives of women livign with breast cancer

4. Athritis reaearch UK – Helps in finding better treatment for Athritis

5. Orchid Cancer – fighting male cancer

6. Breakthrough breast cancer – Help them in removing the fear of breast cancer for good.

7. Action for children – Protects children and yougn people from injustice, deprivation & inequality

8. Whizz Kidds – Helps disabled kid enjoy a better life

9. The stroke Association – Help those touched by stroke get the help they need.

10. Guide dogs – help those without eye sight lead a better life

11. The prostate cancer charity – Raises awareness, early detection & save a mans life.

12. British Heart Foundation – Help in beating heart diseases

13. The Anthony Nolan Trust – Helps Leukemia patients

14. Action for Hunger – Commited to providing healthy food to malnourished children

15. The St. Johns Ambulance – Providing emergency evacuation.

For contacts and details of the above charities visit the following web pages

Virgin marathon charity entry page

Runningbug london marathon charity page

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apr 25

The 2010 London marathon is over but the memories live on. I have found awesome photos from the race.

@ klear pictures : Photos taken by a pro photographer, visit klear pictures

@Flickr : Best costume photos, visit charlies photostresm

Borat In London

Also more @Flickr : Jim Shannons photos, visit Jim photostream

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apr 25

The 2010 London Marathon has just finished. The Men’s winner was Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede while the ladies event was won by Liliya Shobukova.

Kebede had untroubled victory, the Kenyans today didnt turn up! Samwel Wanjiru was left behind at mile 18, followed by Kibet at mile 20. Kirui tried to Keep up with Kebede and I could see he was giving it 110% while Kebede looked like he could notch a gear anytime. At mile 22 Kebede just went for it, he crossed the finish line in 2:05:12! Missing the course record by 2 seconds.

As for the Ladies, my athlete for the race has to be the second place finisher, another Russian (sorry, cant remember her name) At certain point she seemed to be far behind, but she just kept going and going! She was also thrilled with her performance because she was all smiles at the finish.

I watched the race Live via Satellite TV and I have to say It was another beautiful London Marathon! Loved it!

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apr 21

The London Marathon is an eye catching city marathon ran around the beautiful city of London. The marathon is set over a largely flat course around the river themes.(The large blue meandering border is River Themes)

This is how the route is described at wikipedia

The course begins at three separate points around Blackheath at 115 ft above sea level, on the south of the River Thames, and heads east through Charlton. The three courses converge after three miles in Woolwich, where the Royal Artillery Barracks is passed.

As the runners reach the 6-mile mark, they pass by the Old Royal Naval College and head towards Cutty Sark drydocked in Greenwich. Heading next into Surrey Quays in the Docklands, and out towards Bermondsey, competitors race along Jamaica Road before reaching the half-way point as they cross the Tower Bridge. Running east again along The Highway through Wapping, competitors head up towards Limehouse and into Mudchute in the Isle of Dogs via Westferry Road, before heading into Canary Wharf.

As the route leads away from Canary Wharf into Poplar, competitors run west down Poplar High Street back towards Limehouse and on through Commercial Road. They then move back onto The Highway, onto Lower and Upper Thames Streets.. Heading into the final leg of the race, competitors pass St Paul’s Cathedral on Ludgate Hill. In the penultimate mile along The Embankment, the London Eye comes into view, before the athletes turn right into Birdcage Walk to complete the final 385 yards, catching the sights of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, and finishing in The Mall alongside St. James’s Palace

Source Wikipedia London Marathon page

To See and Download a Google street view map click here

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dec 10

One way to make a statement at a marathon is to turn up dressed in a fancy costume. If you cant come up with an original running costume idea you may steal ideas from fellow runners.

Two popular marathon running costume ideas

Elvis costume

Spiderman costume

Save the rhino costume

Save the rhino costume at Flora London Marathon

Save the rhino costume at Flora London Marathon

Running 26 miles is hard and what about bringing the Eiffel tower along with you

This Parisian was spotted at 2009 New York Marathon

This Parisian was spotted at 2009 New York Marathon

More costume ideas can be seen at elite feet

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sep 04

When most people undergo surgery of knee, ankle, hip or any other part of the leg they wonder whether it is possible to get back running. The answer is Yes.

Inspiration for recovering surgery from Joan Samuelson

Joan Samuelson was the first woman Olympic marathon champion. Looking at her career you will see she had a record of surgeries but she was able to return to road running and win races at the top level.

Joan Story story of overcoming surgeries

Born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Benoit took to long-distance running to help recover from a broken leg suffered while slaloming. At Bowdoin College she excelled in athletics and then entered the 1979 Boston Marathon as a relative unknown. She won the race, while wearing a Red Sox cap,[1] in 2:35:15, knocking eight minutes off the competition record. She repeated that success with a victory again in 1983 that took more than two minutes off the world’s best time, set by Grete Waitz in the London Marathon just the day before, despite having had surgery on her Achilles tendons two years earlier.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics she won the first Olympic women’s marathon in a time of 2:24.52 in hot and smoggy conditions, more than a minute ahead of her rivals; again despite surgery, this time arthroscopic surgery on her knee 17 days before the trials earlier that year.

From Joan story, you can see it is possible to recover from surgery and get back to running. To get back to running you have to allow a full recovery. Make sure your Doctor is informed with your intention so that he can monitor your recovery because he alone has the authority to give you a green light to start running again.

Once your doctor gives you a go ahead start running on soft surfaces  first such as treadmills, oval track and grass before hitting the tarmac.

Happy healing

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 06

In preparation for 2010 london marathon  I read the post race commentary of 2009 London marathon and in a bbc article  I discovered a sad statistic that shows the london marathon finishing times have gotten slower since the marathon begun in 1981.

The top of the pack (the elite runners) they have gotten faster and faster but the rest of the field has gotten slower and slower.

In 1982, a time of two hours 40 minutes would have placed you 457th. Last year, it would have been good enough for 184th – this despite the huge increase in competitors.

Interesting Case of Mathew Parris

Matthew Parris, the Times columnist and former MP, finished in 1985 in the best time ever by an MP – an impressive two hours, 32mins, 57 seconds, for 385th out of about 20,000. In 2008 london marathon, this would have placed him 83rd out of 34,000. In 2007 London marathon (a hot day, admittedly), his time would have been good for 46th.

_45693960_london_marathon_226x266_fin

What this illustrates is the decline in the number of good runners who are clocking times between 2 hours 20 minutes up to 2 hours 50 minutes.

To read the full article visit the BBC Running site

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , ,

May 04

In my Inbox today morning I found the story of Albert Gordon. The twice oldest london marathon runner died in New York aged 107. Now that’s a long time to be alive.

More amazing fact about these veteran of London marathon. At 105, he was still working four days a week at Deltec Asset Management! He made calls to prospective clients well into his 90′s.

According to the New York times story Albert started marathon running in his 80′s.

Albert Gordon Secret To Long life

  • Dedication to physical fitness that meant marathon running.
  • He took one puff of a cigarette in his life.
  • Didn’t salt his food.
  • Limited his alcohol intake to a glass of Champagne a year.
  • If you can walk? walk. He sometimes walked from the airport to the office.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , ,

Apr 22

If you are training for the london marathon you should keep in mind the following marathon training principles:

When to start training for london marathon

The early you start your marathon training the better. 4 months prior to the marathon is a good idea. Training early has advantages, you get enough time to train and most importantly you have time to recover from inevitable running injuries.

The 10% rule of marathon training.

Never increase your weekly mileage, by more than 10 percent a week. If you do you will drastically increase the risk of running injury.

The long runs for london marathon

The long runs can be upto 20-23 miles (for the experienced runner) for the inexperienced runner this can be 5 – 15 miles depending on your level of experience. The long run should be done at least once a week.

Easy weeks

We love going  full speed on our training but it is a good Idea to slow things down between your training weeks. This will allow you to stay fresh as you build on your overall workload.

Rest.

Taking a complete break from running is as important as running itself. Two to three days of complete rest will allow you body to recover from the stress of marathon running. Don’t take a long rest as you will lose all the gains from your training.

Hydration for london marathon

Keep drinking enough water. Water helps in preventing running injuries.

Nutrition for london marathon

Eating the right foods is important! You need to eat plenty of carbohydrates to give you energy. Eating foods rich in protein will help your body repair small tears that happen during training.

Taper for london marathon

Avoid overtraining by reducing your weekly mileage during the final two weeks before london marathon. This will ensure you arrive at the starting line feeling fresh and energised.

Good luck with your training!!

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , , ,

Apr 21

As 36,000 london marathon runners disappear over the horizon, they will be hoping to finish the 26 agonising miles as first as possible and be home for lunch; but for Phil Packer, an  iraq veteran,  it will be the beginning of a 2 week crawl to the finish line.

Following a rocket attack in Basra, Iraq, the Royal Military Police officer was left with a severe spinal injury. The major had been told he would never walk again, let alone complete a marathon. The wounded Iraq veteran will attempt to walk London marathon in crutches.

One painful step at a time, the marathon will take him almost two weeks, mirroring the feat of brain-damaged former boxer Michael Watson in 2003. It will be two miles a day for Phil.

His story is remarkable!

His main mission is to raise a million pounds for injured service men. To support Phil Packer run london marathon visit Phil Packer website

From here at dailyrunningtips, I wish Phil all the best!

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: , , , ,