The next London Marathon will be held in April 2014, and is one of the highlights of the running calendar. Marathon runners come in all shapes and sizes, so no matter what your motivation or your target finish time, there will be many others running with similar attitudes and abilities. As in previous years there will be a group of runners from the Hare and Hounds competing in this huge event, and you can be a part of it.
In 2013 the Hare and Hounds had nearly 20 finishers with some brilliant results including Will Bowers' debut 2.43 resulting in a half blue, and former captain James Kelly running a magnificent 2.21 to finish 19th in the entire race. It was a close year for CUH&H, beating our rivals from Oxford.
If you need extra competitive motivation, the London Marathon serves as both the official Varsity Marathon (with Blues and Half Blues up for grabs) and the BUCS Marathon, so not only would you be running for a personal time, but also against Oxford and other British Universities.
If you are interested in running the London Marathon, then you should email the CUH&H Marathon Secretary, on .
There are roughly 35,000 runners in this amazing event, but over 100,000 apply, so gaining a place requires a certain amount of luck (or a very fast previous performance).
For more information on all of the entry routes, have a look here.
Do remember: the London Marathon is not the only marathon CUH&H has representatives in; this year members have run in marathons in Brighton, Rome, Paris, Zermatt as well as London.
Attempting to run the 26 miles and 385 yards of a marathon, at whatever pace you aim to run it, will take a certain amount of commitment to training over a significant period of time. Most training schedules for marathons last in the region of 16 weeks, which means that for the London marathon, training should be starting around Christmas time! However, the initial weeks are quite light in most programmes, so just continuing to do the usual Hare and Hounds runs will suffice until the New Year.
Over the duration of the training, a runner will run 15 - 40+ miles per week on average, depending on their ability and target time. The mileage increases steadily until about three weeks before the marathon, when it starts to reduce in preparation for the race. Therefore, before you apply for a place, you need to be sure that you're willing and able to fit the necessary amount of running into your schedule, otherwise your marathon experience will not be a pleasurable one. For an idea what amount of training is required, based on your ability, have a look at some of the example training schedules at the links below.
Between Christmas and April, much of the Hare and Hounds training will be useful for marathon runners. However some may have to be adapted so your body can cope with the extra distance of the marathon. The most important session of the week is the long run (12-26+ miles) which takes place on Sunday morning. There is a marathon mailing list where anyone can post to ask for advice or arrange runs with other marathon runners. There will also be pub trips organised by the marathon secretary where you can meet annd chat with the other runners, and share experiences, training ideas and advice.
There will also be organised groups travelling to races as part of training, so that benchmark times can be recorded. Everyone is particularly encouraged to take part in the club-organised Cambridge Boundary Run (run half if you think it's too close to London).
If you have any questions regarding the London Marathon, marathon training or places, then please email the Marathon Secretary.
If you're keen to find out more about the details of marathon training (and running in general) try visiting these links: