London Marathon Good For Age: Will you get a 2019 race place?

The UK’s only Marathon Major has adjusted its process for speedy qualifiers and, as it accepts applications and prepares to grant 6,000 places, some very fast runners might miss out.

On track for close to three hours but 2019 GFA places are hard to come by. Pic: Jan Kraus

When the London Marathon announced earlier this year that it was changing the Good For Age (GFA) qualifying standards and limiting the number of places available for the 2019 race there was a minor outcry.

Major media outlets which wouldn’t normally run stories about this relatively niche subject piled in because the changes were only announced around the time of this year’s race, which is relatively little notice if you are one of the UK residents targeting a 2019 place.

Running forums buzzed with the news that some age group categories and qualifying times had changed. After the Edinburgh Marathon a month later, and no doubt at other late spring races, there was plenty of chatter – and confusion – about what might secure runners a place for London next year.

The most important change was that the number of places would be restricted to 6,000 – equally split between men and women – and meeting the time targets no longer guaranteed entry but merely the opportunity to apply.

"It is a safe bet that with a limit of 6,000 GFA places, many thousands will be eligible to apply for the 2019 race but still miss out."

An 18-39-year-old male would now have to have a sub-3 time just to apply as the time changes hit the men hardest. To soften the blows, the period during which to record a GFA time increased, but a look at the stats from this year’s London Marathon suggests that will be scant consolation for many.

A total of 1,979 men and 2,016 women achieved the 2019 qualifying times in the 2018 edition of the event alone, and the qualifying period covers all the officially-recognised marathons around the world between January 1, 2017 and August 10, 2018.

The temperatures during this year's London Marathon reached the hottest in its history, too, and a total of 3,995 people still met the 2019 target times; if you are looking for an indication of how speedy GFA runners are, take in the fact that 1,113 of that total (overwhelmingly in the 18-39 age category) finished in under three hours.

It is a safe bet that with a limit of 6,000 GFA places, many thousands more will be eligible to apply for the 2019 race but still miss out.

"Runners may need to have marathon times three or more minutes faster than those required."

Like the Boston Marathon, London organisers will trim the times in each age category if - or when - the number of applicants exceeds the number of places. “The qualifying time will be reduced evenly across the age group categories until 3,000 runners of that gender are accepted,” the race’s website said.

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If the historic American race example (which admittedly has a different qualifying set up) of time trimming is any indication, runners may need to have marathon times three or more minutes faster than those required to have any hope of getting a place.

This is speculative, of course, because much of the information required to make an accurate prediction has not been released, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the cut off for places being granted is even faster than that. London Marathon recommended runners apply through the ballot, too, which tells its own story.

Does it matter? To those who were slogging away trying to gain a place, possibly for a long-awaited first time and with a bucket list entry waiting to be ticked off, it obviously does.

However, the race’s desire to even out the number of GFA runners in each gender is hard to argue with, and those who have been applying through the ballot for years with no luck probably won’t have a great deal of sympathy.

London Marathon has a very effective PR team and we may not be allowed to know how many people miss out or what difference that makes to the proportions of race starters from the ballot and GFA. Judging what affect it has on the way the race is run in terms of congestion and overall gender balance may be difficult to quantify, too.

If you are one of the faster few in with a shout for a GFA place, you can find the application page and details of the qualifying standards and age group categories here. I wish you the very best of luck.

If you are thinking of running the London Marathon or any other race, we can help you prepare with regular training planning and guidance. Happy running!