Huw Richards's Staging Area

As someone else said in a review of 2023 race, the bib pickup was sub-optimal. Almost all foreign runners had to pickup their bibs from a limited number of booths, while the majority of booths were empty. This lead to long waits on a concrete floor so my hips were killing me after 2+ hours. Another long queue to get into the Asics store at the expo too (I didn’t bother) as I just wanted to get out of there!
The race itself was excellent.
Easy to get to the start (I stayed in Ginza close to the finish line) via the free metro ticket which was valid for 24 hours (I used it the day before too to get maximum usage).
A little tricky to find my starting corral as I had missed a sign held by a volunteer but I asked one of many volunteers who pointed me in the right direction.
Long queues for the bathrooms too in the starting area so I opted to use one on course to avoid the stress of missing the gun.
The course is extremely flat with barely any up/down except for a downhill around kilometer 4 (I think).
Lots of our & back legs on the course are not my favourite feature but probably a necessary evil of course management and limiting the number of roads closed in a very busy city.
My fifth world major, a BQ for me and definitely an experience not to be missed!

Easy parking in Santa Monica on day of race (free in fact as we left about an hour after finishing as no restaurants yet open for brunch).
Easy bib pickup at start line.
10K racers were in 2 waves with about 2 minutes between the waves (I was at front of 2nd wave). Not sure if the age awards were based on chip or gun time.
Some 5K walkers (5K started first) still on course as 10K racers passed the 5K turn-around but not enough of them to cause an issue.
Tough long up-hill miles 2-3 but downhill all the way to the finish after that.
Cotton finisher t-shirt was a bit of a turn-off but nice medal for the collection.
PR for me despite it being a somewhat humid day.

After many years of entering the lottery for the London Marathon, I bit the bullet and opted for a charity spot. Originally scheduled for April 2020, postponed to October 2020 and finally run in October 2021, it’s easy to see why it’s next to impossible to get in the lottery at almost every runner was wearing a shirt from a charity!
Easy to get to the start (oddly they advise times to arrive at Blackheath etc but not the time the train would depart from Charing Cross / Victoria / London Bridge). Male (& female!) urinals at the start as well as flushing port-a-potties where the lines were well organised.
Due to covid, there was a rolling start which I did not expect and I had to walk slowly toward the starting line waiting for my garmin to sync!
Mostly flat (long downhill in mile 3) but some narrow streets (including the aptly named Narrow St in Docklands) mean that this is not a fast race if you are “in the pack”.
Tremendous crowd support along almost the entire route (marked contrast to the somewhat thin crowds in Berlin the prior Sunday) but especially around Greenwich, Tower Bridge, Docklands and the last few miles along Embankment, Parliament Square etc.
A random stranger saw me on tv in the UK & made a donation to my charity (JDRF) – I read this in an email while having a pint in the pub after the race and it brought a tear to my eye.

With most marathons in the US cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus, it was a joy to get out & race! Kudos to the race director for getting this one run.

Easy bib pickup at the Y, social distancing at the start, flat course, great for those attempting a BQ!

Hope to run again next time I need a BQ.