Running

Looking at the pic of the guy carrying the washing machine.

Then looking at @I_am_Hingis weight loss posts.

He's lost that washing machine in 4 months. So impressive

Frightens me to think that I was carrying one of those around daily. Even more so that if I get down to my ideal weight it'll be two of them!

Bloody impressive!!

Is it wrong that I just sold both my wife's and my VLM medal on eBay ? Thing is they'd just go in a drawer never to see light of day again :D I'd rather £170 in my pocket 😳

For £170 I'd sell my wife.

People buy medals for £85 a pop?!?! Why? To replace lost medals or to pretend? Is it just a London thing?

Goes to dig out stacks of previous marathon, ultra, and IM distance medals...

People are odd.

I know it's mental! I've done it for the last few years, I'm hoping its people who lose them or don't get one as they took longer than 7.5 hours but I suspect a few people buy them to put on their office desk to pretend :D

Jesus, £46 (current bid) for a finisher T shirt!?

Seriously?? I was 50/50 on the medal (not like I was properly racing anyway, and it looks almost exactly the same as last year's) but the oversized "medium" t shirt is a no-brainer.

Is this the case for most mass participation events? Could be a way for them to pay for themselves if you're not that bothered about the medal.

thats mind boggling - will try to remember that for next year, that buys a lot of post race hydration, and i already have a drawer full of medals i don't have the heart to throw away but no interest in, unfortunately it seems like they lose their value pretty quickly!

surely theres no point pretending as people could just search the interwebs for your results.

there are some people who talk crap though, every time the subject of running comes up a colleagues half marathon PB gets quicker - yesterday it was 1:15, had to sit on my hands to keep from doing a LOL.

theres also these people, i guess they just jump over the fence just after half way but amazed there are so many!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209452825587023&set=a.1736571623569.99797.1516965987&type=3&theater

I was surprised[1] with Brighton at how easy it would be to skip across on the out/back bits (the Ovingdean, Power Station and New Church Road sections). Not even any fences to have to jump over, just walk across the road.

Also easy given the timing mats were placed at the obvious intervals (1 mile, 5k, 10k, 15k, HM, 25k, 30k, 35k, 40k, finish) and not extra ones at the far ends of each of these sections. The timings wouldn't lie (although my 5k split was missing, I did do it honest!)

[EDIT] Ah, just checked, the 15k timing mat was right at the end of the Ovingdean loop, so you couldn't cut that short and get a 15k time. And the 35k mat was quite near the end of the Power Station loop. Could probably have only shaved off 2 miles or so in total (mostly the New Church Road loop) and still have a full set of timings. Would have missed the band at the far end of that New Church Road loop which, by the time I was going past, had the most out of tune girl singing I think I've ever heard.

1. Naive maybe, first proper 'race' and all that.
   

how easy it would be to skip across on the out/back bits (the Ovingdean, Power Station and New Church Road sections).

I was bloody tempted! Didn't help that it was a really dull part of the course.

Sorted. Auction listings for one t-shirt and one medal, to end Friday 13:30 hrs. Should be a good time for people with more money than sense to be sitting at their desks eating shit and fucking about on the internet, I would've thought?

Timing chip too? Going for ~£25 to add to that "I really did it!" authenticity:-

c.f. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/London-Marathon-2016-Timing-Chip-Official-Finishers-Tag-/121966520378?hash=item1c65c5683a:g:VFEAAOSws8ZXHSxA

Last year's timing chip made a nice key ring...

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Now that's just ridiculous!

I realise timing is very important for the resale value of finishers' medals, but I do wonder if my "collection" (pair) of Berlin medals from 2014/2015 is worth a premium? I can't imagine there will ever be another time that the world record is broken on the same course in consecutive years, with the following year's medal showing last year's winner? (They're also my two best marathons. I'm not selling them.)

I wonder what my collection of finishers slate coasters from the 'Not the Roman IX' would be worth...

Went for a recovery run at lunch. Felt horrible!

I was watching at Blackfriars from the 3rd and 4th elite men down to people running about 3:45. There were a couple of very dodgy people looking came past us.

One really big guy, number in the 40,000s, cotton t-shirt, no sweat, being passed by all of the decent club runners doing 2:30-2:35. Another group in fluorescent t-shirts, no numbers, surrounding another member of their group. An individual with no obvious numbers, wearing running kit and jogging comfortably along the road. Also one woman, fresh as a daisy, wearing a mass start number, once again running with the 2:40 - 2:45 runners, i think if she was genuine she would have been in the top 10 females. They were the ones i noticed on Sunday.

I've finished with the copy of Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes that Greenbank gave to me if anyone wants it? Same deal as before. PM me your details and then offer it back whe you've finished with it.

@philpub job done. Enough Salutations for that totally impressive. Sub 3 . Awesome.
All the rest of the posters who did VLM bloody good efforts.
I get jack shit on ebay for slate coasters from ten years of completing the scottish 6 days maprun events, but I do get to some of the widest places in Blighty.

I ran home, with a quick pit-stop in Cycles PS, didn't notice any real benefit from being at altitude for the last two weeks, but didn't notice any downside either. OMM bag is a significant advance over the Rapha one.