Final (?) update for the Abbott World Marathon Majors

As mentioned previously the Tokyo marathon opened up for more participants through travel agents, so suddenly I got moved up 2 years meaning that instead of running Tokyo marathon and completing my 6 Marathon Majors in March 2026 I got the opportunity to do it in 2024. I didn't need much convincing to do that.

This means that I have now completed the 6 marathons majors as follows:

Berlin - September 2019 - 3:58:16
New York - November 2019 - 4:11:53
Boston - April 2022 - 3:59:30
Chicago - October 2022 - 3:58:02
London - April 2023 - 3:58:42
Tokyo - March 2024 - 3:59:06

So this is the final update for the marathon majors.

Well, maybe not completely final; Cape Town and Sidney are considered candidate runs in an attempt to be accepted as the 7th and 8th majors, and further out Shanghai is also lurking on the horizon. Interesting times ahead. But for now, I'm enjoying the accomplishment and my new medal.

23rd – London marathon

The forecast for the day had been including rain throughout the entire day, but last night it had changed to looking positive with 10-13°C and slightly clouded with no rain. So it was a bit disappointing standing in the waiting area a few minutes before start and seeing – and feeling – it starting raining. The temperature dropped quite a bit with the rain coming down and I was just looking forward to getting started hoping to build up some warmth. While it didn’t rain for the entire run, we did experience the occasional drizzle throughout the entire thing.

A start in classic English conditions.

Photo taken by Sportograf.

In spite of the weather the support along the course was absolutely amazing. As an English runner pointed out this was completely normal English weather so there was no reason why this should keep people away. And rightly so; there was maybe 500m in total for the entire course where there weren’t anyone cheering you on, otherwise the support was immense: eager, loud and very engaged. There were layers of people on multiple stretches trying to get close to us – but as opposed to the Paris marathon this course had been fenced off so we were able to run uninterrupted. So much energy.

Circling Cutty Sark (just seen to the right of the frame).

Photo taken by Sportograf.

We started off in Greenwich and started off towards east to Woolwich where turned around and ran to and circled Cutty Sark, continued through Rotherhithe before reaching Tower Bridge. Crossing that we went east again, crisscrossed Canary Wharf before the almost same way back past the Tower Bridge, continuing west along the Themes until reaching Westminster where we turned up towards Buckingham palace which we briefly passed before turning down The Mall and crossing the finish line. To be completely honest the course wasn’t terribly interesting apart from maybe the last 5-10km but the support made up for it in spades. Running on the many streets there were often buildings on both sides, keeping the noise from the spectators concentrated, increasing the volume. But impressively, the loudest part on the course was actually on Tower Bridge despite it being completely open; the sidewalks were absolutely stuffed with people screaming. That was quite the experience.

Crossing Tower Bridge.

Photo taken by Sportograf.

At around 25-30km I realized I was starting to slow down – my estimated finish time was suddenly down to around 04:30, and regardless of how much I tried to run faster I seemed to be stuck in the slower pace. Then I tried focusing on passing other runners instead of just running faster, and suddenly I was back to an estimated finish time of 3:58, so things were back to how they were supposed to be. Reaching the last 5-7km my estimated finish time was swinging between 3:58 and 4:01 so things were getting a bit stressful towards the end. 

Nearing the end.

Photo taken by Sportograf.

Pushing through on the last few kilometers I managed to finish in 3:58:42, which I was very happy with. That put me as 17715 out of 48743 in total (top 36,34%), 12993 out of 28397 men (top 45,75%) and 2314 out of 4615 M4044 (top 50,14%). So compared to my other runs this was actually quite a good result in the end despite my struggles along the way, and a result I am now very happy with.

Going through the roundabout in front of Buckingham Palace.

Photo taken by Sportograf.

New update for Abbott World Marathon Majors

With last year's completion of Chicago and Boston marathons, and the mail received letting me participate in the 2023 London marathon, things have been moving forward in more sense than one. On top of that its satisfying being able to cross them off one at a time. This means that 4 of the World Marathon Majors are complete, one is in the near future and one is still some years in the future.

As things are currently, this is the current schedule, past and future.

Berlin - September 2019
New York - November 2019
Boston - April 2022
Chicago - October 2022
London - April 2023
Tokyo - March 2026

So in a few months I will have only one left, so I guess I'll have to find other runs in the mean time to keep me on my toes. Sounds like a horrible concept. Also, there are rumors that they are planning on adding another run to the group, so even if I can see the end of it now it might change in the future. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out as there have been talk for a long time to add more run(s). We'll see, but I worry this will be an endless chase with always another one in the future that has just been added, and not being able to actually finish the group like I did with the Superhalfs. 

Running fish & chips

Towards the end of September I received a mail from the travel agent doing the marathon tours that London had opened up for some more spots in 2023, so anyone who had booked for a later date could, if they were quick, sign up for the 2023 run instead, shortening the wait. I didn't think I was particularly quick, but apparently quick enough, so now I'm going to London in April 2023 instead of in 2025.

London is a nice city and I'm looking forward to going back, even if it is for a marathon.

20th - 22nd of April
Flying out to London in the afternoon I don't expect to be able to get to the expo on the first day. Instead I'll have Friday and Saturday to get there, and also spending time wandering the city and having (another) look at this fine old city.

23rd of April
Race day. The starting point is out in Greenwich and after a quick detour around Woolwich we return past the Cutty Sark, largely following the Themes before crossing the Tower Bridge, circling around in the opposite direction so you get to see the Cutty Sark and O2 Arena from the opposite side before going back, passing the Tower Bridge and ultimately finishing in St. James Park. It looks like a nice course, but also potentially narrow streets so I'm looking forward to see how congested the entire run is going to be.

24th of April.
Flight back home in the early evening. That means I get one last shot at fish & chips before having to return to the airport.

Ignoring the potentially (very) British weather I think this will be a great trip and run. The course takes you around to some pretty nice sights so it'll truly be a running sightseeing. 

Update on the Abbott World Marathon Majors

For someone who enjoys travelling it has been some frustrating years to get through, and carefully laid plans got moved around, cancelled and postponed. With the pandemic seemingly reaching the end one could hope that the current planning might hold going forward.

I was supposed to run in Boston April last year, and after being postponed multiple times it seems like I now have a spot for the run next year. Similarly with Chicago, and with the US borders not opening until November this year it looks like I'll be running that next year. Also, due to cancellation of Tokyo a marathon and them being careful on the first post-pandemic (halving the capacity), my spot for Tokyo has been pushed back to 2026. So the schedule for the 4 remaining marathons (having already done Berlin and New York) looks something like this:

Boston – April 2022

Chicago – October 2022

London – April 2025

Tokyo – March 2026

It looks like, as things are currently, that this schedule should hold, but I have learnt not to rely on any vacation scheduling more than a couple of weeks in advance. Hopefully things settle down and I can look forward to joining some of the big runs in the world again, it'll feel great getting back out and running.