The London Marathon is a notoriously difficult event to get a spot in, such is its popularity. The London Marathon ballot is always heavily oversubscribed and there’s fierce competition to get a London Marathon charity place as well. There is, however, another route to the start line, which is to be really fast.
There are two entry options for speedy runners at the event. One is to get a London Marathon Good For Age place, which involves running a qualifying time based on your age and gender. There are 6,000 Good For Age places in the race, and they are allocated to 3,000 men and 3,000 women on a fastest-first basis (weighted by age and gender), so getting the required time doesn’t actually guarantee your place if you’re only a couple of minutes under.
