Brighton Marathon 2015: Team NSC

[Lady Whistledown]

Don't worry, they use your finishing estimate to work out your start pen. You'll probably be in the red one (first of the non-elites) with a 4 hr estimate.

Even if you get into the wrong start pen, you can just run at your pace, just try not to annoy all the faster ones (and in practice, everyone is slow at the start, simply because of the weight of runners). Also, I've started in the wrong corral before, as I followed some friends with faster start times. They don't check all that vigilantly.

 

[dazzer6666]

Even if you get into the wrong start pen, you can just run at your pace, just try not to annoy all the faster ones (and in practice, everyone is slow at the start, simply because of the weight of runners). Also, I've started in the wrong corral before, as I followed some friends with faster start times. They don't check all that vigilantly.

Agreed. One look around the red pen (sub 4 target I think) will tell you straight away that half the people in there have been optimistic (and some wildly) in their finishing times. Haven't looked at this year's spread, but 4 hours would normally get you into the top third of the field or thereabouts. Lots of people put quicker times to avoid having to crawl over the start line up to 15 mins after the official start, but I'd counsel against it - all the fun is at the back, and if you start too forward, you will spend the whole event being overtaken, which can be a bit demoralising. Much better to be the one doing the overtaking, and with electronic timing it's your own actual time that is counted