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London Marathon Postponed

Disappointed London Marathon Postponed

Ugh, Friday the 13th came with some disappointing, albeit half-expected news. The 2020 London Marathon has been postponed until October 4th. The 40th event was due to take place on April 26th, however it has been pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of me had obviously been waiting for the news of this, but I was hoping that the organizers would hold out in the hope that the situation settles down in a few weeks. Nevertheless, it’s still not the news I wanted to finish work to see.

Emotions:

I’m disappointed, naturally, but also understand that there is a lot going on in the world at the moment. It may sound selfish to be disappointed with the postponement, but I have put a lot of hours training in and was feeling good. I also planned my annual leave around the London Marathon. I’ll most likely still take that week off work as planned, but we’ll see. Ideally, I would like to find a small, local marathon around the same date so that my training isn’t completely “wasted”.

I’ve managed to rebook my hotel, so at least that wasn’t too painful! It means that I am now staying in the same hotel as 2018, which wasn’t the greatest experience, but sometimes sacrificies have to be made! 

I’m expecting the Liverpool Marathon to follow suit as it is due to take place on May 24th. Luckily, I have free room cancellation until May 23rd, so at least I have some time to spare before cancelling. 

Training:

This is where I need to re-evaluate. My main race was going to be the London Marathon. I wanted my revenge on 2018! With the London Marathon now postponed until October, I need to adjust my training plan.

It’s hard to sit down and create a plan at the moment. We could soon see the UK follow other countries, such as The Netherlands, in restricting outdoor events with more than 500 participants. This would make it hard to train for certain events and they would likely be cancelled anyway.

As such, I don’t really know what to do with myself at the minute! I had been finding it tough to push myself through my last few runs as I waited on news. Reading about other cancelled events and how the rest of the world were preparing for lockdown made it hard to stay positive. Part of me just wanted an answer so at least I knew. Now that I know… well, my running mojo has certainly taken a hit. I’m taking a rest day today and we’ll see what tomorrow holds. On the plus side, at least I don’t have to run 18 miles on Sunday! 

Have any of your “goal” races been cancelled or postponed? If so, let me know how you plan to train through the Spring and Summer!