London

As I said when I did not get into the NYC Marathon (yet!), I still want to do at least one major. Sydney and Tokyo seem problematic in terms of travel - not that I'd say 'no' to either. 

Internationally, London seems to be the most logical. 

Seemed. 

Probably. 

As you can see, I'm one of 1.1M who have thrown their proverbial hat into the ring to fun 2026's London Marathon. 

This is up from about 970k from last year. 

Mind you, my odds are still better than MegaMillions or Powerball.........but still scarce. 

Marathons are tough - physically and mentally. But I probably don't really need to tell you that. 

My last half was pretty good, but I won't lie and say I wasn't happy not to be doing an additional 13.1 miles. My body wasn't ready, but more so, my mind was not there either. Quite the opposite. 

The problem with London - besides travel and expense - is timing. 

They run the last Sunday in April. I did this last half the same weekend. It was 12 weeks of training, when normally it would be 16. I'd definitely need the full 16 to do a full. That means training starts in December 2025. It's just a shitty time to push yourself. 

First things first, of course. 

I won't know if I'm selected for a few more months. Should I be, it will change my entire (currently unplanned) Fall 2025. And then there are the travel arrangements. 

It would be great to go. It would fall on 710's bday. While my running won't be his present, the trip would be. We'd go days early so I can acclimate and then stay for another week afterwards.  .....at least that's my plan now. 

First: I must get in. 

Song by: the Smiths