Press Release - London Marathon - 2/27/20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

              Virgin Money London Marathon announces plans 
                       for back of the pack in 2020

London Marathon Events today announced plans to provide a great experience 
for the back of the pack runners at the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon 
on Sunday 26 April.

Here's what's new for 2020:

- The Start: the mass race will start earlier, at 09:30. Participants will 
again be started in a series of waves.  For the first time, participants 
who think they will take more than 7:45 hours to complete the marathon have 
been offered the opportunity to start at the back of either the second or 
third wave to give them more time (8 hours 35 minutes or 8 hours 20 minutes 
respectively) to complete the event.

- Tailwalkers: a group of approximately 50 Tailwalkers will walk the entire 
route at 8:00 hour pace as a mobile cheer squad for the back of the pack. 
The Tailwalkers will start at the back of the final wave at 10:30 and the 
8:00 pace time will begin once these Tailwalkers cross the Start Line. To 
add to the atmosphere, there will also be a bus with a DJ playing music, 
which will join the route at the merge point (just after Mile 3) and drive 
behind the Tailwalkers.

- Virgin Money Angels: a team of 80 Virgin Money Angels will support anyone 
who is struggling and needs help. The Virgin Money Angels will work in 
pairs, covering Mile 16 to 26, positioned about 400m apart and will remain 
in place until the Tailwalkers have passed.

- Participant support: Drinks Stations, timing mats and the event 
photographers will stay in place until the back of the pack has passed. The 
convoy of clear up vehicles will follow the DJ bus and organisers will 
ensure this convoy does not impinge upon the back of the pack.

- Road reopening times: Transport for London and the local authorities have 
given permission  for later road reopening times from Mile 23 onwards 
(Tower of London) which means 8:00 hour pace participants are able to stay 
on the road throughout. The Tailwalkers will assist anyone who falls behind 
the 8:00 hour pace and guide them on to the pavement, staying with them 
through to the Finish. This is likely to be a very small number of 
participants but the ambition is to assist everyone to reach the Finish 
Line on The Mall.

- Staff support: a senior London Marathon Events staff member will be at 
the back of the pack throughout the event to ensure there is no repeat of 
contractors overlapping with the back of the pack participants and 
Tailwalkers.


Hugh Brasher, Event Director for the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon, 
said: "We have worked very hard over the past months to put in place these 
plans that ensure that runners at the back of the pack have the best 
possible experience on the day. We'd like to thank the back of the pack 
runners from 2019 who shared their experiences with us and the working 
group that helped us come up with these ideas."

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