London Marathon Club Places

Every year, the London Marathon allocates guaranteed places for members of Serpentine RC. We choose to pass these on to members who have played an active part in making this such a great club. The qualification criteria and application procedure for club places are set out below.

  1. Membership and Marathon Entry Criteria

    You must:

    1. be a fully paid up first claim club member; and
    2. have been rejected through the normal London Marathon entry ballot (remember to keep the rejection slip).

  2. Race Participation and Volunteering Criteria

    Qualification is based on a points system as follows:

    1. 1 point for each handicap raced (max. 4 points)
    2. 1 point for each club championship race, only 1 of which may be multi-sport, the remainder must be road running (max. 4 points)
    3. 1 point for each league meeting, (T&F, Summer, Assembly, or cross country leagues) (max. 10 points)
    4. 1 point for helping at a Serpentine organised race (min. 4 points, max 20 points)

    If you have 22 points at this stage you qualify for the ballot.

    You must volunteer in at least 4 events, and if you race in less than 18 qualifying events, you can make up the difference by additional volunteering, up to a maximum of 20 points.

  3. Wild-cards and Bonuses

    You can also earn bonus points by being awarded a Wild-card which is worth 5 points. There is a maximum of four wild-cards per person.

    A wild-card is awarded to a volunteer who has:

    1. Captained a team at a road relay, or a cross country or T&F team for the majority of a season.
    2. Coached for the majority of the year or qualified as a coach and then coached at least three times.
    3. Helped to organise a non-competition event for the club.
    4. Managed a key operation of the club; i.e. webmaster, kit-master, etc.

    Please check with the Honorary Secretary if you are unsure whether you qualify for a wild-card.

  4. Priority

    Priority for applicants shall be:

    1. 22 points or more – no club place last year
    2. 22 points or more – awarded club place last year.
    3. Under 22 points

    If those in group (1) exceed the number of places available a ballot will take place. Similarly a ballot will take place as required among those from group (2). Group (3) will be ranked and further ballots held if deemed necessary. The Honorary Secretary shall be in charge of this process.

Runners are representing the club and must run in club colours. You must advise the Honorary Secretary if you are unable to run so that a substitution can be arranged. Changes are possible up until mid-February. The reserve list will be ranked according to the same priorities above. In some circumstances the Honorary Secretary may allow entry to be deferred till next year.

Finally, all applications must be made on the application form, accompanied by your rejection slip, and sent to the Hon Secretary by 15th December.