One of the hardest things about running 100 marathons is the logistics of getting to and from the races. It’s the biggest expense in the pursuit , and generally takes the largest amount of time.
For good reasons, I made it harder on myself by choosing, as often as was feasible, to not drive to events. In some cases this just wasn’t possible, a walking event in the deeply rural Lincolnshire countryside just can’t be done any other way, but for many events, there were may ways to adapt the plans to leave my wife and kids with our car.
I’m not the only one. I know a number of athletes who, for whatever reason, prefer not to drive to events. In many cases, it can be straightforward – big city marathons forming parts of weekends away are usually not a problem – but if you’re trying to do a number of marathons on a short time, or are keen to do smaller low-key events, or only have certain weekends available and need events to match, then a lot more research is needed.
I’m hoping to use the collective knowledge of the running world to compile a list of events, especially those organised by smaller organisers, hobbyists, charities or running clubs, which for whatever reason are particularly friendly to non-drivers. In my case, that usually meant that there was a hotel either on the race venue or within a 10 of 15 minute walk from the start, or perhaps was timed and located in such a way that I could get there on a bus or a train. that’s the reason I spent so much time on the hunt for 100 Marathons running round lakes in Milton Keynes.
The link for the list will appear here.
If you would like to share information about your favourite non-driver friendly events, then please complete the form that will appear here.