Hello, Pat here from toomuchracing.com. If you follow my blog, tweets or my comments here at Sidepodcast, you'll know I am interested in all manner of different forms of motorsport in addition to Formula 1. Not all of it matches up to F1's standards, yet much of it is still enjoyable and I'm convinced fans of one form of racing will like some other forms of racing.
My blog's full name says I watch too much racing, and that's not limited to races with cars. What you may not know is that I casually follow races outside of motorsport, not to the same degree and I don't really mention it or blog about it. I suspect the same is true of many fans of motor racing, I know a lot of petrolheads like to follow the Tour de France for example, and the other week we live commented the University Boat Race. We all seem to like watching different sorts of competition. Another race I like to watch is the London Marathon - and this year there is an added interest for the motorsport fan, there are racing drivers taking part.
Credit: Jamie McPhilimey/onEdition
The 2010 Virgin London Marathon takes place on Sunday from 9am. I'm not here to provide a live thread for the race, although it could serve as that if the interest is there. What I'd like to talk about is the entry of 14 members of the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), in support of the children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent.
Their aim is to reach £50,000 in donations - more on that a little later, first let's see who's taking part. They aren't F1 drivers, most are from sportscars/GTs but that doesn't matter, I think it is fantastic to see motorsport doing something like this to raise money for charity.
The Runners
According to the BRDC announcement the following drivers are taking part, I've added a note for each in case you want to follow them for the rest of the year:
| Name | Note |
|---|---|
| Oliver Gavin | Corvette Racing for Le Mans & ALMS, drove F1 Safety Car in 1990s |
| Andy Priaulx | BMW Team RBM in WTCC where he's multiple champion, also doing Le Mans |
| Marino Franchitti | Patron Highcroft Racing at Le Mans and occa sional ALMS |
| Darren Turner | Aston Martin Racing at Le Mans and in FIA GT |
| Guy Smith | Dyson Racing in ALMS, Rebellion Racing at Le Mans, won LM24 in 2003 |
| Peter Dumbreck | Spyker at Le Mans, Sumo Power in FIA GT |
| Richard Westbrook | GT driver for various teams at Le Mans and in LMS, ALMS |
| Jonny Kane | Strakka Racing in the LMS |
| Johnny Mowlem | Seems to race anything coming his way... |
| Charlie Hollings | |
| Rob Barff | Long-time GT & prototype driver and team owner |
| Sean Edwards | Porsche Supercup (F1 support races) |
| Stuart Hall | |
| Marc Hynes | 1999 British F3 champion, misc other starts |
| Stuart Pringle | BRDC Club Secretary |
I couldn't find any information about Hollings and Hall but I think it is safe to assume the latter isn't the famous commentator!
Oliver 'Olly' Gavin is acting as 'team leader' as he has competed in 3 London Marathons already and is one of the faster among the group, last year clocking three hours ten seconds, just those few seconds over his target time - which he is determined to beat.
I was desperate to get under the three-hour mark, but I missed it by those 11 seconds, which is hugely frustrating. [Corvette teammate] Jan Magnussen said he laughed so much that I missed it by 11 seconds, which is typically Jan! I don't think Jan would run any further than to the drugstore and back! I'm very, very keen to get underneath the three-hour mark if I can. If I'm the first one of the BRDC runners, then great. If I get beaten by one of them, I won't mind as long as I've gone underneath my target time. We'll see how hard Jan is laughing after this year's event!
Oliver Gavin
It seems the abilities of the runners varies greatly, as Marino is merely looking to record a finish.
Completing the marathon would be a journey into the unknown as the longest run I have planned is 20 miles. I did do a half marathon pre-Sebring.
Marino Franchitti
Donations
The team hoped to raise £50,000 from donations for this race, as of the BRDC announcement they had already reached £35,000 and this was prior to Friday night's charity dinner where they hoped to raise £10,000 - late Friday night it emerged via Olly Gavin's Facebook page and Guy Smith's Twitter that they actually raised £35,000, pushing the total over £75,000!
This is a phenomenal effort and donations are still being accepted, if you feel you wish to contribute just head to this JustGiving page which looks like a Who's Who of Motorsport such are the names on the list:
Allan McNish, David Brabham, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Karun Chandhok, Mark Webber, Derek Warwick, Jan Magnussen, James Thompson, BTCC director Alan Gow, Nick Mason, Charlie Whiting, Sky TV's NASCAR/IndyCar host Keith Huewen, voice of not-F1 motorsport Martin Haven, Autosport journo Simon Strang, as well as several current or former teams of the drivers and a few team sponsors.
I'd heard of this initiative some while ago but it was only when I found the donation link when writing this post that I realised just how many people across the world of motorsport from top to bottom, left to right, are backing this. A true heart-warming story for a great cause and I feel proud that 'our' sport has rallied round the guys and not just ignored the initiative.
Not everyone is in a position to donate though and particularly in this economy, I certainly can't afford much and I'm not posting this to push for donations, merely to give this some wider attention. So whether you donate or not let's all wish them the best of luck, they deserve to be cheered along the whole route, just as the other thousands of runners do, most of whom run for charity and often for a loved-one.
Follow the race
I doubt we'll have much news from the drivers as they are running, although some do have Twitter accounts I expect they'll be a little distracted. You can follow them here, just in case:
The London Marathon is live on BBC2 from 8.30am Sunday (switching from to BBC1 at 10), and British Eurosport from 9am - I suspect it'll be across Europe on Eurosport as well. Apologies, I don't know where you can see it if you are outside Europe.
Start times:
- 9.00am Women
- 9.15am Wheelchair
- 9.25am Celebrity
- 9.30am Men, and from a different start point the 'mass' race for fun and charity runners
Credit: Moleitau / Flickr / Creative Commons
I suspect our group will be in the mass race at 9.30am, though quite rightly the focus of TV coverage for the first two hours or so will be on the professional runners. Who knows, perhaps after that we'll see an interview with a driver or two?
As I mentioned at the start of this post, the professional race is often worth watching in itself because let's face it, we like racing and this is a race. You have three races happening at once - the women's elite, men's elite and wheelchair events. These are the best distance runners in the world and they are racing the clock as much as each other, checking splits every kilometre and working out when to push and when to hold back. It isn't something to sit avidly watching on the edge of your seat, it is more like Le Mans where things take a while to play out, but if you just want to chill on the sofa on a Sunday morning with a cup of tea just watching something develop over about 2 hours, this is ideal.
After that the focus switches to the charity runners (like the guys with the rhino suits) and that's when you see the true face of the London Marathon, and it is brilliant. Like I say, most are running for charity, I'm not afraid to say the mid-race interviews with some of the runners gets me every year.
Credit: PhotoGraham / Flickr / Creative Commons
For further information you can consult Official site, interactive track map and the Wikipedia page.
It also has a really clever logo. Look! The finish tape is the Thames!
Great cause and good luck to all runners, but ive never seen many more unfortunate names than Rob Barff. Hope he can run the full42kms without living up to his name. Personally i'd be "barffing" after 42 metres.
what a freakin' awesome post!
A rhino!
is it wrong that i want to be driving the camera van?
that's awesome! i knew a few racing drivers were taking part, but didn't know how they all were. thanks pat :)
too much effort. Sitting on the slide clapping is better
yes. you should be building an iphone app similar to the F1 one so we can track the runners via GPS on the track :P
it makes a change to listen to a bbc commentary that doesn't make me angry. these people are doing a great job.
Went to the Tyne Bridge to watch the Great North Run once. Quite boring, so it stayed as only once.
if you drive i'll operate the camera :) i've always wanted to have a go at filming from the back of a car :)
Somewhere around the 35km mark is good for encouragement. Still a fair way to go
I said the same thing. But I do think if Mr C and I were in charge of a golf cart it would go oh so very Chuckle Brothers.
Is Paula commentating? She's the only runner I know and she's not running :(
even you can't get lost navigating a marathon course.
I have to navigate and hold the camera?
:D
I can't navigate with my back to the course, can I?
hehehe you can't be as bad as me... if i'm involved it's almost a given we'll get lost
#sorryinadvanceforspa
hey, we have multiple camera coverage on bbc sport player:
- main cam
- men's cam
- women's cam
coool!
Makes sense. Tyne Bridge is really early so most of them are getting on just fine.
It also makes it hard to give up when people are cheering you on :D
what in the world are these women wearing?
One had long socks, one had long gloves. Maybe they get cold.
I'm not watching, but longer socks have become all the rage, for muscle support and all that.
ahh, boo. marathon's don't have pits for a tyre change?
They have drink spots for refueling though :-)
:)
maybe you need to watch triathlons? they have stops for changing modes of transport, that's almost the same.. ;)
Yes I always liked those bits
transitions
I want to drive the one with the clock on
hehe. bristish fans are scared of rain?
I always thought of them as "rest" :D
You'd be surprised...
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100228/sport/runners-protest-as-marathon-lead-car-goes-the-wrong-way
ooooh! fight ya for that one.
:) :) :)
ooh, the commentators can choose which camera we watch? now that is power.
RHINO!!
Yeah she is, I'd hoped she'd be running but it turns out she's pregnant.. probably not good to run with the extra ballast..
How inconsiderate of her.
I missed the rhino??
i saw it/him
what's the "mini marathon replay"?
There's a 3 mile mini marathon for different age groups under 18. They run the last 3 miles of the course starting when the main one starts
genius. i could probably do that.
says highlights are coming soon.
i didn't realise ordinary people could cross the road/track?
you're not under 18 though?... would you be allowed to run that?.. or are you talking about driving the camera van again?
There are crossing points. Crowds seem a lot less than past years
i just figured 3 miles was a more sensible distance.
that's true, a choice between just over 26miles and 3 miles... 3 miles seems much more sensible :)
You should do a 5k, thats 3ish miles
26 miles, 2hrs and 5mins and the man finishes within 1 second of his best? how is that possible?
practice!
oooooh, did not need to see that after my breakfast :(
They were close to the course record too. Incredible stuff, don't know how they do it.
loving that they get covered in a bright virgin branded towel before the press get chance to take many photos of the runners :D lol
Should I be glad I missed it because I was commenting?
I mean they take mile or km splits on their watches but you still have to do the running...
he mighta thrown up on live tv
Probably don't want to know what Paula did when she ran..
:D
No. really, no.
I have heard quite a few marathon "stories"
While it was a great achievement I was hoping for a closer race if I'm honest..
He runs 150 miles a week in training, and still finishes 8th..
utter.mad.ness. where the heck do you run that many miles in this country without getting run down?
round and round and round and round........
ahh
They're talking about qualifying times, this race is one way of getting on the British team for the big annual championships or the Olympics, or national teams for the Commonwealth Games. so they might be 10th but they are still trying to beat a time
was that a guy running as an ice cream cone? ehehehe
i've just realised Russell Howard is running the marathon too! goo Russell!
When we went to see my friend run the London Marathon the costumed people helped us remember where she was. She was with a Darth Vader & a Scooby Doo. A lot of people put their name on their t-shirt which is great for the spectators as you can shout their name to encourage them. Even if you don't know anyone it's a really great atmosphere.
Shouldn't Jon be running this as practice for his world record?
hahahahahaha
you're funny
:D
http://twitpic.com/1icq3p
Jake is watching
i bet that guy dressed as a tiger is a bit warm...
Namecheck for Sunil Patel, BBC F1 producer! He's through halfway
wohoo!
This interviewer on the bridge is brilliant :)
i'd get slightly annoyed if they stopped me for an interview and i was running though...
hahahaha a giraffe!!
Hah, I've got marathon on BBC and DTM on a live stream so partly following both.
A couple of men in suits and bowler hats have stopped in the middle of the road on Tower Bridge for lunch, sat a table with a bottle of red :)
what??
hehe. man just fell over the line. 26 miles and he crashes out on the last step.
Telly coverage ended, may have more of the fun stuff on the highlights show later. There were some good costumes and so forth this year but maybe not as many as usual..
can you watch the red button stuff online? (i have moved into the study and away from tvs)
Yeah I've just found it - it isn't on Freeview red button which is showing gymnastics..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8640515.stm
am watching online here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8640515.stm
ooo thank you, i couldn't for the life of me find a link.
#clearlybadatnavigatingwebsites
crazy 4-cam window is also on that page, so you can see everyone cross the finish line.
All this watching makes me want to watch run fatboy run :)
Also excellent post from pat may I add
so Lukeh... when you you doing the marathon? ;)
Thanks :)
Eventually :P
Russel Howard!
Russell Howard did it in just over 4 hours! woot!! (hearts)
:) awesome :P
I will definitely do it one day though, it's one of my slightly scary goals in life ;)
two people are running as both halves of a camel. that shouldn't be possible.
That huge girraffe man is awesome :) and insane!
RHINO!
rhino lou?!
:)
Lee Evans is running too! awesome!
:D he is awesome
Steve Ryder is running it??!
He's there somewhere, yep. Thats why he's not presenting BTCC on ITV4 today
anyone know how Andy Priaulx is doing?
Not heard any updates
From @AndyPriaulx:
I finished the Marathon!! 3hrs49secs. Importantly we raised a lot of money for CLIC Sargant. Thanks to everyone for all your donations :-)
@GuySmith:
great fun but really hard work my left knee started really hurting at mile 20. Congrats to all the guys for a brilliant effort!
sorry that's @GuySmith16, and:
@andypriaulx well done bro 3.54 for me my knee was killing at the end.thanks for been my running buddy!
more from Guy
I did it but boy it was tough but really enjoyed the whole event great fun did 3.54 was going well until mile 20 and my left knee just went!
From @HighcroftRacing
Our endurance man shined in his first marathon today in London. Marino Franchitti completed the 26 miles in 3hr, 46min. Well done!! #alms
Autosport has a report up about this. The guys raised £80,000 and Olly Gavin finished 657th out of 36,000 starters.
that's great going. wow.