Travelling to London by train on the day from Huntingdon, good idea?

Hi all,

I have just heard that I have a gold bond charity place in the 2012 VLM.

I live about an hour away by train on the Peterborough to Kings Cross line.

The train times are yet to be published for April but looking at early morning on Sundays now and it looks like I can't get into the city any earlier than 8.30.

Does anyone know if there are extra trains laid on? Do I really need to pay out for a hotel in London for the Saturday? Any advice.

Thank you.

Wendy.

Check with a local running club - they may have a coach going up to London and it is first in best dressed usually. I originally had a had a place on a coach from Reading - 12 GBP return but my circumstances changed at last minute. 

SE Railways (whatever their official title may be ..) laid on an early train from Folkestone last year and I was in London in plenty of time - only one 6am train tho so if you miss it you get there too late !

It was full of runners and apparently runs every year - so I would think the Peterborough line will offer something similar - great atmosphere for getting in the mood  and easy to follow the crowd so you don't get lost 

Hi Wendy,

Just a quick note to make sure you're aware that you need to register in Excel sometime in the week before the event. You cannot simply arrive on the day as is the case with other races.

Hope the training's going well. Good luck

I use this line regularly and my experience is that they don't actually run on a Sunday: You get a bus replacement service.  If you're lucky, you could get to King's Cross by about 10:30...

There are two running clubs in Huntingdon, so give them a call: I'm fairly sure they organise a bus on the day.

Thanks for your replies and good ideas!

At present there's a 7.14 Sunday train changing at Hitchin arriving at 8.30 but I'd really like to be in London before then if possible as It's my first time attending the race (either as a spectator or runner)

I plan to travel to london to register on the Thursday before so can do a bit of a dry run (tubes etc) taking into account any closures and extra time needed on 'the day'. (did I mention shopping ha ha!)

I suppose I'm a bit nervous about the train being the only one running that would get me there, what if it's delayed, I miss the connection, etc. etc.

I'll definitley contact the local running clubs to see if they have coaches running it would be great to travel with others who have a bit of experience of the whole event.

If all else fails my husband has offered to drive me as far as he can and shove me on a tube (his exact words!) 

The more I think about it the more travelling with fellow runners appeals 

My training is going well so far, though it's early days.

Thanks again for your suggestions. I'll come back and let you know.

Wendy.

For what its worth if the train is getting into London Kings Cross at 8:30 thats way too late as you still have to get to Greenwich. Personally I wouldn't trust a train that got into KX much after 7:30 and 8 at the very latest.

You need to ensure you get to Greenwich with plenty of time so you can be nice and relaxed (well as relaxed as possible) before the start and sort out baggae, toilets etc. Last thing you need on the morning of your first marathon is to be stressed over trains.

Yes Keith, thanks for your reply, I was kind of thinking that myself. I really don't want to be stressing out about it to be honest and was hoping that there might be extra earlier train laid on.

I've sent a cheeky little email to one of the running clubs asking for their advice re extra trains or they have a coach running for their runners and if they have any spare tickets for it.

I may get lucky but if not a friend of mine has just rejoined a running club in the next town and they definitely have a coach going.

I feel a bit awkward asking them as a non member but I'm not really interested in joining a running club as I really enjoy the freedom of running alone, although this may change in the future.

Don't feel cheeky about asking the running club - the ones I asked were very nice and they didn't even mention being a member of any running club either in UK or Australia - I obviously didn't expect to be given a place if their runners would miss out. Good luck :)

Thanks Juliebee, I haven't heard back from them yet so I'm going to contct a different club today.

Will be back to let you know.

Just a quick update. I've decided to travel down on the day by train starting my journey at Bedford which is only about half an hour drive from home.

The extra early train(s) I'd hoped for at Huntingdon don't seem to have materialised and I've had a rethink about traveling by coach.

The trains at Bedford take an hour and fifteen minutes to get to London St Pancras. They appear to be running every half hour starting at 5.40 so will give me the freedom to arrive in London without the worry of getting there late or having to be somewhere at a certain time to catch a coach when returning as I'd like to travel back with friends and family.

Thanks to all for you input and friendly advice. 

They will probably not run and be replaced by buses due to engineering work overrunning, as it is a sunday morning, but it is your choice.

Oh. Well I may have to have a back up plan in place then.

My first 'choice' would be to stay in London the day before but unfortunately my funds won't stretch that far.

At least this is serving as a nice distraction, I'm not doing too much thinking about the actual running!

You should be ok from Bedford  -no engineering works planned.  Huntingdon does have engineering works that day with replacement buses and even getting the first bus at dawn would not get you there in time so good call going from Bedford :)

Thanks Lorraine, that's encouraging.

I'm still doing a bit of research at the moment, leaning towards stopping over in London the night before. Will update as soon as I know for sure.

I've taken the plunge and booked a hotel for Saturday night.

I managed to get a room in one of the larger hotels in the Dockland area, booked through Expedia's in one of their Secret Saver hotels for just over £81.56 (odd price, I know) with £9.71 cash back (Quidco) so £71.85 in all.

I received confirmation of the hotel name after booking and I'm pleased with the one I got.

I'm sure I could have got a room elsewhere a lot cheaper but as I will probably be travelling and staying alone I've opted for an area which which will be heaving with runners so at least will feel more secure in a crowd of like minded people. 

It's nice to have it finally settled. Thanks to all for your help.

Thats a good price for a London hotel any day of the week any time of the year.