Part 3. Luck in the hat.

Keywords. the London marathon, fund-raising, keep up with, worst moment, final time.

Vocabulary. stature, get round to.

A. Listen to some statements about the London marathon, pay special attention to numbers.

The first London marathon was held on March 29th, 1981.

Some 20,000 people wanted to run, 7,747 were accepted, there were 6,255 finishers.

Since then, the event has continued to grow in size, stature and popularity.

Since the first race in 1981, over 413,481 people have completed the London marathon.

There were a record of 30,809 finishers in the 1999, Flora London marathon.

Another aspect of the London marathon, which has developed over the years, is its success as a charity fund-raising event.

It is estimated that over 80 millions pounds has been raised for numerous charities over the years.

B. Listen to an interview with John Goodman, a runner in the London marathon.

Supply the missing information with key words.

I did the marathon, that's the London marathon, last year and this year.

Those were the only marathons I've done.

So you've done it twice?

I've done the London marathon twice. That's right.

Wow. How far is it?

It's 26 miles and a little bit more.

I don't know exactly how many extra yards and by that stage, I'm not counting.

Well, wh...what do you do to prepare for it?

Ah...In my case, I did a little bit more running than I normally do.

And what do you normally do?

Well, I go out running about once a week for about an hour.

And I only did a little bit more for the London marathon than I would normally do.

So I was running a maximum of about 20 miles a week.

I never did any more than that.

And do you do keep fit exercises and things, or is it just running?

When I go out running, I tend to get home and within a couple of minutes of getting home.

I'm out there, on the street, with no warming up exercises or anything.

But it's best to do warming up exercises beforehand.

I never seem to get round to doing them.

Ha, Why not?

Laziness, I think.

How do you feel at the start of the race?

I was still very worried about an injury to my, to my foot.

To your foot?

Well, actually to my ankle.

From runing?

I hurt my ankle playing football about three days before.

So you were quite nervous?

I was quite nervous. So I was nervous about my ankle.

And I was very concerned about making sure I kept up with the time that I hoped to run each mile in during the race.

And I was hoping to run each mile in round about 7 minutes.

Because the whole field moved very slowly at the start, the first mile marker went by and I'd taken nine and a half minutes to run.

So you were going too slowly?

So I was going too slowly, and I remembered the same thing happen last year when I did the marathon.

What was your... Can you remember your worst moment in the race?

I didn't really feel in pain or worried until right at the end when I realized that I was unable to complete the last three miles of the race as fast as I'd done the previous 23.

So what was your final time?

My time was 2 hours and 47 minutes.

That's pretty good. Isn't it? That's quite fast.

It was certainly half an hour faster than the time I put up last year, anyway.

That's wonderful. Are you going to do it next year?

I tried to do it next year. But I've missed the qualifying date.

So you haven't got a place?

I haven't got a place. But there is a running club I belong to.

And they get one spare place, so all the runners who haven't got in, their names go into the hat and with any luck, my name will be the lucky one.

And in fact that's how I got into the London marathon in the first place.

It was really just a lucky chance last year.

Oh, I see. Well, good luck with it then.

Thank you very much, Ruth.

C. Now listen again. Decide whether the statements are true or false. Put "T" or "F" in the brackets.

I did the marathon, that's the London marathon, last year and this year.

Those were the only marathons I've done.

So you've done it twice?

I've done the London marathon twice. That's right.

Wow. How far is it?

It's 26 miles and a little bit more.

I don't know exactly how many extra yards and by that stage, I'm not counting.

Well, wh...what do you do to prepare for it?

Ah...In my case, I did a little bit more running than I normally do.

And what do you normally do?

Well, I go out running about once a week for about an hour.

And I only did a little bit more for the London marathon than I would normally do.

So I was running a maximum of about 20 miles a week.

I never did any more than that.

And do you do keep fit exercises and things, or is it just running?

When I go out running, I tend to get home and within a couple of minutes of getting home.

I'm out there, on the street, with no warming up exercises or anything.

But it's best to do warming up exercises beforehand.

I never seem to get round to doing them.

Ha, Why not?

Laziness, I think.

How do you feel at the start of the race?

I was still very worried about an injury to my, to my foot.

To your foot?

Well, actually to my ankle.

From runing?

I hurt my ankle playing football about three days before.

So you were quite nervous?

I was quite nervous. So I was nervous about my ankle.

And I was very concerned about making sure I kept up with the time that I hoped to run each mile in during the race.

And I was hoping to run each mile in round about 7 minutes.

Because the whole field moved very slowly at the start, the first mile marker went by and I'd taken nine and a half minutes to run.

So you were going too slowly?

So I was going too slowly, and I remembered the same thing happen last year when I did the marathon.

What was your... Can you remember your worst moment in the race?

I didn't really feel in pain or worried until right at the end when I realized that I was unable to complete the last three miles of the race as fast as I'd done the previous 23.

So what was your final time?

My time was 2 hours and 47 minutes.

That's pretty good. Isn't it? That's quite fast.

It was certainly half an hour faster than the time I put up last year, anyway.

That's wonderful. Are you going to do it next year?

I tried to do it next year. But I've missed the qualifying date.

So you haven't got a place?

I haven't got a place. But there is a running club I belong to.

And they get one spare place, so all the runners who haven't got in, their names go into the hat and with any luck, my name will be the lucky one.

And in fact that's how I got into the London marathon in the first place.

It was really just a lucky chance last year.

Oh, I see. Well, good luck with it then.

Thank you very much, Ruth.