Click here to skip my purple prose and go straight to the entry form…
Well, that last year was, there’s no better term for it, a bummer. Still, I was able to see what way the land lay before too many people got on board, and I’m ever so grateful that every member of the Maravan family chose to defer their 2020 entries to this year, which makes planning so much easier.
Obviously, at the time of writing, we’re still in the throes of a global health emergency, but things are looking up, and I’m very positive for the outlook for later this year.
We had a COVID mitigation plan in place for 2020, and at the moment, I’ll still be looking to employ some or part of this in the risk assessment for November’s event, but as was the case last year, we are in the hands of our hosts at Thorpe Park as to the final yea or nay for going ahead. I have agreement in principle for the weekend of the 20th and 21st November, and so I’ll be booking my room at the Premier Inn as usual on a non-refundable rate, such is my approach to this.
Craig at Event Entry has kindly done the hard work in transferring everyone’s entries over to 2021, and Matt at Timing Monkey has confirmed our weekend. Both these companies are small operations who’ve had their own woes over the lockdowns, so I’m delighted to be able to partner up with them for this year’s event.
I’m conscious that the autumn is filling up for events this year as Spring is now deferring – Liverpool, I’m looking at you – and I know that people are going to be looking to make up for lost time, so I’m sure that events will fill quickly. Remember, that if you enter this and subsequently get into a big-city marathon (and how can I possibly compete?), you’re free to transfer your entry to whoever you so wish so long as it’s done before the end of October so I can give plenty of notice to the chip timers!
So, if you’re willing to take the plunge, entries are open for Maravan 2021. If you entered last year, your entry is automatically transferred to the equivalent event this year. Thanks to chip timing, I can squeeze more people in this year, especially for the Half Marathon or Sunday’s full marathon, but also have more space for soloists on Saturday and for a couple of extra teams. I don’t want the event to be huge and unwieldy, though, I still want to keep the friendly little event that people keep coming back for.
See you soon!
D