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The last few days before the 2010 London Marathon have been really chaotic with the international runners expecting to reach the starting line on Apr 25th. The international flight situation has gone for a toss after the eruption of volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland, which has resulted in ash clouds being spread across the airspace on the western European sector, which has been declared a no-fly zone.
Ash clouds surround Europe
As can be seen from the map above, one way to enter UK is though Spain, and some elite runners are being brought in through this route. Top elite runners who are facing this last moment crisis to reach London include defending champion Sammy Wanjiru, who is trying to come in through Spain. From Spain, there is a possibility of taking a private plane, or reaching by road or train. World champion Abel Kirui of Kenya, Olympic bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, and Olympic silver medalist Jaouad Gharib of Morocco are all trying to come in from Africa. Similarly, runners based in Europe and those in US are involved in last ditch efforts to make it in time.
Not only is the situation delaying arrival of runners, in particular it is reducing the acclimatization time that elite runners need to perform at their best on the race day.
The situation is very similar to the recently concluded Boston Marathon where a lot of runners were stuck at airports across Europe waiting for flights which never left, and which unfortunately resulted in a lot of broken hearts. Boston organizers have though gone on record saying that runners who could not make it due to the volcanic ash situation will be automatically qualified to run Boston in 2011. That is probably the minimum they could have done.
Lets hope that things turn out well, and then we would all be set to follow the events on race day as the race unfolds, in all its glory.
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