London Marathon 2010, Virgin, and Open Source

I went searching for where I could watch tomorrow's London Marathon live on the internet. Universal Sports seem to be one option. It is not clear from the website but I think it's about $5-7 to watch. BBC seems to be the other option. However, the internet option seems to be available only for those in the UK.

At the time of searching, I also came across this article about how Virgin (the main sponsor) has started a charity site based on open source technology (MySQL, Apache, etc.). If they can use free technology, why can't they have a free live feed on the marathon website? As it is, they already have ads on that website. Putting in a live feed would not only bring in several thousand hits but would make thousands of runners outside the UK very happy. Thus, not only would they earn several thousands of pennies but also the love and admiration of many running fans worldwide.

I would have sent them an email regarding this but all they have on their "Contact Us" page is a UK phone number. If you know of a way to reach them via email, please let me know.

London marathon 2009 - 80,000 applicants in a day

I just happened to be browsing the London marathon website and this is what I found:

Due to an overwhelming response Phase 1 of the Flora London Marathon 2009 online entry ballot has now closed. The limit of 80,000 applicants was reached at 10pm on Monday 14 April.

Incredible. This is just a day after this year's race on April 13.