by Larry Eder
The new BAA Boston Marathon qualifying system recognizes the runners who qualify with the most margin, or runners who are faster. RBR applauds the system. Running has room for all types of runners and walkers, however, there is nothing wrong with encouraging and applauding the efforts of runners who are faster.
I do applaud the we are the world, we are the children, but road running, for some years now, has been applauding mediocrity.Yes, I know that opening races is good, and yes, I walk half marathons now. However, I do think that we should celebrate the faster runners, men and women, who put in the time to run faster. Boston is the ONLY race where a qualifying time is key (well, except for the charity runners, who while they do good things for the community, give me a queasy feeling sometimes).
There is nothing wrong with folks walking marathon in nine hours, half marathons in four hours, and there are many races for that. For folks who want to see how fast that they can run, and qualifying for the BAA Boston marathon is how average humans reach their sporting nirvana, let’s applaud it! So, for one race in the world, actually running fast enough or better to make your age qualifier is more important than how fast you can fill out a computer form on entry hour.
My guess is that this was also a response to the eight hour closing of qualifying for the 2011 race. There must have been some pretty unhappy campers out there!
Nice job BAA!
Joan Benoit Samuelson, armed and ready to start the BAA Boston Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net ( I love this photo!)
B.A.A.
TO OFFER FASTEST QUALIFIED RUNNERS
EARLY
ACCEPTANCE INTO 2012 BOSTON
MARATHON
WITH NEW REGISTRATION PROCESS.
NEW
QUALIFYING TIMES IN EFFECT FOR 2013 BOSTON
MARATHON.
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic
Association (B.A.A.) announced today a change in its registration process for
the Boston Marathon, allowing the fastest qualifiers to enter the earliest and
with a rolling admission system while also offering all eligible runners an
increased registration period. The changes in registration are a response
by the B.A.A. to greater than ever demand by runners to gain entry into the
Boston Marathon and culminate more than three months of analysis, including
input from the running industry. Rather than accepting runners who have met the
qualifying standards on a first come, first served approach, a more systematic,
performance-based process will be employed.
2012 Boston
Marathon
For the 2012 Boston Marathon, registration will extend for
two weeks, beginning on Monday, September 12 and continuing until Friday,
September 23. The qualifying times for the 2012 Boston Marathon will not change
from recent past years since the standards had been previously announced and
have been in effect since last September. However, the new registration
process addresses the increased demand among qualified runners to participate
in the Boston Marathon and will accommodate those who are the fastest
qualifiers first.
Registration will occur on a “rolling admission”
schedule until the maximum field size is reached, beginning with the fastest
qualifiers. On the first day of registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon,
those who are eligible for entry by having met the qualifying standards for
their age and gender group by 20 minutes or more will be able to enter on the
first day of registration (September 12). On the third day (September
14), registration will open for those who have met their qualifying standards
by 10 minutes or more. On the fifth day (September 16), registration will
open for those who have met their qualifying standards by five minutes or more.
During this first week of registration, applicants will be notified as they are
accepted and their qualifying performance verified.
If the field size is not reached after the first week and
additional space remains, then registration will open to all qualifiers at the
beginning of Week Two (September 19) and those who have met the qualifying
standards by any amount of time will be able to apply for entry. The
application process will remain open for the entire week, closing on September
23. At the conclusion of Week Two, those who are the fastest among the pool of
applicants in their age and gender will be accepted. Accepted athletes
will be notified on September 28.
If space remains available after this two week process,
registration will remain open to any qualifier on a first come, first served
basis until the maximum field size is reached.
The field size for the 2012 Boston Marathon will not
represent a significant increase from the most recent past years.
Registration Process for the 2012 Boston Marathon
First Week Day 1 (Sept. 12) Qualifiers
who have met their age/gender qualifying times by
20 minutes, 00
seconds or faster may apply
Day 3 (Sept. 14) 10
minutes, 00 seconds or faster
Day 5 (Sept. 16) 5
minutes, 00 seconds or faster
Second Week
Day 8 (Sept. 19) Qualifiers
who have met their age/gender qualifying times by
any amount of time,
including qualifiers who could have registered in Week One.
Day 12 (Sept. 23) Registration
closes for qualified applicants
September 28 Qualifiers
from entry during second week of registration are notified of their acceptance.
If the field is not filled at the conclusion of the two
weeks, then registration will remain open and qualifiers will be accepted on a
first come, first served basis until the maximum field size is reached.
2013 Boston
Marathon
For the 2013 Boston Marathon, in addition to the new
“rolling admission” process for registration which will be in
effect for the 2012 Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. will adjust the qualifying
times by lowering them by five minutes from the times which have been in effect
in recent past years. The adjusted qualifying times will go into effect
on September 24, 2011, and are as follows:
Age Group MEN
WOMEN
18-34 3:05:00
3:35:00
35-39 3:10:00
3:40:00
40-44 3:15:00
3:45:00
45-49 3:25:00
3:55:00
50-54 3:30:00
4:00:00
55-59 3:40:00
4:10:00
60-64 3:55:00
4:25:00
65-69 4:10:00
4:40:00
70-74 4:25:00
4:55:00
75-79 4:40:00
5:10:00
80 and older 4:55:00
5:25:00
Registration for the 2013 Boston Marathon will begin on
Monday, September 10, 2012.
“As the number of qualified runners has increased
combined with greater demand to run the Boston Marathon, our new registration process
enables those who qualify by the greatest amount of time to have the longest
period to enter,” said Tom Grilk,
B.A.A. Executive Director. “Our new registration process takes into
consideration the many comments we received from runners this past fall and
winter, most of whom urged the B.A.A. to institute a system which recognizes
athletic performance above all else.”
Additionally, to recognize and to encourage longtime Boston
Marathon entrants, the B.A.A. will allow those who have met the qualifying
times and who have finished the last ten consecutive Boston Marathons to enter
anytime during the registration period. Currently, there are
approximately 500 runners who have run 10 or more consecutive Boston Marathons.
The B.A.A. last adjusted the qualifying times for the 2003
Boston Marathon, relaxing times for runners who were 55 years old and
older. The last time the qualifying times were made more stringent was
for the 1980 Boston Marathon.
The 2011 Boston Marathon reached its maximum field size of
qualifiers faster than any previous year when qualifiers rushed to fill the
race and the qualified field closed in eight hours, three minutes.
About the B.A.A.
Established in 1887, the Boston
Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing
athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially
running. Each year the Association manages a comprehensive schedule of
youth-running events, distance running training programs, and large-scale races
in the city of Boston. Most
noteworthy is the Boston
Marathon,
the world’s most prestigious and oldest continually run marathon. Since the
inaugural race in 1897, the Boston
Marathon has
been the pinnacle for distance running worldwide, a position which was reinforced
in 1986 with the help of principal sponsor John Hancock Financial. In 2006, the
Boston Marathon joined the Bank of America
Chicago Marathon, the Berlin
Marathon, the Virgin London Marathon, and the
ING New York City Marathon to form the World Marathon
Majors.
