Well, they did it. The Boston Athletic Association, which holds the famous Boston Marathon (as in “THE” Boston Marathon, or simply, “Boston” as we call it) has officially announced changes to the registration procedures for the 2012 marathon and changes to the qualification standards effective for the 2013 marathon.
I think we all knew this day was coming, ever since the registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon closed in a record 8 hours and 3 minutes in October of 2010. So, while it’s not a complete surprise, there are some things in the announcement that leave me wondering if any of us were expecting some of these changes.
Here are the changes…
1) In 2012, the BAA will institute a rolling admission registration procedure that will allow qualifiers with the fastest qualifying times to enter first. The registration process will extend for two weeks, beginning on Monday, September 12, 2011 and continuing until Friday, September 23, 2011. Registration will continue until the maximum field size is reached. Specifically:
a. First Week--
Sept. 12, 2011 – Registration opens for runners with times 20 minutes (or more) faster than their qualifying times, based on age & gender.
Sept. 14, 2011 – Registration opens for runners with times 10 minutes (or more) faster than their qualifying times, based on age & gender.
Sept. 16, 2011 – Registration opens for runners with times 5 minutes (or more) faster than their qualifying times, based on age & gender.
During the first week of registration, applicants will be notified as they are accepted and their qualifying times verified.
b. Second Week –
Sept. 19, 2011 – Registration opens for all qualified runners
Sept. 23, 2011 – Registration closes for qualified applicants
Sept. 28, 2011 – Qualifiers from entry during second week of registration are notified of their acceptance.
(So, you can see that it pays to be faster than others in your age & gender group when it comes to registering for future Boston Marathons. )
2) In 2013, the BAA will continue the rolling admission registration process, and will also adjust the qualifying times by 5 minutes. Essentially, everyone will have to run at least 5 minutes faster than the current qualifying times (based on age & gender) simply to qualify for Boston. There will also be no grace period allowed. Whereas you’re currently allowed 3 hours 25 minutes 59 seconds if your qualifying time is 3 hours 25 minutes, for the 2013 Boston Marathon, you’ll need to run 3 hours 25 minutes or faster. You no longer get the 59 seconds.
These 2013 qualification times take effect September 24, 2011. If you’re not familiar with what that means, let me explain: Each year there’s a “window” of time during which a runner may race a marathon and use his or her qualifying time (if attained) to apply for the Boston Marathon for the following year. In certain cases, depending on the timing of their races, runners may qualify for two consecutive years at Boston in one race. Fall is the main marathon season, with most of the major marathons taking place between September and the end of November (although there are numerous marathons being held throughout the year).
Registration for the 2013 Boston Marathon begins on Monday, September 10, 2012. Thus, you must have qualified in a race held between September 25, 2011 and September 9, 2012.
The new qualification times, in detail, by age and gender:
AGE GROUP MEN WOMEN
18-34 3 hrs 05 min 00 sec 3 hrs 35 min 00 sec
35-39 3 hrs 10 min 00 sec 3 hrs 40 min 00 sec
40-44 3 hrs 15 min 00 sec 3 hrs 45 min 00 sec
45-49 3 hrs 25 min 00 sec 3 hrs 55 min 00 sec
50-54 3 hrs 30 min 00 sec 4 hrs 00 min 00 sec
55-59 3 hrs 40 min 00 sec 4 hrs 10 min 00 sec
60-64 3 hrs 55 min 00 sec 4 hrs 25 min 00 sec
65-69 4 hrs 10 min 00 sec 4 hrs 40 min 00 sec
70-74 4 hrs 25 min 00 sec 4 hrs 55 min 00 sec
75-79 4 hrs 40 min 00 sec 5 hrs 10 min 00 sec
80 and over 4 hrs 55 min 00 sec 5 hrs 25 min 00 sec
There was already a lot of discussion about potential changes to future Boston qualification standards following the record-setting closure of registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon. What’s fair? What’s reasonable? When should any changes take effect (since there are already runners training for and racing with a certain qualification standard in their sights for the 2012 Boston)? For the 2012 Boston Marathon, qualifying times must be run on or after September 25, 2010.
I certainly don’t envy the officials at the BAA in having to decide what needed to change based on this year’s registration experience. There simply is just no way to please every single runner out there. Generally speaking, however, I believe that we distance runners wanted most of all to preserve the integrity of The Boston Marathon and the significance of “BQ-ing”, or attaining our Boston Marathon qualifying time. I'm fortunate in that I'll get to register on the second day next year...just missed the first day by a minute and some change.
What do you think? Has the BAA preserved the integrity of Boston through the changes just announced? What might you have done differently, and (more importantly) why? If you’ve run Boston, will you continue to try for a qualifying time? If you’ve not run Boston yet, will you continue to try to qualify? I’d like to hear from you…keeping in mind that we runners tend to be supportive of each other.
~Relentless forward motion, ya’ll…
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