Just when I was getting close to qualifying for Boston at the youngest age group's (18-34) standard of 3 hours, 10 minutes, 59 seconds, they raise the standard to 3 hours, 5 minutes, 00 seconds effective 9/24/11! Can I break 3:10:59 this April? We'll see!
My current age group's (40-44) standard is 3:20:59 with a new standard of 3:15:00. That's okay since I ran Chicago last year in 3:11:58. Here's the kicker. I celebrate my birthday before the new effective date and I enter into a new age group (45-49) with a standard of 3:25:00! Age has priviledges! Not so fast, old man! In addition to the new standards, the Boston Athletic Association will institute the "rolling admission" process that they'll institute for 2012. Runners who beat their qualifying time by 20 minutes or more are allowed to register on the first day of registration. Runners who beat their qualifying time by 10 minutes or more are allowed to register on the third day. Runners who beat their qualifying time by 5 minutes or more are allowed to register on the fifth day. Registration is then open to all other qualified runners on the eighth day. This is important as the registration for the 2010 Boston Marathon reached its limit in about eight hours shutting many other qualified runners out (loaded servers also contributed to shutting them out).
It's a great process to get the faster runners to compete in the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the United States. The downside is that I might not be able to run future Boston Marathons if the field is filled up before I can register! In order for me to register on the first day (9/10/12) for the 2013 Boston Marathon and beyond, I have to run at least a 3:05:00! Now that's a challenge!
Always a Runner...
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