Macho Grande wrote:
Have you ever qualified for Boston or run the race? If you had you know why this isn't exactly like banditing your local 5k or 10k.
Bob
Except that for MANY years, BAA turned a blind eye to the bandits, realizing the "unofficial" field was somewhat of a local tradition for many. To put it into perspective, Dick Hoyt said in the Universal Sports promo that the first year they ran Boston, they were not ALLOWED to enter "The Marathon", but were told by BAA that they could "run behind" (bandit?) the race, which they did.
But I agree times have changed since then. This year, BAA added the bib requirement to enter the pre-race Village mainly because of the huge number of official entrants this year.