Do you think us folks that did not meet the 10 minutes & 5 minutes faster than qualifying time have a prayer?
According to BAA this spring, they expect people with a 2-3 minute buffer to be OK. I’ve got a 4:40 buffer, so I hope so.
Bob
Obvious answer? some do, some dont. Plenyt of folks qualify with better times than the bare minimum Q times.
I didn’t know they were going to stagger it down to the minute. I thought everyone qualifying between 1 second and 5 minutes were all lumped together. I guess I’m also 4:40 (exactly) to the good. Hotel rooms are already sky high so I jumped in using Marathon Tours. Worst case, I don’t get in and they get $20 of my money as part of their cancellation policy.
BTW, marathon tours has some great deals. The Westin is listing at over $550 per night on their website - Marathon Tours is offering the rooms at $299 per night. Over the 4-nights I’ll be in Boston, I’ll save about $1,000…not bad.
Here is the plan as explained to me…
On Sept 19th if you are between zero and 4:59.99 under your BQ time, you can submit a registration. After September 25th, they close the registration and rank those people. If there are 1500 spots open, the top 1500 people under their BQ time get in. They are going down to the second.
Bob
I heard the same thing, may have been an article in the USA Today.
Once it gets close and then it becomes a ranking. They expect somewhere in the BQ-2-3 minute range to be the cutoff.
The early cutoff date just sort of throws the whole routine out of whack, because now people running Boston will have qualified sometime between 8 and 20 months prior to the race. It’s weird thinking about a Fall 2011 marathon as a 2013 qualifier…I hope I still like marathons by then 
“BTW, marathon tours has some great deals. The Westin is listing at over $550 per night on their website - Marathon Tours is offering the rooms at $299 per night. Over the 4-nights I’ll be in Boston, I’ll save about $1,000…not bad.”
This is known as “kdw’s wife’s shopping logic” w/regards to savings.
To BAA’s credit they did a phenomenal job explaining this to people at the Expo and during race weekend.
I wrote a bit about it and my basic premise was “Run 5 mins faster than your time and you should be OK.” Unfortunately I blew up a little this past March and get to experience the ranking system.
Bob
“BTW, marathon tours has some great deals. The Westin is listing at over $550 per night on their website - Marathon Tours is offering the rooms at $299 per night. Over the 4-nights I’ll be in Boston, I’ll save about $1,000…not bad.”
This is known as “kdw’s wife’s shopping logic” w/regards to savings.
LOL…True - so true!
I heard the same thing, may have been an article in the USA Today.
Any link for this? Are you racing Boston again?
Yup, I’ll be back. My 2010 Bay State and 2011 Boston times will both get me in on the first day of registration. Hell, I guess if I just run Boston well enough each year I can use that time to qualify for the following year.
This might have been the article, http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2011-04-13-boston-marathon_N.htm
“BTW, marathon tours has some great deals. The Westin is listing at over $550 per night on their website - Marathon Tours is offering the rooms at $299 per night. Over the 4-nights I’ll be in Boston, I’ll save about $1,000…not bad.”
This is known as “kdw’s wife’s shopping logic” w/regards to savings.
Zing!
My wife prescribes to the same logic.
“BTW, marathon tours has some great deals. The Westin is listing at over $550 per night on their website - Marathon Tours is offering the rooms at $299 per night. Over the 4-nights I’ll be in Boston, I’ll save about $1,000…not bad.”
This is known as “kdw’s wife’s shopping logic” w/regards to savings.
Zing!
My wife prescribes to the same logic.
My wife takes it a step further - example:
“Look at these cute sandals! They were on sale from $35 down to $15!!! So I got 3 pairs! Look at how much $ I saved!”
“Uh, honey - you went shopping for 1 pair, which would have cost $35, and spent $45, and we ‘saved $’ how?”
Yes - I made the mistake of actually having that exchange w/ my wife. I’m not a very smart man.
I am also in this situation as I am only 3 minutes under the wire. In the past, the registration opened later and therefore the pool of applicants were coming from two fall seasons and one spring season of bq events. This year the registration will open before the fall events and so therefore the number of people who will be able to register will be less. Tim
“This year the registration will open before the fall events and so therefore the number of people who will be able to register will be less. Tim”
Not really…my wife qualified in Oct, 2010 and ran last year (2011). She can (and will) use her qualifying time from that same race for 2012 as well.
I predict it will close when it fills up ;0)
.
My point is that you can’t use a Fall of 2011 event for Boston 2012, because it will be filled up before the Fall 2011 events are held. The big BQ events this Fall will be held in October, because the registration will be one month before that, this Falls events can’t be used for 2012. Tim
I am in the same boat as your wife.
However, with early fall registration, she and I won’t be competing for spots with people who are running marathons THIS fall.
Fall is generally marathon season and in the Boston, each year’s Boston field could have runners from two previous falls, from now on it will just be one. That said, I don’t particularly love the new system as everyone running Boston will have qualified a LONG time before Boston race day.
Exactly, which is the beauty of what BAA did. Yes, a fall marathon still gets you two Bostons, but oh, darn, it’s already filled for the race in 6-8 months. Please feel free to use it in 18 months.
I’d say the fill effects of the change won’t be felt until 2013 when everyone is wise to the rules and, shockingly, running faster.
Bob
I agree with you on limiting the double qualifying, just wish the window was different. Now, everyone at Boston will have qualified 8-20 months prior.
Had they just made it a calendar year thing, registration for 2012, opens January 1 2012 and all 2011 marathons qualify, people’s qualifiers would have been a bit more recent. I like the 12 month window as opposed to the old 18 month window, just wish the entire window was closer to Boston race date. It’s hard to think about a fall marathon qualifying you for Boston a year and a half later.