Boston Qualification & Rejection

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon is one of the most common goals among amateur athletes. A huge accomplishment to achieve such a feat, undoubtedly. Athletes train for years and, in many cases, make multiple attempts to achieve the elusive Boston Qualifying time – or ‘BQ’. The qualifying standard times were decreased by 5 minutes across all age groups most recently in 2019. The time standards were lowered because the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) can only accomodate a certain number of runners and the number of qualifiers continued to rise. The current standard (2023) for males 18-34 years old is 3 hours. The standard for that same age group was 3:10 from 2003-2012. That 10 minute swing changes the average pace from 7:15 min/mile pace to 6:50 min/mile pace – a substantial difference, clearly!

Time standards

Despite the faster requirement, athletes who register for the Boston Marathon with a qualifying time (there are other ways to register and run the marathon) are still not getting accepted. Due to field size restrictions, only the fastest of the applicants will be accepted. Athletes that applied for the 2024 Boston Marathon had to run 5 minutes and 29 seconds FASTER than their respective qualifying standard….leaving many devastated.

The running sphere (both amateur and elite) has become progressively more competitive and most of us, seemingly, are up for the challenge. The idea of the Boston qualifier being so elusive is somewhat intriguing and to earn it is so much sweeter. That feeling of crossing the finish line of a goal marathon and achieving a BQ? Nothing quite like it. How, though, can anyone be really excited about it? Unless they have an astronomical cushion upwards of 10 minutes, likely. When one achieves a BQ, they typically want to run the Boston Marathon. Not just apply to then get rejected, like approximately 11,000 athletes (myself included) had the pleasure of experiencing.

Admission to Boston

Many athletes have participated in the running of the Boston Marathon for multiple years. It is such an honor for these individuals to continue to qualify year after year. It takes some serious grit, determination, and sacrifice to continue to perform at such a high level year after year. Some people may say it’s not that big of a deal….but the Boston Marathon isn’t considered the ‘average person’s Olympics’ for nothing. It’s not EASY. If it was….everyone would do it, right? That’s a whole saying, I think! Anyway, I digress.

After running it so many years in a row, should there be a limit? Does it feel odd that some people have run the marathon upwards of 10 times? I realize that the Boston Marathon experience is unlike any other marathon – but how many times must one be immersed in said experience? I’m not for limiting the times someone can run a race…however I do wonder if first time applicants should be weighted heavier? Is that realistic? OR – could there be a limit to how many consecutive years athletes can participate? So at least some people aren’t running 10+ years in a row? OR – could there be a lottery system for those that qualified but did not get accepted?

Competition

It seems like the next thing that will have to happen is for runners to step up to the plate….and realize that even with a BQ, it may not mean racing Boston. There have been murmurings of the BAA decreasing the standards yet again, although no official announcement has been made. It is unlikely that anything will be changing drastically any time soon, so the competition will continue to get steeper and steeper. So, likely, we all just have to keep working! Working towards those big scary goals, and go for it. Would qualifying be that great if they let everyone in? No. So let’s rise.

We will meet here someday. I can feel it and I know you can too!

photo sourced from shutterstock.com

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If you have made it this far, thank you so much for reading! Let’s keep at it, our dreams aren’t dead…we’re just getting started, baby!