Beginners and Beyond

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For those planning to run Chicago 2014 (Read 101 times)

LRB


    After last year's registration snafu, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon has introduced a new process to sign up for the Oct. 12, 2014, race.

     

    This time around all runners will be part of a lottery system unless they qualify for guaranteed entry. To qualify, runners must participate through an official Chicago Marathon charity, as an official international tour partner or as a "legacy finisher" who has finished the marathon five or more times in the past 10 years.

     

    Men who have run a verifiable sub 3:15:00 marathon and women who have run a verifiable sub 3:45:00 marathon on or after January 1, 2012 also are guaranteed a spot in the race.

     

    Everyone else who registers will be part of a lottery system. All runners vying for a spot through either guaranteed registration or the lottery must enter between noon on March 5 and noon on April 7.

     

    Lottery registrants will receive notification on Monday, April 14.

     

    "Participant names will be selected at random from the full pool of lottery entrants to fill the remaining spots in 2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon," race officials said.

     

    If you didn't get picked, you still can register through select charities and tour groups.

    The race is capped at 45,000 runners.

     

    Last year's registration was suspended after overwhelming demand crashed the site, and the remaining 15,000 bibs were doled out via lottery.

     

    After the suspension, Executive Director Carey Pinkowski said he would evaluate the lottery process as a potential long-term solution for race registration.


    (link)

    happylily


      3:15 for men, but 3:45 for women? I can hear some males crying injustice from miles away...  They really should toughen up those standards, though, I have 8 sub-3:45 to choose from since Jan. 1st 2012. That's not normal. 

       

      I would go back to Chicago in a flash, but I'm waiting for a reply from NYCM. Maybe I could do a Damaris and run both?

      PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

              Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

      18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

      workinprogress11


        This will definitely skew it to younger runners. I'm not one of those. It is now easier for me to BQ than to get into Chicago guaranteed entry.

        Love the Half


          If they were going for "fairness" it should be about 3:15 and 3:35.  But, their race, their rules.  There have been plenty of analysts figure out that it's easiest to qualify for Boston when you are roughly 40-50 and, not surprisingly, that's the crowd with the most disposable income.  At last year's Chicago Marathon, there were 3,582 men in the 40-44 AG.  319  of them finished in under 3:15.  IN the 45-49 AG, there were 2,512 finishers and 164 were under 3:15.  I think one could fairly safely say that, at least for the under 50 crowd, a 3:15 is within reach for about 10%.

           

          As for women, there were 2,420 in the 40-44 AG with 229 under 3:45.  There were 1,524 in the 45-49 AG and 116 were under 3:45.  Once again, I'd speculate that about 10% of women under 50 can make the cutoff.

          Short term goal: 17:59 5K

          Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

          Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).

          So_Im_a_Runner


          Go figure

            I actually think it's interesting that Chicago, arguably faster than Boston and New York, has the loosest guaranteed entry times (Boston: 3:05, NY: 2:45).

            Trying to find some more hay to restock the barn

            Love the Half


              But Boston and NYC age grade it while Chicago doesn't .  Huge difference.  NYC is by far the hardest.  You need to be in about the top 5% for NYC, it looks like about top 10% for Chicago and about top 20% for Boston.

              Short term goal: 17:59 5K

              Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

              Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).

              So_Im_a_Runner


              Go figure

                But Boston and NYC age grade it while Chicago doesn't .  Huge difference.  NYC is by far the hardest.  You need to be in about the top 5% for NYC, it looks like about top 10% for Chicago and about top 20% for Boston.

                 

                 

                True, I wasn't thinking about the AG aspect. I guess I just figured Chicago would align themselves more with the NY standard in order to reduce the number of spots taken up by guaranteed entry.

                Trying to find some more hay to restock the barn

                happylily


                  I agree with Amy that this will favor the young guys and gals. Even guys in their 40s have a hard time going sub-3:15 (not all of them, of course. But it's not really a common thing here).

                   

                  Amy, you are not far from sub-4:00. I guaranty you that once you break that barrier, 3:45 won't be impossible. It's all about patience and consistent work. For now, I recommend going with a tour partner if you want to stay a few days in the city. I missed the Chicago registration last year and I went with marathontours.com. I bought a hotel and registration package. Even though I paid a bit more for the race registration, I think I got a great price on the hotel room.

                  PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                          Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                  18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                  Venomized


                  Drink up moho's!!

                    <<==== Legacy bib.  2007 thru 2013

                    happylily


                      Woohoo! That is so cool! Chicago rocks!

                       

                      <<==== Legacy bib.  2007 thru 2013

                      PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                              Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                      18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                      onemile


                        The 3:15/3:45 guaranteed entry times seem plenty generous (maybe a little unfair to the older crowd though).  But I would think you'd have a pretty good chance of making it in through the lottery.

                         

                        But for the life of me I can't figure out why so many people want to do this race.

                        happylily


                          onemile, didn't you find the city beautiful to run through? And the crowd was so enthusiastic! Large streets, lots of shade, great park to start at and finish in. Lots to visit after the race... Where would you rather go?

                          PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                                  Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                          18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                          onemile


                            onemile, didn't you find the city beautiful to run through? And the crowd was so enthusiastic! Large streets, lots of shade, great park to start at and finish in. Lots to visit after the race... Where would you rather go?

                             

                            Oh I liked the city just fine. The visiting before and after the race was enjoyable. I just guess I'm not a big race person.  Maybe the fact that they have more corrals now helps, but when I ran it in 2010, it was elbow to elbow almost the entire way.  With people swerving in front of me and suddenly stopping short to walk.  And it was hot.

                            happylily


                               

                              Oh I liked the city just fine. The visiting before and after the race was enjoyable. I just guess I'm not a big race person.  Maybe the fact that they have more corrals now helps, but when I ran it in 2010, it was elbow to elbow almost the entire way.  With people swerving in front of me and suddenly stopping short to walk.  And it was hot.

                               

                              Oh, yes, I can see how it would leave you with a bad impression of the race. Last October, the weather was perfect, but it seems it's a rare thing for Chicago that time of the year? Also, the way they had the corrals set up was really flawless this year. They were very strict and no one got into a corral without having had their bib checked by a guard at the gate. I also love the smaller marathons, 100 to 200 participants. I've only done 4 big races out of 13 and Ottawa, with 4,000 people, was one of them. That's Canada big! lol... Chicago was one of my favorite races.

                              PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                                      Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                              18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                              Venomized


                              Drink up moho's!!

                                 

                                But for the life of me I can't figure out why so many people want to do this race.

                                 

                                My guess is mainly for a chance to BQ on a fairly flat course.  Its a world major as well and before now has been fairly easy to get in to plus for world majors it used to fairly inexpensive to get in to.

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