Forums >Racing>What proportion of runners qualify for Boston?
Some runners don't even run marathons at all!
I don't understand what you said there.
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I know someone who doesn't run marathons at all. None of them, from 5K to the longer ones.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
I like to think of it like this:
7 billion people on earth
aprox. 0.000714% of that run a BQ in a year
that gives a BQ-er a very elite status as a human being
If you don't already, learn to use numbers to make your achievements look even more stupendous.
The Irreverent Reverend
Thanks, all, for the insight - especially MikeyMike for the link to the analysis. My friend truly didn't know that Boston required a qualifying time, and a pretty good one at that. This conversation has been helpful to see Boston as a very high caliber, though not elite (ie, akin to the Olympic trials), event.
Getting a BQ is on my bucket list ... something I hope to do in the next 18 months (get the BQ, not kick the bucket).
Husband. Father of three. Lutheran pastor. National Guardsman. Runner. Political junkie. Baseball fan.
#artbydmcbride
The question 'what proportion of runners qualify for Boston' is very different from 'what proportion of marathoners qualify for Boston"
Runners run
It's just the concept of runners that don't run marathons doesn't compute for me. OK, it was a joke, not very clear I guess.
Also, shockingly, there are probably loads of runners who could qualify for Boston who don't really give a flip about it.
Yep.
And I don't possess the tact to say what's coming next...so this will likely piss a few people off. So be it.
For the patient, hard working runner I don't think the BQ times are that unattainable. I think a large percentage can clock a BQ time.
I see different people take multiple stabs...follow some 18-26 week program, ramp up thier mileage, miss the mark, try again but they are lacking long term consistency. For most of us, we don't wake up some January morning and say I'm going to qualify for Boston this year...that process needed to start last January or earlier. But for most that are willing to make the investment I think it's a reasonable goal for anyone that laces up running shoes.
Free Beer
Yep. And I don't possess the tact to say what's coming next...so this will likely piss a few people off. So be it. For the patient, hard working runner I don't think the BQ times are that unattainable. I think a large percentage can clock a BQ time. I see different people take multiple stabs...follow some 18-26 week program, ramp up thier mileage, miss the mark, try again but they are lacking long term consistency. For most of us, we don't wake up some January morning and say I'm going to qualify for Boston this year...that process needed to start last January or earlier. But for most that are willing to make the investment I think it's a reasonable goal for anyone that laces up running shoes.
I somewhat agree as I am living proof of this. When I started runningI knew nothing about what it would take to BQ and it wasn't even a goal. Once I started running I realized with several years of hard work and preparation it could happen. It took me three years and 7 marathons but I did it.
Strict WTF adherent
Eventually, everyone gets old enough
That's what I'm thinking (and banking on).
Frankly, the current standards are substantially easier than when I first started running and tried to BQ. It was 1985, and if I recall, I needed s 2:50 to BQ as a 21 year old. Now, the time for a 21 year old is 3:05.
I remember when we had to run 2:05 to qualify, on an uphill course.
Haha that's what I'm going for-- to be running when I'm old enough that the BQ time is within grasp for me
Sulphur Springs 50km-- Ancaster, ON-- May 28, 2022
Tally in the Valley 12 hours-- Dundas, ON -- July 30, 2022 (Support SickKids Toronto)
Stokely Creek-- 56km-- Sault Ste. Marie, ON-- Sept. 24, 2022
I'll bet that was one of those 5K marathons though.