Forums >Racing>2019 Boston Marathon Thread
I know there's been speculation on this, but I'm a little confused why people think that they wouldn't accept week 1 qualifiers, but possibly reject week 2 qualifiers with faster times. If they were to do that, why even have registration split up? What's the point of having people with guaranteed faster times register first if there's no benefit to doing that? The only justification I could see if it wasn't priority in registration is that their servers couldn't handle that many people trying to register at once.
Well, really there were no guaranteed times. It could theoretically have filled up with -20:00 minute people and registration would have ended after 2 days. If enough 45+ y.o. guys go sub-3, then watch out!
The registration split was probably so they could break up the incoming applications and not be overwhelmed. I would hope from a web server hardware/software perspective it wasn't a problem, but more from a man power and manual verification perspective.
This was probably the first time it was close after week 1. And there could still have been 500 - 1000 spots open. Many of those were taken by > 5 minute people.
I wonder how many >5 people registered week 2 because they got a BQ time that weekend, and how many just changed their mind. IDK why, I just wonder.
Dave
I'm just catching up on all this. In fact I didn't even remember to register until the afternoon on my specified day.
It's interesting to see what my targets have been over the years.
When I was 38 I had to run under 3:15
When I was 39 I had to run under 3:10
When I was 40 I had to run under 3:15
When I was 45 I had to run under 3:25
And if I want to run at 46 I'll have to run under 3:20.
Age 39 was my most challenging year, as I was coming back from injury and qualified by 4 seconds.
I'm now registered for 2019 but was DNS last year due to injury and am still a 30 mile per week runner. Hopefully I'll be recovered enough to ramp it up in January.
All this said, I love running but am still having an existential crisis over running the Boston Marathon and wonder if it's best to take a hiatus from it for a while after this spring to focus on other things. When I ran last my heart wasn't in it and I just jogged it in and I'm kinda relieved to have missed it this year. Let's see how it goes.
I'm now registered for 2019 but was DNS last year due to injury and am still a 30 mile per week runner. Hopefully I'll be recovered enough to ramp it up in January. All this said, I love running but am still having an existential crisis over running the Boston Marathon and wonder if it's best to take a hiatus from it for a while after this spring to focus on other things. When I ran last my heart wasn't in it and I just jogged it in and I'm kinda relieved to have missed it this year. Let's see how it goes.
Heh, this is where I am right now, after taking 4 months completely off following an injury-riddled spring training cycle & disastrous April marathon. Just back running for 3 weeks now.
For me - first time qualifying & accepted; I feel pretty lucky considering the cutoff because my race ended up way faster than I thought it would (and than I thought was needed). Maybe a one and done for me, so I am hoping for the experience most people say it is.
UM 45 Ohio 23
I'm a first timer for Boston and first timer for a spring marathon. I'm hoping winter training in Michigan isn't as bad as I fear. I have to run in the morning before work. Dark, cold, sometimes icy. While I'm really excited about Boston, I'm not excited about the training...
Beyond some treadmill running, which is a tough option for me as I can't have one in my home and nearest available one adds 25 minutes to the morning routine, any suggestions for winter training?
I'm a first timer for Boston and first timer for a spring marathon. I'm hoping winter training in Michigan isn't as bad as I fear. I have to run in the morning before work. Dark, cold, sometimes icy. While I'm really excited about Boston, I'm not excited about the training... Beyond some treadmill running, which is a tough option for me as I can't have one in my home and nearest available one adds 25 minutes to the morning routine, any suggestions for winter training?
Ha, been there done that. The treadmill was the only way I got through it. Cold is no problem, even snow is manageable, but dark & icy was a non-starter. Even with a headlamp - you cannot always pick up the icy patches till it's too late. I was on the mill every weekday morning, and managed weekend runs outside when it was light out. I picked whichever weekend day was going to be less miserable weather-wise for my LR, finding some kind of portions of nearby roads that weren't too treacherous. There was a 1-mile stretch that I went back & forth for a 20-miler. (Still beat the treadmill!)
The only thing I can say is when running on snow, don't worry about your pace too much, just go by effort. Any potential for lunchtime running, so you can at least be outside in the daylight? You need a pretty flexible work schedule, because it's hard to fit any decent run with shower, change & any transport in a standard lunch break (not to mention actually eating lunch).
If you search around the forum, I'm sure there are some good threads about this. I love winter training, but I'm in southern Ohio and it's admittedly much easier than Michigan. Winter is when I do my best training. Fighting the cold (without being an idiot) is really good way to build psychological endurance. Just look at Desi during her Boston win.
The advice to go by effort in snow and focus on getting the miles/time in is a really good one. You'll probably need to be somewhat flexible with your training schedule. I love Yaktrax for running when there is enough compacted snow and/or ice everywhere; bare concrete can really tear them up, so if the surfaces are mixed I go without and gut it out through the snow.
I usually buy cheap running clothes (Champion, Old Navy), but having a few nicer warm layers has been a big help to me. Easier to wear a single warm Nike top than layering 3 cheap things. Old Navy sometimes has quite good (and cheap) running tights that I load up on when available and just wear under shorts. A single pair of running pants for a truly warm outer layer is all I need since they rarely get sweaty.
I love Yaktrax for running when there is enough compacted snow and/or ice everywhere; bare concrete can really tear them up, so if the surfaces are mixed I go without and gut it out through the snow.
Yeah I was going to mention this too. They're no good in loose snow either because it just accumulates. The problem is it seems pretty much always mixed surfaces.
Great ideas. I'll probably try supplementing morning runs with some treadmill runs after work. Repeating a less treacherous loop is something that, for some reason, I haven't really thought about. I may have to add music (have never run with music/earbuds) to my running...
A long time ago, I was able to do lunchtime runs and that was the best; winter or summer! But, the current job won't allow for that.
Great ideas. I'll probably try supplementing morning runs with some treadmill runs after work. Repeating a less treacherous loop is something that, for some reason, I haven't really thought about. I may have to add music (have never run with music/earbuds) to my running... A long time ago, I was able to do lunchtime runs and that was the best; winter or summer! But, the current job won't allow for that.
I also never run with music when outside, but all bets are off for the treadmill. Or TV -- I believe I got through 5 or 6 seasons of The Sopranos one winter.
agree - have to have a TV for treadmill running. I always feel like treadmill running takes twice as long to go half as far! Kind of mind-numbing...
Another winter tip: Figure out what works for you through the fall. It's a lot easier to run when it's zero degrees outside when you've been running in 40, 30, 20 and 10 along the way.
Since it's your first time you will be motivated to train. Use that motivation and apply it to a safe loop or out and back that would otherwise be boring. A few years ago we had over 100 inches of snow that didn't melt until late march so we just ran a well plowed stretch of road back and forth until it became a long run. The elevation on that stretch would add up and paid off when we got to the Newton hills.
Hi. I've been following this and thought I'd join in. 2019 will be my 4th Boston (2013,2015,2018). I qualified at my first marathon, but not at every marathon. I have been using Pfitz for my last few and I'd like to switch things up. Does anyone like Hanson's and has anyone used it specifically for Boston with success?
I did Hansons first and then switched to Pfitz. I liked Pfitz better for a number of reasons, and I got better with it. But a lot of people certainly swear by Hansons, and I'm all in favor of switching things up. Always good to get out of a rut.
Of course I've done nothing specifically for Boston, since this is my first.