BQ on non-certified course (Read 919 times)

Nope.

I bet they would consider it if he ran a time well under the qualifying standard.

Well poor Nicholas Kurgat won’t even qualify for Boston with his 2:19:34 marathon so I wouldn’t expect anyone else to get special consideration. http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1279622.html

Wait. Two things: 1. Fixed link: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1279622.html (line breaks in an a tag don't work right) 2. That's a great story... and nothing at all to do with the original post. City of Oaks was a certified BQable course. Kurgat's deal and potential consideration are wholly, completely different from someone running an uncertified course.

They let Samuel Ndereba (younger brother of Catherine "The Great") run in 2007 without a time on a BQ certified course...

There are always plenty of special entries for celebrities and VIPs that don't have to qualify. Also charity entries.

slimbo, does your buddy know anyone famous and/or elite? I mean, besides you of course :-).

I am neither fleet of feet nor elite MTA ... I am pretty sure he met Cher once ... but that's another story

The BAA probably won't grant an exception, even if he runs well under BQ time. However, it costs nothing to submit a request. The BAA entry rules also say that no exceptions will be granted for those who just miss running a BQ time....they even say to not ask. However, a couple of years ago I knew a guy who was an exchange student from the UK and missed a BQ time in a US marathon by less than a minute just a few weeks before Boston. He was scheduled to return to the UK the following summer, so he appealed to the BAA for an exception, which was granted. Yes, his circumstances were unusual. But the point is they sometimes do grant exceptions in unusual circumstances. Approximately 20% of Boston entrants are non-qualifiers. And only about a fourth of them (5-6% of total entrants) are charity runners. That leaves as many as 3500 who are invitees and/or exceptions. I'm not suggesting that your friend's chances are good. Just that he won't know for certain if he doesn't ask.

Yeah but... An individual exception based on unique circumstances is reasonable. Accepting uncertified results is something entirely different, and could result in dozens, or potentially hundreds of extra unearned entries, for each race. If my fastest marathon were 0.2 miles short, I would have BQ'ed.