Forums >Racing>Holy Grail Time for Women's Marathon?
Breaking 3 hours in the marathon is a huge milestone - I have read threads here about training for and accomplishing a sub-3.
But for a female age grouper like me - I am curious about what you think the equivalent accomplishment is?
I have put a 2:59:59 (30 year old male) into this calculator - and it says the equivalent time is 3:24 for a 30 year old female.
That's all well and good - My question is - what do you think the milestone should be? If you were a 45 year old woman with only a few more fast years in you - what would be the time you would want to break??
MTA: There should be a 4th option to the poll - -
Suck it up buttercup - 3:00 is the holy grail for both male and female.
Ready, go.
Bacon Party!
OTQ - A or B
Liz
pace sera, sera
DNS, if they are smart.
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.
Interesting question. I want to believe I have some more fast years in me as a 40-something. 3:30 would be pretty f*n awesome. 3:20 for a younger lady.
TaraC - out of curiosity, what is your answer to your question?
#artbydmcbride
From the fast young women in my running club, I would say sub 3:10
For 45 year old wimmen, 3:20
Runners run
Well to confound things I find running a sub 3 as a (almost) 45-year-old dude way easier than I did as a 32 year old. So there's that.
Kalsarikännit
THE Holy Grail? 2:15:25.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
I'm not sure what you're asking. What do you mean by Holy Grail? Is it obtainable or not?
Because there are certainly master's women running sub-3s. But, I'm thinking sub-2:50 would be exceedingly difficult to achieve for most 45 year old women.
Now, if you're talking about a time that would impress most people, I think the standard is still the BQ. For a 45 year old woman, that's 3:55, which isn't on your list, though.
My guess is 3:20 would place for a masters or 40-49 AG award for most marathons in my area. So, that was my vote. If I'm running that in two years, I'll be thrilled. If I was running faster than that, I'd be okay with that, too.
My blog is JT Running DC. It's awesome. Guide to Washington DC Area Running Routes. Guide to the New York City Marathon. Guide to the Boston Marathon. Guide to Running Gear. Guide to Running Clothes.
Sorry if the question is too vague - I guess when I hear that some guy whether he's 35 or 45 has run a sub-3 - I think - damn that's serious.
Not a time that is unattainable - just something that is a bit badass.
So what is the equivalent for a 35 - 45 year old woman - - In my opinion it's in the vicinity of 3:15 -
And I know the numbers are arbitrary - But before I die I'd like to post a time that starts with a 3 followed and is followed by a teen :-)
I think I still disagree. Maybe I'm hanging with a fast crowd, but I feel like I could put on a blindfold and throw a dart in my running club and hit a sub-3 guy. But, would need to direct my aim to hit the one sub-3:15 (actually sub-3) master's woman. (Not that I want to hit anyone with a dart. Just sayin' for effect).
But, I think your goal is a noble one. Go for it!
Edited because I can't spell.
Are we there, yet?
My immediate reaction on reading the thread title was 2:20, then I read the actual original post and realized that I jumped to conclusions about what the thread was about. As a rough estimate I'd say BQ-5 would be the equivalent to a 3:00 for open men since 3:00 is BQ-5 for open men.
BTW it is interesting to note that once women were allowed official entry to Boston, initially they were required to meet the same time standard (3:30) for qualifying as the men. It wasn't until 1977, 5 years later when the BQ for open men was lowered to 3:00, that women and masters men had a different BQ. The BQ of 3:30 remained the same for them rather than been lowered along with that for the open men.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K, 9:11:09 06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Dream Maker
I'm torn between 3:15 and 3:20. I know more sub-3 male marathoners than sub 3:20 female marathoners though so I went with that. (Even though I know just as many female marathoners as male)
Very encouraging - I have only run two marathons - more than 20 years apart - the races were similar times and similar experiences....but my older body takes much more maintenance to get through the training :-)
Amen.
I guess a holy grail for mere mortals was my intention.....
Amen. I guess a holy grail for mere mortals was my intention.....
Well, for master's, I was going to bring up that Joanie ran a 2:47 at the age of 52, but she may be even less mortal than Radcliffe.
Mortal women? Sub-3. Always.