Forums >Racing>2017 Boston Marathon Thread
Linda
So torn! I ran the NYC Marathon last year with a BQ-25, so I could register today, but I'm not sure I want to go through another cycle of marathon training next spring. On the other hand, If I don't, will I be able to qualify again? Will I care? Decisions, decisions....
I have a friend who qualified and registered several years ago. A family emergency came up, and he couldn't run. He really didn't think it mattered. He assumed that he would qualify the next year. However, it has taken him 5 years to qualify again and this time he only subbed by a few minutes. My thoughts are that,if you have never run Boston before, seize the day. You never know what life is going to bring in the coming years. You might not have time, health, money or desire in coming years, but if you have those things now, go for it.
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Over 45 PR's: 5K - 21:21, Half - 1:39:49, Full - 3:33.47
still bummed when i found out a few months ago that registration was changed and when I run the 2016 chicago marathon I won't be eligible for the 2017 boston marathon
When did it change? It seems that September has been the cutoff for at least several years.
I will be registering on Friday for my first Boston! I qualified with 5 minutes and change in May so hoping that will be good enough!
-Jess
It should be. It seems like so many of the best marathons for BQs had problems this year... Boston - hot, all the marathons this past weekend - hot, Vermont City - hot, Santa Rosa - misdirection issues, Lehigh Valley - train.
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.
If you did a BQ-25, it sure seems safe to assume you can qualify again. But it's still a gamble.
I ran it last year, and am very glad I did. I was pretty sure I could qualify again (I requalified during the Boston marathon actually), but now I can choose if I want to run it or not. In fact I'll skip 2017. I'm betting I can requalify in the future, but if it never happens again, I can still say "been there, done that, got the t-shirt".
Loved the experience. I was encouraged to run it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it thinking maybe the reality would not live up to the reputation, and now it's my turn to encorage others.
I'm forgetting... When was the last time there were good conditions?
Yeah, 2011 was the year of the ridiculous tailwind. I PRed in 2009, 2011, and 2013; those were all pretty good conditions (though there was a headwind on the back half in 2009, and 2013, well, yeah).
I guess I am in again for 2017. This will be #12. I am kind of regretting skipping this year, and breaking my streak. Ah well, now it's broken, I don't have to stress about breaking it going forward. I basically only run ultras now, so I had to scramble to find a BQ this year. I paced 3:25 at Skagit Flats on Sunday (BQ is 3:30); box checked.
Probably I will not be racing it. I signed up for Umstead 100 again, April 1. One of these years I need to make time for another marathon training cycle and PR attempt. Won't be soon; too many other running priorities. Maybe I can squeeze in another one in time to move my seeding up to the first wave.
Technically the cutoff is when it fills, but yes, it's filled in September for I think 6-7 years now. Thanks to the BAA creating unnecessary drama. There used to be a race, Last Chance for Boston, in February. I qualified at my first marathon, Victoria, in October 2004, and ran Boston 2005. It sucks that new runners now cannot do that. To my mind it is unconscionable that they set it up so that (1) you can't use a fall qualifier for the next year, and (2) running a BQ does not mean you will make the cut (which incidentally makes marathon pace groups at BQ times kind of pointless now). Just tighten the times another damn 5 minutes, and get rid of this registration circus.
Anyway... yeah. The race has changed. All this registration crap, plus all the new security measures, kind of put me off it, which is why I skipped this year. But, there's still only one Boston.
jfa
Me too. It was all that it was advertised to be and more. Even though the weather wasn't great and I didn't run my best race.
It doesn't come that easy for me. I trained like crazy to qualify and would have to do similarly again to do so.
Maybe that I'm stalking this thread means something.
Anyways , good luck to all you peeps.
So I read the earlier comments about the Harbor hotel and realized I don't know anything about the area.
I've been to Boston for work but never saw anything outside of the hotel I was in. Work trips can be no fun.
Anyways, I wanted to get a hotel that was close to the race and all the activity so I am willing to eat the cost I mentioned in another thread (Residence Inn for something like $1700+ for 3 nights).
What kind of travel or pre-and-post marathon advice would you give a newbie?
So I read the earlier comments about the Harbor hotel and realized I don't know anything about the area. I've been to Boston for work but never saw anything outside of the hotel I was in. Work trips can be no fun. Anyways, I wanted to get a hotel that was close to the race and all the activity so I am willing to eat the cost I mentioned in another thread (Residence Inn for something like $1700+ for 3 nights). What kind of travel or pre-and-post marathon advice would you give a newbie?
I will not give advice, but share something. Being Canadian, the ridiculous hotel prices seemed even steeper to me, so I booked an apartment in Somerville through AirBnB. It was much much cheaper, and I had a fridge, and an oven and a microwave. But I had to take the T (subway) all the time. And my apartment was a 15 minutes walk from the station. I was happy with my decision except on marathon day. After the marathon, I was hurting, and it seemed like a very long way to the apartment for a shower. And after the shower, I did not have the courage to head back into Boston, so I did not participate in the days' excitement as much as I might have if my hotel would have been real close.
If I go again, I don't know what I'll do. Saving a lot of money is still appealing, but ... I dunno.
It's that time of year again! Registration begins on Monday for next year's Boston Marathon. Who's in or anxiously waiting to see?! Will everyone get in this year? I know there's one website predicting no cut-off due in part to Boston being so warm last year. I'm in with a 3:27:09 from 2015 California International. It's a BQ-20, so I'll get to register on Monday.
It's that time of year again! Registration begins on Monday for next year's Boston Marathon.
Who's in or anxiously waiting to see?!
Will everyone get in this year? I know there's one website predicting no cut-off due in part to Boston being so warm last year.
I'm in with a 3:27:09 from 2015 California International. It's a BQ-20, so I'll get to register on Monday.
I ran a 3:07:34 if Feb.
Anyone think I will I get in with a Sub - 2:26??
Out.
If it was the good ole days circa 2009, and I could wait until February to decide, I'd be a solid "probable." But I'm not signing up for a marathon while injured. I'm done with that bullshit.
They keep emailing me but I'm not clicking that link.
I'll hopefully still train for it since xhristopher will want someone to do 20 milers with around spot pond or up to harold parker when it's 20 degrees, snowing sideways, and the wind is howling. I sure as hell don't want to miss out on that fun. And then maybe I'll take that fitness and do something productive with it for once besides flush it down the toilet on patriots day yet again.
Enjoy all!
Runners run
I'm in.
Now I have 7 months to get myself back to where I was a year ago.
Training is going to have to start right now considering I have a long way to go and I will need about a month off this fall/early winter for two surgeries I have planned.
As far as hotels go, I got a pretty decent rate through marathontours.com. It's worth checking out.
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
I'm in as soon as I can register next week because I'm not like the rest of you fasties.
No advice, but I stayed at the Marriott Copley this year because I wanted to be close to the finish. I remember reading all of the hotel threads last year before picking one and lots of people recommended staying in the city for your first Boston to be near the action and soak in the race weekend atmosphere. It sounded great and made me super happy with my selection.
Now that I've run it, the best thing about staying in Copley was being close to the finish line. It was so crowded and I was so hot and exhausted that I was happy to be able to be in my room within a few minutes of exiting the finish area. Sure, it was great being able to get to the expo without leaving the hotel, watching the 5k was kind of fun, and there were tons of runners all over the hotel, but I'm not really sure what other buzz or atmosphere people were referring to.
That said, I still prefer to stay near the finish line purely because hopping on public transportation after running a marathon isn't appealing to me. I am considering staying near the Commons this time around though.
I stayed at the Omni last time and am staying there again this time.
Super easy to the buses in the morning and the walk back after was good for keeping the legs moving. There are plenty of food and drink options in the area and it was basically all runners so it was a nice atmosphere.