I must say LTH, I do enjoy it when you talk like that . I will most definitely take your words to heart, I am no rush; two years sounds good.

LTH wrote some excellent stuff which pretty much says in detail what I meant in my previous post. But I also agree with Hilary that for some people, it may never be possible. I truly believe that sometimes people are either not built for the marathon, in the sense that they get injured easily if thet try running too many miles, or they are not mentally able to train for them, meaning that the LRs are just too daunting for them. There is no shame in that. I am unable to do a million things. Some of those things, I would gladly exchange my BQ ability to become able to do them well.

This. Days ago, I wanted to run Boston. Now I want nothing more than to continue my tradition in providing care in the medical tent. I am so proud to be part of the team that were so courageous on Monday.  There will be a million races and marathons to choose from, when I decide to train for one.

Those runners must be of below average talent. 

As long as we are weighing in -- if you are moved to do something for charity, do it now, don't wait a year. Then work on building up your running to whatever level you can get to.

This. Days ago, I wanted to run Boston. Now I want nothing more than to continue my tradition in providing care in the medical tent. I am so proud to be part of the team that were so courageous on Monday.  There will be a million races and marathons to choose from, when I decide to train for one.

 

Hey, Hilary. I have been meaning to ask how someone goes about volunteering in the medical tent. ?

You need to apply on the B.A.A. website. There is a link for volunteers. 90% of volunteers are returning ones, but I'm sure that they will need more with the expectations of next year. Good luck getting in. They take apps. in Feb. and assignment notifications are in March prior to the marathon.

Thanks. It isn't for me, it is for DH who is a physician,

I was originally planning to qualify next year and run Boston in 2015, but after the bombing, like many others, I decided I wanted to try for this year.  But it looks like I'm going to have to go back to my original plan, can't find a race within a reasonable distance to try to qualify with, people apparently don't want to run marathons in the middle of the summer on the east coast, weird.  But it's probably for the best.  I think a lot of us were overwhelmed with emotions, and making decisions that could affect our long term running careers based on emotions probably isn't the best idea (there's a slight chance that I may have been considering running a qualifying marathon that is just two weeks from now, and while I can cover the distance, I fear the damage that I might have done to myself trying to BQ without proper preparation).

So I will continue to train, and support Boston in any way I can, and if all goes well I will run Boston in 2015.

I think LTH's training guidelines are a great idea, and coincidentally, I should some close to that by the time I run my first marathon next year.

I would love to meet you Lily when you come back.

I think it's important to remember that we can support the Boston marathon simply by spectating... They will have thousands of people wanting to register, just as they do every year. That is not the issue. The issue is, will the amazing crowd I saw cheering for me last Monday be the same next year? That is the real appeal of the Boston marathon, its spectators, not the runners... Also, the city of Boston has lost millions in revenues. It's with tourism that they will try to make up for it next year. I was accompanied by one family member this year. Next year, I plan on bringing 3. More money for Boston.

Well I just realized that since I'm hoping to run my first full in the fall of 2014, that means the earliest I could even possibly qualify would put me into the 40+ age group.   And that means that I "only" have to run right about my current HMP for a full in order to qualify.  I know that's several orders of magnitude above and beyond running that pace for a half, but at least it seems like it is within the realm of possibility.  And that's kind of exciting.