Qualifying for the Boston Marathon just got a little harder

If you have ever considered running the Boston Marathon qualifying just became even harder.  Changes to the registration process for 2012 and 2013 were announced yesterday that include early acceptance for the fastest runners and in 2013 qualifying times will be lowered by 5 minutes.

“As the number of qualified runners has increased combined with greater demand to run the Boston Marathon, our new registration process enables those who qualify by the greatest amount of time to have the longest period to enter,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. “Our new registration process takes into consideration the many comments we received from runners this past fall and winter, most of whom urged the B.A.A. to institute a system which recognizes athletic performance above all else.”

Last year, with the standard “first come, first served” registration process the Boston Marathon sold out in 8 hours and 3 minutes.  This is how the new registration process will look:

Registration Process for the 2012 Boston Marathon

Date	registration opens for runners with times…
September 12, 2011 -	20 min., 00sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
September 14, 2011 -	10 min., 00 sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
September 16, 2011 -	5 min., 00 sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
Second Week
September 19, 2011 -	All Qualified Runners
September 23, 2011 -	Registration closes for qualified applicants

If they want to lower the qualifying times, fine, set the effective date and post them, runners will bitch but we will adapt.  But the whole rolling registration process is really just making an already elite club, more elite.  And quite frankly if I were one of the fortunate to actually qualify by the skin of my teeth (0 to 4 minutes 59 seconds below your qualifying time based on age and gender) I would be pissed!  Qualifying is qualifying, and if you do, you should be just as fast to pull out your credit card to register as you are on your feet.

The only bright side to my next birthday was moving into a new age category for Boston.  Not that I have any hope of qualifying, but even if I did, to stand any chance of being accepted with the changes I would have to run at least 5 – 10 minutes below my qualifying time, which is now 5 minutes lower than I originally thought.  I guess there is always the possibility that I can hold onto my current running pace until I am sixty.

To read the entire annonouncement, B.A.A.