I guess it is kind of obvious by the title of my blog that my ultimate goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon and actually get accepted to run it. I was looking at an article on http://www.baa.org/ which announced the 2012 Boston Marathon Qualifier Acceptances. I was interested in the stats and the qualified times that were accepted for 2012 and here's what I found:
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After reading this, it really woke me up and made me realize that a BQ is simply not good enough! I need to exceed the qualifying time in my age group in order to even be considered! Only those who had a qualifying performance of one minute and 14 seconds or better in their age group made the cut! WOW! I guess there are lots of disappointed people who did not get accepted this time around.
What did I get out of reading this article? Well, I now know that I have lots of work hardcore training to do and must rethink my whole plan on how to get to Boston in my lifetime! The BAA has raised the bar on the qualifying times for 2013 by five minutes which is going to make it tougher than ever. I guess the only positive on my side is that I am kind of on the older side so I get a little more time than most of you!!
I know that many of us have our eyes set on Boston for 2013 or sometime in the near future. So tell me...
1. What is your plan for getting your BQ or should I say beating your qualifying time?
2. What do you think is a safe time cushion needed to get accepted to run the much coveted Boston Marathon?
3. If you have already ran the Boston Marathon, how close was your actual BQ time to the actual qualifying time required in your age group?
I've been chasing after Boston for awhile now.. And while I would still LOVE to qualify for Boston, I've adjusted my outlook to realize there are a lot of equally awesome races out there. With that said:
ReplyDelete(1) I'm going to continue to work closely with my coach, increasing threshold work, and keeping myself from getting injured
(2) I need a 3:34 to get in, and my ultimate goal is to eventually break 3:30. Whether or not BAA adjusts my age group times, 3:30 will remain my goal.
(3) The closest I've come is w/in 81 seconds of qualifying. Yep, I was *that* close.
Good luck!!
@Meaghan: Thank you for your response. 81 seconds...I would have died!! I definitely think you have what it takes to get to Boston. I only need a 3:45 so it will do my best to get there one day. I am considering hiring a coach as well since I really need it to get me there.
ReplyDeleteI would love to BQ and maybe one day run Boston, but right now my focus is just on finishing ONE marathon this November. I'll go from there to see how I can improve!
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat as Vanessa (gourmet runner).....I have my very first marathon coming up this fall. I'll be happy just to finish that and do the best that I can. Then further down the road, perhaps I'll start chasing the Boston dream?
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