Boston Qualifying times for 2018

lporter229

I just received word that the cutoff for the 2018 Boston marathon was BQ minus 3 minutes and 23 seconds. I am not sure, but does anyone know if that margin has ever been larger? I can only imagine the number of runners that felt fairly secure only to end up disappointed. I think BAA may need to rethink their standards if this trend continues. It seems really unfair to me to squash the hopes of so many people as it stands under the current system. If they tighten up the times, at least you know where you stand prior to the close of registration.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

The 2019 standards are the same as 2018, so they are not re-thinking standards just yet.

MobyCarp

Previous high cutoff was 2:28, in 2016. It shocked people, because the previous high cutoff was 1:38 and a lot of runners assumed a 2 minute margin was safe. Then 2017 came in at 2:09, and people started assuming 2 minutes was normal and you needed 5 minutes to be safe.

I see on the BAA web site that qualifying standards for 2019 are unchanged from 2018. Perhaps BAA is more focused on number of qualifiers not accepted; that peaked in 2016 at 4,562, then came back down to 2,957 in 2017. I don't see a number for 2018 yet, but I'd expect it to be over 5,000.

There is a subtle point that I'm sure BAA is aware of: Under the current procedures, runners who have run 10 to 24 consecutive Boston Marathons must qualify, but are permitted to register on the first day. This means a 10+ year legacy can go to Boston again simply by matching the qualifying standard, regardless of cutoff. Those of us with lesser history have to beat the cutoff; those with 25+ years don't have to qualify. (I had a nice chat with a member of the 25 year club earlier this year; he said he disagreed with the policy that did not require him to qualify.)

So . . . I expect BAA is doing some sort of balancing act between the number of rejections, the number of 10+ year legacies who might not have qualified, and guesses at how popular Boston will be in the future. For sure, there will be a lot more than 30,000 worldwide runners complete marathons with BQ times; the question is, how many of them will want to run the Boston they qualify for.

My other thought is, there will always be disagreement about the standards for men vs. women and older vs. younger runners. The basic idea that qualifying standards should be slower for women than men and slower for older runners than younger runners isn't controversial; the debate will always be about *how much* slower they should be. No matter how the differentials are set, some people will perceive them as unfair.

EDIT TO ADD: I expect part of the drop in number of runners not accepted from 2016 to 2017 was due to people who qualified by small margins not bothering to register. We can never know how many people didn't register at all because they thought they'd miss the cutoff anyway.

lporter229

According to Runner's World, there were 5,062 applicants not accepted.

SKME2013

I just ran the Berlin marathon and qualified with a buffer of 2:30. Until today I was confident to make it into Boston in 2019. Guess I can forget about it...bummer as my next marathon is in Vancouver (where I live) and that is not exactly the fastest race as it is quite hilly.

spiriteagle99

I had been following several discussions about what the cut-off would be this year. Most assumed about 1:40-1:50, based on how many BQs resulted from the major marathons. The heat at Boston and elsewhere made them very optimistic. They really missed the boat. Probably because there are more overseas marathoners who are qualifying for and running Boston, plus there are several small downhill races that qualify a lot of people that they didn't include.

I feel a bit guilty about getting in when so many people I know who run faster than I do and who work harder than I do didn't make it this year. Getting older has some advantages, I guess.

lporter229

@SKME2013 (Steph)- Don't give up hope. You never know what can happen from year to year. And you never know what can happen in Vancouver. You train as hard as anyone I know, so I am sure you will smash it.

@spiriteagle99 -Congrats on getting in! You should not feel the least bit bad about it. There is a reason why qualifying is age dependant. Maintaining your running ability as you age is no joke!

tomaattikastike

I am sure BAA try to find the best possible compromise between filling all available spaces, and leaving as few qualifiers as possible disappointed. As one available space left unfilled would be much worse than one disappointed qualifier, they err on the side of slightly weaker standards than necessary, resulting in some qualifiers left out. I think this is an acceptable compromise, even though that leaves some runners uncertain. It still lets the maximum number of runners participate and, assuming the standards are fair to everyone, is also the fairest system to allocate places (that is assuming that places should go to the best runners, but that is one reason why people want to run Boston, there are other races which have other criteria).

SKME2013

Thanks Iporter229 for your kind words. I have not applied for the 2018 race but was hoping that my result of a 2:30 buffer will be enough to qualify for 2019. If not...in 2020 I turn 55 and this gives me 10 minutes more. Time will tell, perhaps the buffer time goes down for 2019? It seems like it always alternated between one year lower and then again higher.
I have three more marathons to qualify for 2019. Back to the drawing board...