Please Come to Boston - 10 Things You Need to Know About the Boston Marathon

For all but the most elite long distance runner, qualifying for the Boston Marathon is the pinnacle of athletic achievement. For the few who don’t know, the Boston Marathon is an annual marathon (26.2 miles) hosted by several cities in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is always held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. The first Boston Marathon was in 1897.

So here are 10 things you need to know about the Boston Marathon:

1. There are rules to qualifying for the Boston Marathon. You have to run a qualifying time in order to actually run Boston. Here are the projected qualifying times for the 2017 edition of the Boston Marathon:

   AGE GROUP	MEN	WOMEN
   18-34	3hrs 05min 00sec	3hrs 35min 00sec
   35-39	3hrs 10min 00sec	3hrs 40min 00sec
   40-44	3hrs 15min 00sec	3hrs 45min 00sec
   45-49	3hrs 25min 00sec	3hrs 55min 00sec
   50-54	3hrs 30min 00sec	4hrs 00min 00sec
   55-59	3hrs 40min 00sec	4hrs 10min 00sec
   60-64	3hrs 55min 00sec	4hrs 25min 00sec
   65-69	4hrs 10min 00sec	4hrs 40min 00sec
   70-74	4hrs 25min 00sec	4hrs 55min 00sec
   75-79	4hrs 40min 00sec	5hrs 10min 00sec
   80 and over	4hrs 55min 00sec	5hrs 25min 00sec

2. But wait! There’s more! It turns out that a lot more runners are making qualifying for the Boston Marathon their goal, so just running a qualifying time doesn’t guarantee you entry into the race. You can still claim to have qualified for Boston, but in 2015, you needed to run about 1:02 faster to gain entry. 1,947 runners ran a qualifying time, but didn’t make the cutoff. If you plan to participate in the Boston Marathon, you will need to take that into consideration.
3. And, there is still more! The marathon you run to qualify for Boston has to be recognized by the Boston Athletic Association. Generally, the course needs to be certified by an organization such as USA Track & Field (USATF). The Top 25 Qualifying Races are:

   RACE	2015 DATE
   Boston Marathon	April 20, 2015
   Chicago Marathon	October 11, 2015*
   New York Marathon	November 1, 2015*
   Philadelphia Marathon	November 22, 2015*
   California International Marathon	December 6, 2015*
   St. George Marathon	October 3, 2015*
   Grandma's Marathon	June 20, 2015
   Marine Corps Marathon	October 25, 2015*
   Ottawa Marathon	May 24, 2015
   Twin Cities Marathon	October 4, 2015*
   Berlin Marathon	September 27, 2015*
   Erie Marathon	September 13, 2015
   Houston Marathon	January 18, 2015
   Columbus Marathon	October 18, 2015*
   Indianapolis Monumental Marathon	November 7, 2015*
   Baystate Marathon	October 18, 2015*
   Steamtown Marathon	October 11, 2015*
   Toronto Waterfront Marathon	October 18, 2015*
   Mountains 2 Beach Marathon	May 24, 2015
   Richmond Marathon	November 14, 2015*
   Lehigh Velley Marathon	September 13, 2015
   Big Cottonwood Marathon	September 12, 2015
   Portland Marathon	October 4, 2015*
   Santa Rosa Marathon	August 23, 2015
   Bayshore Marathon	May 23, 2015

4. How Hard Is It, Really? A gentleman by the name of Jim Fortner spent 700 hours per year analyzing 227 American marathons to answer that very question. On average, only 10.4 percent of marathon finishers achieve a Boston qualifying time. However, some age divisions are easier to qualify than others. The overall winning times for 2014 were Meb Keflezighi (38, CA) 2:08:37 and Rita Jeptoo (33, KEN) 2:18:57 (course record).
5. So how do you get fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon? As the famous runner, Emil Zatopek of Czechoslovakia once stated, “Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast.” The secret to running faster is to run fast. The takeaway message is you are going to have to do speed work. Finally, this speed work needs to be part of a structured plan and schedule, possibly devised by a personal coach.
6. How do I plan for a Boston Marathon qualifying time attempt? Backward, that’s how. Based on the year you wish to race the Boston Marathon, pick a race that leaves you sufficient time to make another attempt. Make that race your “A” race. Then build your training plan backward from that race to where you are now in terms of fitness. If you haven’t raced in a while, running a 10K or half-marathon may be in order. Then determine if it is reasonable to achieve your goal in the amount of time available.
7. What if I don’t make it? As you know, you need a certain amount of recovery time between marathons. Don’t run another marathon too close to the failed attempt because you are afraid of losing fitness. That is usually a recipe for injury and frustration.
8. Are there tricks to achieving a Boston qualifying time? Yes! The older you are, the more it helps to be at the youngest end of your age division. Usually, it is easier to qualify in the 50-54 age category at age 50 than it is at age 54. Another idea is to do a race that has pace groups, where an experienced runner paces the group to a predetermined finish time.
9. Are there risks involved? People don’t like to talk about it..not politically correct, but you ARE more likely to get injured attempting to run a fast marathon time. It is the nature of the beast; running faster and farther is much more likely to cause injury than jogging three times a week. Generally, the greater the reward, the greater the risk.
10. So, what is even tougher than qualifying for the Boston Marathon? After Boston, qualifying for the Olympic Trials is the toughest running achievement. For the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon, the men’s “A” standard is 2:15 and the “B” standard is 2:18 (or a 1:05 half-marathon). The women’s “A” standard is 2:37 and the “B” standard is 2:43 (or a 1:15 half-marathon). Obviously, actually qualifying for the Olympic Games and winning a gold medals is as good as it gets, that, or running a world record time!

So, to anyone who makes it their goal to run a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, I wish you all the best! Stay healthy, run fast, and don’t suck! Next up will be articles on alternative footwear, shoes vs. inserts, cross training, training plans, nutrition, weight loss, and more!

Be sure to check out the Stridetek Cross Trainer Orthotic Insole to keep you in correct biomechanics on your path to Boston! Click here to shop now!

Larry LaHodny has a B.S. in Physical Education, with Emphasis in Sports Medicine from Willamette University and an M.B.A. from National University. Larry has over 20 years’ experience coaching runners, including at the youth, high school, and adult level. Larry has trained National Champions, All-Americans, State Champions, and Boston Marathon qualifiers.