[kibitzor]

Context for those not following running news, The Boston Marathon lowered qualifying times for most prospective runners for 2026 race [0]. Because the Boston Marathon has limited capacity, you can only run if you either:

1) raise $5k+ for a charity (limited spots)

2) run a full marathon below* a qualifying time

The reason it's below* is because even if you run under a qualifying time, there may be enough people even faster than you that fill up the available spots.

This results in some years where you needed to be many minutes faster than the posted qualifying time to guarantee a spot, and every few years, the BAA (group in charge of Boston Marathon) drops the qualifying times.

Note, even though the qualifying times have been dropping, they have been even faster in the past (see the 1980s)[1]

As someone that's done the Boston Marathon a few times, I am glad they are trying to find a good balance of reasonable qualifying times for the most participation without dramatically expanding the field. I'm also always surprised with how popular and well known this marathon is given the NYC marathon (and others) are harder to get into, only about 2 of the miles are actually in Boston [2], and the start/finish are so far away making participating a logistic headache. But that could be what gives it the charm and why I'm now thinking about doing 2026

[0] https://apnews.com/article/boston-marathon-qualifying-times-...

[1]https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/qualify/history-qu...

[2]https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-marathon-route-ma....

[erksa]

I can't answer this for everyone, but as someone who has run 5 marathons and is running my 6th in 5 weeks (Frankfurt).

Boston has some kind of mythical status among marathoners. You're _not_ really there until you've qualified for Boston. I do not know where this comes from, but what I do know is that QUALIFYING for Boston as a male (33) is a BHAG that's fun to chase after.

Boston is the 6th of the 6 Abbot Marathon that are considered the "big" 6. New York, London, Chicago, Boston, Berlin and Tokyo. All the others you either win the lottery our you've 4 of the other ones. Nothing you can really do in 6 conseq years.

It's not even the fastest course, but it's the course for those who are "serious" about running as a hobby. Running a marathon isn't enough. Running Boston separates you from the try-hard crowd, with a lack of a better word.

[pimlottc]

BHAG = big hairy audacious goal

https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/bhag.html

[philipwhiuk]

> Boston has some kind of mythical status among marathoners. You're _not_ really there until you've qualified for Boston. I do not know where this comes from

It's literally because BQ is a tough target time. Even if you don't run Boston it's a mark you're in the top X% (X is a bit hard to calculate). So it's a status symbol. Just like 'Ivy League' or "D1 sport".

Similarly in the UK, it's the London qualifying time known as Good For Age or the more challenging 'Championship Place'.

And it's self-fulfilling. You get the time so you chose to run because you have it which keeps the time hard for others.

The race itself is, I'm told, a pain-in-the-ass because of the logistics but also the profile - despite being net-downhill it's got a nasty hill at mile 20. Plus with the race route being pretty much "26 miles straight, then hook a right", if there's a headwind, there's a headwind for 26 miles. If there's driving rain, it's in your face for 26 miles (see 2018's race).

(As an aside, there's a few tricks for the Abbot Majors to get places [aside from just buying one of the expensive guaranteed tour company places or being an elite runner])

[kibwen]

I've always thought it was a real shame that the Boston Marathon is so mythical, because there's a much more symbolic potential route: start at the Old North Church in the North End (the "one if by land, two if by sea" place), through downtown/the common/Back Bay, then take Mass Ave all the way to the Lexington Battle Green (site of the first battle of the revolution), and that's almost exactly half a marathon in distance while more-or-less reenacting the Midnight Ride.

[whatshisface]

An otherwise unmotivated position sustained as desirable only by the difficulty generated by the number of people trying to crowd into it serves as a deeper representation of this country than the story you're proposing to replace it with. ;)

[chatmasta]

> Just like 'Ivy League' or "D1 sport".

Just for the record, Ivy League is D1 sport ;)

[philipwhiuk]

Fair - I was trying to pick a US academic and US sports reference but my lack of US knowledge betrayed me :)

[voidfunc]

Not a marathon runner but live in Boston and I have been told the route is fairly high difficulty due to hills in particularly challenging stretches. Not sure how true this is but one of my coworkers ran it competitively last year and he got wrecked by the elevation changes.

[canucker2016]

The course is deceptive.

The first couple of miles are downhill. You're also running with a very large densely-packed group who are just as fast as you. It's very easy to get sucked along to run much faster than you planned for the first few miles.

The Newton Hills, esp. Heartbreak Hill, are near where many people will hit the proverbial wall, distance-wise. Having to go up ever-steeper hills at the same time can be really taxing.

There are so many things that can go slightly wrong, and when you have to endure those slight inconveniences for 26.2 miles/2+ hours, it can feel like an aerobic Chinese water torture.

The year I ran, we had a tailwind, so I had an relatively easy time of it.

Great friendly crowds.

[cafard]

(To be read in a grouchy old man's voice.)

Come to Baltimore and check out Satyr Hill. It is very easy to leave your legs behind and not realize that until you have four to six miles to go and no energy.

(But what do I know? I haven't run Baltimore since 1984.)

[jfengel]

Wow, they lowered them again?

A while back I thought maybe, just maybe, if everything went in my favor, I could qualify at 3:10. Then they lowered it to 3:05, and that might as well be the far side of the moon.

According to TFA it's now 2:55. There is no way in the universe I would ever run a sub-3 marathon. (I'm no longer in that age bracket, but the time for my bracket is similarly impossible.)

That's fine with me. It's awesome that so many people are running marathons that the most prestigious one is utterly full. It's a really absurd hobby, and the best thing about race day is all of those people going "Wow, we're about to do something incredibly stupid together."

There are plenty of other fun marathons to do. This year mine is gonna be the Dramathon -- which will end with bottles of scotch.

[canucker2016]

The carbon-plate shoes (starting with the Nike Vaporfly, then AlphaFly) have resulted in faster race times. The Boston Athletic Association is reacting accordingly.

[azgl]

Here's a good roundup of the science for anyone who is curious -- https://www.doctorsofrunning.com/2020/04/footwear-science-ev...

My favorite part: "Despite all the evidence and research I have laid out above, it should be noted that only certain people seem to get benefits from the foams, carbon fiber plates and other technologies associated with these shoes. Research has come out just recently that the actual benefit derived from each subject varies greatly based on individual factors (Herbert-Losier et al., 2020). These performance changes can be as great as 10% (or more) in some people and for others may actually be detrimental. So as much as we talk about the percentages gleaned from the research suggesting how much certain elements contribute to changes in economy, remember that each person is unique in that effect."