2012 Boston Marathon, Here I Come!!!

Shortly after my students left for the day, the email came. I'm confirmed for the 2012 Boston Marathon! Even though it looked like my chances of getting were very good despite being a week two registrant, it was still a relief to see it was officially official. Stoked to be running Boston again.

The cut-off times for week two folks shaped up like this (taken from the BAA):

2012 Mens Qualifying Performances and Accepted Times

AGE GROUP	STANDARD ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION	QUALIFICATION TIMES ACCEPTED THROUGH AND INCLUDING
18-34	3hrs 10min	3hrs 08min 46sec
35-39	3hrs 15min	3hrs 13min 46sec
40-44	3hrs 20min	3hrs 18min 46sec
45-49	3hrs 30min	3hrs 28min 46sec
50-54	3hrs 35min	3hrs 33min 46sec
55-59	3hrs 45min	3hrs 43min 46sec
60-64	4hrs 00min	3hrs 58min 46sec
65-69	4hrs 15min	4hrs 13min 46sec
70-74	4hrs 30min	4hrs 28min 46sec
75-79	4hrs 45min	4hrs 43min 46sec
80 and over	5hrs 00min	4hrs 58min 46sec

2012 Womens Qualifying Performances and Accepted Times

AGE GROUP	STANDARD ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION	QUALIFICATION TIMES  ACCEPTED THROUGH AND INCLUDING
18-34	3hrs 40min	3hrs 38min 46sec
35-39	3hrs 45min	3hrs 43min 46sec
40-44	3hrs 50min	3hrs 48min 46sec
45-49	4hrs 00min	3hrs 58min 46sec
50-54	4hrs 05min	4hrs 03min 46sec
55-59	4hrs 15min	4hrs 13min 46sec
60-64	4hrs 30min	4hrs 28min 46sec
65-69	4hrs 45min	4hrs 43min 46sec
70-74	5hrs 00min	4hrs 58min 46sec
75-79	5hrs 15min	5hrs 13min 46sec
80 and over	5hrs 30min	5hrs 28min 46sec

It turns out I had a relatively good cushion with my 3:12:41 time at Boston last April (35-39 age group). That's a good thing, as my BQ time at the MDI Marathon last year of 3:14:33 would not have been enough for this year (the 2010 MDI Marathon times could have been used for the 2012 Boston Marathon as well since they fit in the overlap window).

I'm really excited to be in it again. Really excited. I had a blast last year and am really looking forward to doing it again. It's an impressive event, and I'm honored that I qualified again and can't wait to try to do even better this year.

As excited as I am, I'm also pretty damn bummed for some friends and acquaintances who didn't get in. They worked their butts off and a few of them didn't make the cut by mere seconds. Even the tweets from folks I don't know (hashtag is #bostonmarathon) expressing their disappointment at not getting in are pretty heartbreaking to read.

But despite the joy or sadness, it sounds like most agree the new rolling registration system is very fair and I've yet to read of any real complaints. Hats off to the Boston Athletic Association for coming up with a unique system that is fair and apparently works really well, both for them and the runners. They hit a home run (something the Red Sox could use a few more of this month).

Happy running!