Comments about ‘Reasons to Run: Boston Marathon changes the game’

As someone who was very close to the old qualifying time, it's a little disheartening. I will likely never qualify. But then I step back and ask myself, what's so great about qualifying for Boston?

Is it the scenery? I can visit Boston any time I want.
Is it the race-day experience? I can be a spectator any time I want.
Is it the run itself? I can run the course any time I want (except the day of the marathon).
Is it the idea of running in a big marathon? New York, Chicago, and London are all bigger.
Is it the idea of getting to brag about it? Then maybe I need to reevaluate why I run.

Not saying I wouldn't love to run Boston - I would. But it's not the end of the world and there are some other great marathons out there.

"I am curious to know what effect these new guidelines are having on the local running community."

I have run Boston twice and hadn't planned to run the race again. However, I'm rethinking my position now that the new qualifying times have made the race even more prestigious...what a great experience to be in company with such elite runners.

Fortunately for me, beating the qualifying time for my age group by more than 20 minutes is not a problem given that we have such a fast qualifying course with the St. George Marathon. However, I can certainly sympathize with those who now have a much more difficult challenge and want to run Boston so badly.

My son and I have been planning to run Boston, take our families, and make a little vacation out of it. I beat my time by 8 minutes and he beat his by 4 minutes. I don't really want to do it by myself, but as a family event. From the sounds of things, that will be a problem. I agree with Robin, on most of his points. It would be nice if they would allow for some form of group registration or perhaps have open registration for the first group and a lottery for everyone else. They might also consider doing a spring and a fall race. They may have already looked into these things. They will likely be critisized for any move they may make.