Interesting article here on the BAA and the Boston Marathon and the challenges it faces in terms of fairly granting entry to everyone who wants to run Boston (sound familiar?). My two cents, for what it's worth:
*Lower the qualifying times and provide guaranteed entries (total, 10,000)
*Lottery for others using existing qualifying times (total 6,000)
*Charity et al (total 5,000)
Also out recently, a two-part article (part 1, part 2) over at Runners World with an interview of Mary Wittenberg
And finally, a very funny look at what Prospect Park West (and other streets with bike lanes) are destined to become
3 comments:
What's sad (and all too true in parts of the city) is the dig at the 7 bikers/hours that use the lane. I've been running along certain bike lanes and only notice other runners using them, and yet when a biker passes me (the only one for 10 minutes) they scream bloody murder that I'm in their way.
I'm all for the bike lanes, but I wonder if they should be re-designated as running & biking lanes.
THANK YOU for suggesting they lower the qualifying times. That's my preferred method as well, despite the fact that I'm not even fast enough to qualify with the current standards... but I still get attacked if I mention that, because people are selfish and it's all about whether or not THEY can qualify. In my view, Boston should be for the best XX,000 runners (plus a few extras for charity, sponsorships, etc) - and dropping the qualifying times is the way to keep it an elite field.
I haven't qualified either, it remains one of those elusive life goals. (And I refuse to run on a charity entry - I have to qualify) But if the Boston Marathon doesn't straighten itself out, it won't be special. So my main hope is that they keep it special.
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