So you’re running in a marathon and every second counts.
The Boston Athletic Association announced this week it is tightening its qualifying times by five minutes for everyone under age 60.
For a 30-year-old male, three hours is not going to cut it anymore. He has to be able to run 2:55 or about 11 seconds per mile faster than the old standard.
That won’t be easy for lots of runners.
But that’s the whole point. We are seeing more and more runners recording faster and faster times. And the Boston streets can only hold so many runners. Right now, the field is limited to 30,000.
So this is an attempt to cap the total. Boston received 36,000 applications last year for approximately 22,000 qualifier entry slots (plus 8,000 more entrants who support charity organizations) and that want-to-be number is only going to go up.
“We don’t take it for granted one moment how people point toward the Boston Marathon and train to hit the qualifying time,” said Jack Fleming, president of BAA. “We very much would hope that one day they would be able to do it. But we’re also committed to having it be a great participant experience on the course. It would be nice to be looking at what New York (51,000) and Chicago (48,000) have but our field size limit is 30,000 and it’s something we have to adhere to.”
Langhorne’s Pete Lederer, who has run Boston an amazing 21 straight times, said this move was not unexpected.
“I think there are a number of reasons for the faster times,” he said. “I think there are more runners, those runners are getting faster due to better training methods for marathons and the shoe technology has certainly helped. But I also think that Boston has become even more desirable than ever over the last decade or so.”
Perkasie’s Mike Clarke, a five-time Boston finisher and former cross-country coach at New Hope-Solebury High School, believes the new time standard will provide greater incentive for many runners.
“I would think most marathon runners would adjust their training regimens to meet the high-end standard change of five minutes as best they could,” he said. “I think Boston should keep the 30,000 cap limit on the total number of entrants. I don’t think the timing change will reduce the number in the field.”
When Clarke trains, he employs his coach’s thinking.
“Some means of getting faster would be to run with faster people, invest in lighter, faster shoes, increase their track workouts (800- to 3,000-meter repeats), run repeat hills, apply applicable technology and hire a training coach.”
Mike Acer, who heads the trail running division of the Bucks County Roadrunners Club, hasn’t run Boston since 2014 but follows the event closely and has some opinions of his own.
“I think the COVID years triggered so many people to get into running (and other activities), which has added to the downward pressure on the Boston Marathon qualifying times,” he said. “Also, the advancement in training science has allowed more non-elites to up their game and achieve better times.”
>Bucks sparkles again at PDR
It was another banner year for Bucks County runners at the Philadelphia Distance Run half-marathon on Sunday, Sept. 15.
On the men’s side of the competition, Morrisville’s Alex Carideo finished the 13.1-mile course in a strong 1:10.51 to earn 31st overall and 11th in the 25-29 age group. He’s prepping for the Indianapolis Marathon in November.
The Bucks men had two age-group champions.
Chalfont’s Dan Klein took honors in the 45-49 bracket, crossing the finish line in 1:21.50.
Also, Warrington’s Luogang Wei ran a 1:32.16 to win the 65-69 division.
Another Warrington resident, Bob Boland, took second out of 44 in the 65-69 division with a 1:37.48.
Other excellent performance: Christian Carabello of Yardley placed seventh out of 121 in the 50-54 competition with a 1:27.05; Wendell Smith of Feasterville-Trevose took ninth in the 50-54 set with a 1:29.34; Quakertown’s Rob Gallagher placed sixth out of 102 in the 55-59 division with a 1:34.23 and Dr. Kieran Cody of Doylestown captured ninth out of 72 in the 60-64 bracket with a 1:45.31.
In women’s competition, Doylestown’s Nicole Sexton took a third-place medal (out of 67) in the 55-59 division with 1:44.50.
Other top times: Perkasie’s Emily Behm placed 32nd out of 211 in the 35-39 division with a 1:44.29; Pipersville’s Deanna Otranto placed 17th out of 162 in the 40-44 field with a 1:44.47; Yardley’s Kate Bulat completed her run in the 40-44 competition with a 1:51.08.
Congratulations to all on a fine race.
>Achilles Club members to run BCRR relay event
Numerous runners from the BCRR will be taking part in this Sunday’s Bridge-to-Bridge Relay event, including two squads made up of a total of 16 runners from the Philadelphia Achilles Club. Four of those are visually impaired
“The B2B provides a unique opportunity to live the mission of Achilles ‘empowering athletes of all ages and ability levels ‘to participate in endurance events,” said Achilles Club’s Eileen Mannix. “ “Athletes and guides accomplish this through community, communication and teamwork. This is an exceptionally challenging adventure for these courageous athletes since they are used to running on asphalt surfaces in and around Philadelphia, not trails in Bucks County.”
This year, four of the guides are Bucks County residents.
The roster for the Philly Soft Pretzel team:
Bruce Linsky (athlete), Mike Zampella (athlete), Tom McCray,
Claire Coopes-Meske (Achilles guide/Bucks County resident)
Anthony Rewinski (Achilles guide/Bucks County resident/BCRR member), Chris Carr, Mike Acer, Eileen Mannix – team captain (Achilles guide/Bucks County resident).
The roster for the Cheese Steak team:
Cindy Lou Altman (athlete), Kinzy Lynch (athlete),Craig Polakoff,
Nick Falco, Rachel Ledbetter, Angela Kicklighter, Jessica Baer – team captain.
Support crew: Juliette Warren, Steve Cape (guide, BCRR resident), Caitlin Nelson.
Good luck to everyone.
>Race calendar
Saturday
Bridge-to-Bridge Relay 51.8 miles, 6 a.m., Washington Crossing. Contact www.runsignup.com
Brain Injury Challenge 5K, 9 a.m., Tyler State Park, Richboro-Newtown. Contact www.biapa.org
Sunday
Run Now, Wine Later 5K, 8:30 a.m., New Hope. Contact www.runsignup.com
