Sunday, October 20, 2013

Boston 2014 Registration Process

The dynamics for Boston 2014 changed due to the bomb blasts at the finish line of Boston 2013. The interest among runners to qualify and run in Boston 2014 went up significantly. Many runners who were not intending to run Boston 2014 were now motivated to show solidarity with BAA, city of Boston  and the running movement  in general. As a result the number of registrations for  marathons in the US between May and September saw a definite uptick On May 16th B.A.A. announced  that the 5,633 official entrants who had passed the halfway point but were unable to finish will be guaranteed entry into next year's marathon. As per their press release these entrants would not need to qualify again but will need to pay the  registration fee.(These runners were eventually invited to register between August 1 and August 29th - nearly 5000 of them registered). After some speculation BAA finally announced an increase of the field size by 9000 from 27,000 to 36,000 runners. Nevertheless  there was a lot of discussion whether all BQ runners would get in. Here's another report on this. Once the registrations opened on September 9th there were discussions on many forums as to the number of spots that would be left for the 2nd week (for all BQ runners) and where the cut-off would be as it was pretty much certain that even with the increased field size not all runners would get in. 

Finally notifications to the runners who registered during the week of September 16th were sent out on September 25th and it turned out that the cut-off was BQ- 1:38 and unfortunately 2976 runners who BQ'ed and registered did not make it.

There was also a lot of discussion as to why the number of slots for qualifiers was only 500 when the field size was increased by 9000. The thinking was that maybe the no. of charity slots was increased by a large number which of course did not go well with the BQ'ed runners who had applied for registration. BAA clarified that this was not the case. 

The following from the BAA website provides details of the applications received and the cut-offs by category :
Registration for runners who met the B.A.A.’s Qualifying Standards for the 2014 Boston Marathon began on Monday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. ET using a “rolling admission” schedule and continued through Saturday, September 14 at 10:00 p.m. ET. Registration re-opened on Monday, September 16 at 10:00 a.m. and application submissions were received through Friday, September 20 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
  • 25,654 applications were received during the two weeks of registration (September 9, 2013 through September 20, 2013).
  • 22,679 applicants have been accepted or are in the process of being accepted, pending verification of their qualifying performance (17,229 from Week One; 5,450 from Week Two). 
  • Details of the B.A.A.’s two-week registration process for Qualifiers can be found on the following web page:
    http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/athlete-registration/registration-information.aspx
  • 2,976 applicants were unable to be accepted due to the large number of eligible qualifiers who submitted an application for entry combined with field size limitations.
  • During Week One, when the fastest of all Qualifiers submitted their application for entry:
    4,484 Qualifiers accepted met their qualifying time by 20 minutes, 00 seconds or faster;
    6,866 Qualifiers accepted met their qualifying time by 10 minutes, 00 seconds or faster;
    5,879 Qualifiers accepted met their qualifying time by 05 minutes, 00 seconds or faster.
  • From Week Two, 5,450 Qualifiers were accepted.  These were Qualifiers who were one minute, 38 seconds or faster than the Qualifying time for their age group and gender.
  • An additional 5,625 runners who were 2013 Boston Marathon starters who reached the half marathon checkpoint or later but did not have the opportunity to cross the finish line on Boylston Street on April 15  were invited to participate in the 2014 race, some of whom were qualified. Of those runners, 4,615 registered for 2014, 1,649 of whom were Qualifiers.
  • In addition, 402 Qualifiers who have an active streak of ten or more consecutive Boston Marathon completions also entered during a pre-registration period in August and have been accepted. 
Those who submitted a verified qualifying performance that was one minute, 38 seconds (1:38) or more under the qualifying standard for their age and gender have been accepted into the race. Qualifying performances for the 2014 Boston Marathon must have been run between September 22, 2012 and September 20, 2013.  Notices via email to those accepted will be issued by the B.A.A. beginning today.
The names of those runners who have been accepted will be posted on the “Entrants” page of the B.A.A.’s web site: http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/entrants.aspx
Some of those entrants who ultimately will be accepted will not be notified of their acceptance or have their name appear because validation of qualifying performances is ongoing. The amount of time to verify the performance of qualifiers can vary from race to race.

 2014 Boston Marathon: Men’s Qualifying Standards and Accepted Times

AGE GROUPSTANDARD ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION QUALIFICATION TIMES ACCEPTED FASTER THAN AND INCLUDING
18-343hrs 05min 00sec3hrs 03min 22sec
35-393hrs 10min 00sec3hrs 08min 22sec
40-443hrs 15min 00sec3hrs 13min 22sec
45-493hrs 25min 00sec3hrs 23min 22sec
50-543hrs 30min 00sec3hrs 28min 22sec
55-593hrs 40min 00sec3hrs 38min 22sec
60-643hrs 55min 00sec3hrs 53min 22sec
65-694hrs 10min 00sec4hrs 08min 22sec
70-744hrs 25min 00sec4hrs 23min 22sec
75-794hrs 40min 00sec4hrs 38min 22sec
80 and over4hrs 55min 00sec4hrs 53min 22sec

2014 Boston Marathon: Women’s Qualifying Standards and Accepted Times

AGE GROUPSTANDARD ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION QUALIFICATION TIMES ACCEPTED FASTER THAN AND INCLUDING
18-343hrs 35min 00sec3hrs 33min 22sec
35-393hrs 40min 00sec3hrs 38min 22sec
40-443hrs 45min 00sec3hrs 43min 22sec
45-493hrs 55min 00sec3hrs 53min 22sec
50-544hrs 00min 00sec3hrs 58min 22sec
55-594hrs 10min 00sec4hrs 08min 22sec
60-644hrs 25min 00sec4hrs 23min 22sec
65-694hrs 40min 00sec4hrs 38min 22sec
70-744hrs 55min 00sec4hrs 53min 22sec
75-795hrs 10min 00sec5hrs 08min 22sec
80 and over5hrs 25min 00sec5hrs 23min 22sec
“While 2013 has been challenging, we appreciate and acknowledge the outpouring of support which we have received and to which we have been witness,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director.  “For 2014 and with a larger field size, we wanted to achieve the correct balance among the field of participants by accepting as many qualifiers as possible, accommodating those who were prevented from crossing the finish line in 2013, and recognizing some who were directly involved in 2013. While we would like to accept all qualified runners, field size limits are in place to ensure the best possible experience for all runners in the field.  We will next address the allocation of remaining slots in as fair a fashion as we can across people and groups who are or represent those most affected by the events of April 15.”
Notices to those who submitted an application for entry but who were not accepted were also issued today.
In cooperation with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the eight cities and towns along the Boston Marathon route, the B.A.A. has set the field size for the 2014 Boston Marathon at 36,000 official entrants. At least seventy percent of the field will be comprised of athletes who have met the qualifying standards. The balance will consist of invitational entrants,many of whom run for local charitable organizations. Since 1989, between the B.A.A.’s Official Charity Program and principal sponsor John Hancock Financial’s Non-Profit Bib Program for the Boston Marathon, more than $170 million has been raised for charity.  

My 3rd Garmin unit is a Garmin 310 XT..

When I took to long distance running in 2001 I used a regular stop watch to track the run time. I used my car to measure the training route for distance. Based on the advice from Dr. Rajat Chauhan that a Heart rate monitor would help me achieve my potential as a runner both in terms of distance and pace I acquired the  Garmin  Forerunner 305 in July 2007.  Once I started using the device I got addicted to it. While I stopped using the HRM after a couple of years I used the average pace and current pace settings of the device to pace my runs and achieve the timing targets. The first unit lasted a little under 3 years before the buttons wore out and the unit split into two in April 2010. I acquired my second Garmin 305 unit in July 2010. In July 2013,exactly 3 years later, the battery of the device started to die in about 2 hrs 15 minutes. Soon after within a few weeks the battery life reduced to an hour. I trained for the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon 2013 using a Garmin 305 borrowed from Ravi Venkatesam and raced with the same unit.



 The Garmin 305 had been discontinued so I researched on the other Garmin units and narrowed it to either   a Garmin 310XT or  Garmin 610. After looking at the detailed reviews of DCRainmaker and the relative prices (US $ 230 versus US $399) I decided to go with the Garmin 310XT. Its similarity to the FR 305 and the 20 hour battery life was also attractive.Having used it for about 6 weeks now, since August 28th 2013, I am quite happy with it. It does seem to link with the GPS satellite faster than the Garmin 305. The setup was fairly straightforward very similar to the 305.  Being able to specify lap distances in fraction of Kms is a very useful feature for interval training - in the 305 the lap distance can be either 1 Km or 1 mile only. The transfer of data from the Garmin unit to Garmin Training center or Garmin Connect using the  ANT USB mini stick has been a bit of a struggle. I had to download the appropriate driver and install it on my PC. Even then the ANT agent often did not detect the Garmin device and I am having to exit the agent and/or switch the device on/off for the data to be transferred. This seems to be a known issue with the device. I am hoping the device was last for at least 3 years and the battery life will stay over 15 hours as I turn my focus to ultras after Boston 2014.

Marathon Trivia



Most marathon runners are aware that the the event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens.The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought), which took place in August or September, 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "We wοn", before collapsing and dying.

A lesser known fact which I discovered recently is that the word Marathon or Marathos is the Greek name for Fennel(saunf)  plant - a herb that was indigenous to the shores of the Mediterraneans. The town of Marathon from which Pheidippedes ran to Athens was named for its fields of  fennels.

Treadmill Phobia




I suffer from the  fear of running on treadmills(Treadmilobia?). I have always been an outdoor runner since taking up jogging for fitness over 30 years ago and after moving to distance running in 2001. I have run on treadmills only when I absolutely needed to while travelling either due to bad weather or not being aware of a running route in the neighbourhood. However, ever since the experiences of a couple of years ago, when one time the treadmill I was running on changed  speed upwards on its own and another time it came to a complete stop quite  suddenly, I have developed a mental block against treadmills. I use then only when I have no other choice - I prefer the cycle or the cross-trainer or the rowing machine for a workout in the gym rather than a treadmill. Recently when I was out of Bangalore on vacation and needed to do a 8Km tempo run at 4:54/Km as part of my 16 weeks marathon training program I pysched myself up since the previous evening calculating and re-calculating the setting for the speed(12.3 Km/hr). However, when I got onto the treadmill I felt scared going beyond 11Km/hour. I somehow inched up to 11.3 Km/hr but felt uncomfortable and scared going beyond that. I ended up doing a 30 minutes run at a modest pace of 5:36/Km. I know of some running friends who do their tempo and even interval training runs on treadmills. I will never be able to do that. On googling I found that a lot of people dislike running on the treadmill mainly due to the boredoom; however there are a quite a few runners who are scared as well like me.

Evolving training plan for AoG

My first run after the Delhi marathon   was  a 10Km on Friday, 8th March - after almost 2 weeks break  from all excercise except walking and...