FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
B.A.A. To Offer Fastest Qualified Runners
Early Acceptance Into 2012 Boston Marathon With New Registration Process.
New Qualifying Times In Effect For 2013 Boston Marathon.
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today a change
in its registration process for the Boston Marathon, allowing the fastest
qualifiers to enter the earliest and with a rolling admission system while
also offering all eligible runners an increased registration period. The
changes in registration are a response by the B.A.A. to greater than ever
demand by runners to gain entry into the Boston Marathon and culminate more
than three months of analysis, including input from the running industry.
Rather than accepting runners who have met the qualifying standards on a
first come, first served approach, a more systematic, performance-based
process will be employed.
2012 Boston Marathon
For the 2012 Boston Marathon, registration will extend for two weeks,
beginning on Monday, September 12 and continuing until Friday, September
23. The qualifying times for the 2012 Boston Marathon will not change from
recent past years since the standards had been previously announced and
have been in effect since last September. However, the new registration
process addresses the increased demand among qualified runners to
participate in the Boston Marathon and will accommodate those who are the
fastest qualifiers first.
Registration will occur on a "rolling admission" schedule until the maximum
field size is reached, beginning with the fastest qualifiers. On the first
day of registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon, those who are eligible
for entry by having met the qualifying standards for their age and gender
group by 20 minutes or more will be able to enter on the first day of
registration (September 12). On the third day (September 14), registration
will open for those who have met their qualifying standards by 10 minutes
or more. On the fifth day (September 16), registration will open for those
who have met their qualifying standards by five minutes or more. During
this first week of registration, applicants will be notified as they are
accepted and their qualifying performance verified.
If the field size is not reached after the first week and additional space
remains, then registration will open to all qualifiers at the beginning of
Week Two (September 19) and those who have met the qualifying standards by
any amount of time will be able to apply for entry. The application
process will remain open for the entire week, closing on September 23. At
the conclusion of Week Two, those who are the fastest among the pool of
applicants in their age and gender will be accepted. Accepted athletes
will be notified on September 28.
If space remains available after this two week process, registration will
remain open to any qualifier on a first come, first served basis until the
maximum field size is reached.
The field size for the 2012 Boston Marathon will not represent a
significant increase from the most recent past years.
Registration Process for the 2012 Boston Marathon
First Week Day 1 (Sept. 12) Qualifiers who have met their
age/gender qualifying times by
20 minutes, 00 seconds or faster may apply
Day 3 (Sept. 14) 10 minutes, 00 seconds or faster
Day 5 (Sept. 16) 5 minutes, 00 seconds or faster
Second Week
Day 8 (Sept. 19) Qualifiers who have met their
age/gender qualifying times by
any amount of time, including qualifiers
who could have registered in Week One.
Day 12 (Sept. 23) Registration closes for qualified
applicants
September 28 Qualifiers from entry during second week
of registration are notified of their
acceptance.
If the field is not filled at the conclusion of the two weeks, then
registration will remain open and qualifiers will be accepted on a first
come, first served basis until the maximum field size is reached.
2013 Boston Marathon
For the 2013 Boston Marathon, in addition to the new "rolling admission"
process for registration which will be in effect for the 2012 Boston
Marathon, the B.A.A. will adjust the qualifying times by lowering them by
five minutes from the times which have been in effect in recent past years.
The adjusted qualifying times will go into effect on September 24, 2011,
and are as follows:
Age Group MEN WOMEN
18-34 3:05:00 3:35:00
35-39 3:10:00 3:40:00
40-44 3:15:00 3:45:00
45-49 3:25:00 3:55:00
50-54 3:30:00 4:00:00
55-59 3:40:00 4:10:00
60-64 3:55:00 4:25:00
65-69 4:10:00 4:40:00
70-74 4:25:00 4:55:00
75-79 4:40:00 5:10:00
80 and older 4:55:00 5:25:00
Registration for the 2013 Boston Marathon will begin on Monday, September
10, 2012.
"As the number of qualified runners has increased combined with greater
demand to run the Boston Marathon, our new registration process enables
those who qualify by the greatest amount of time to have the longest period
to enter," said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. "Our new
registration process takes into consideration the many comments we received
from runners this past fall and winter, most of whom urged the B.A.A. to
institute a system which recognizes athletic performance above all else."
Additionally, to recognize and to encourage longtime Boston Marathon
entrants, the B.A.A. will allow those who have met the qualifying times and
who have finished the last ten consecutive Boston Marathons to enter
anytime during the registration period. Currently, there are approximately
500 runners who have run 10 or more consecutive Boston Marathons.
The B.A.A. last adjusted the qualifying times for the 2003 Boston Marathon,
relaxing times for runners who were 55 years old and older. The last time
the qualifying times were made more stringent was for the 1980 Boston
Marathon.
The 2011 Boston Marathon reached its maximum field size of qualifiers
faster than any previous year when qualifiers rushed to fill the race and
the qualified field closed in eight hours, three minutes.
About the B.A.A.
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit
organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a
healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. Each year the
Association manages a comprehensive schedule of youth-running events,
distance running training programs, and large-scale races in the city of
Boston. Most noteworthy is the Boston Marathon, the world's most
prestigious and oldest continually run marathon. Since the inaugural race
in 1897, the Boston Marathon has been the pinnacle for distance running
worldwide, a position which was reinforced in 1986 with the help of
principal sponsor John Hancock Financial. In 2006, the Boston Marathon
joined the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the Berlin Marathon, the
Virgin London Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathon to form the
World Marathon Majors.
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