When did a 3-hour marathon become something to brag about?

April 14, 1993

What happened then?

when i became old and slow, that's when!

for years getting a BAA Q was a mark runners aimed about 3:05.

Brag no but like breaking your Novice and moving to Open is HS it said you met a standard that was above average.

3 hours said that you gave a dam about getting good enough to get a BAA Q .

3 hours said you passed warriors school now go count coup.

It's like when you were a kid and you picked sides in the playground. 3 hours says you will be pick way before it's not picking as much as settle for.

Brag no but 3 hours is kinda the serious marathoners club handshake.

Not on an elite scale or worth getting paid, but I think 3hrs for a woman is quite respectable. I'm not sure I'd brag about it, but still a respectable time.

When the American public started embracing mediocre athletic effort as some kind of milestone or achievement. In the past couple decades marathon running has exploded in popularity, but the mean time has gotten much slower (I'm sure you all know this already), which means we have a lot of fat-a$$es at the back of the pack. In the same way that the perceived distance between two points shrinks when you move further from them physically, it does so mentally. A 3-hour marathon is almost as impressive to a 5-hour runner as a 2:20 marathon, and since 5-hour runners have been proliferating, 3-hour marathons have become something to brag about. And so the neutering of American running continues...

marathoning for 200 Alex wrote:

for years getting a BAA Q was a mark runners aimed about 3:05.

Brag no but like breaking your Novice and moving to Open is HS it said you met a standard that was above average.

3 hours said that you gave a dam about getting good enough to get a BAA Q .

3 hours said you passed warriors school now go count coup.

It's like when you were a kid and you picked sides in the playground. 3 hours says you will be pick way before it's not picking as much as settle for.

Brag no but 3 hours is kinda the serious marathoners club handshake.

Get over yourself. It's pretty well established that breaking three hours requires some commitment and training. It's a decent time. Not earth shattering, but I think does indicate some level of proficiency at long distance running - especially as one ages.

No one should "brag" about anything.

But being proud of something is acceptable.

Being proud of a 3:00 marathon is fine.

If you think otherwise, you are a stuck up running snob. Get over yourself.

To run 6:53 pace for 26.2 miles is NOT an easy task.

No one said it makes you elite... but its definitely, 100% without a doubt something to be proud of.

I salute anyone who gets out the door and commits to a training program and who supports our sport.

Not sure why you wouldn't.

Go back to forums.runnersworld.com.

I have never heard anyone brag about a sub 3 hour marathon. Some people are rightly proud of them though. You can be rpoud of something whilst knowing you aren't the best at it. And frankly, in the all time scale of humanity's achievements, a 2:03:59 marathon doesn't really rank that haile.

i see what you did there

Since back in Joe Henderson's "Long Slow Distance: The Humane Way To Train". Circa 1969

Only a small percentage of all runners who runs a marathon

are able to run in 3 hours.

When the Running Gods set forth that one must go 7:00 pace or faster to be considered running, one must be very close to a 3 hour marathon to be able to say they ran it. All others jogged it. (not that there is anything wrong with that)

Sub 3:00 at 50 is a very respectable goal. STILL not elite but solid.

Is it safe to assume "G5" has ripped off some mighty fast 2:40

times and is upset because the best he can get out of it is a Fleet Feet singlet? Sorry sport, what you run is not enough to make a living, you are real quick hobby jogger thou.

since 65% of America became obese.

3 hours is pretty good. Sure you aren't elite, but it's certainly good. Consider that most people couldn't run 21 minutes for a 5k.

It's like being able to play Fur Elise on the piano. You aren't going to be opening Carnegie Hall anytime soon, but it should be enough to impress your friends.