Boston etiquette

Oh wave surfer kook daddy please enamours with your running experience!!

C**t

Sorry, was a genuine question having never run a major marathon before. Obviously there’s no room for running-related questions on Letsrun so I think we’ll both be better off without each other.

Cheers

It is permissible to move back to a wave/corral slower than your seeded corral. From the FAQ:

Runners are NOT permitted to move forward into an earlier wave or corral. While we encourage all runners to line up in the corral to which they are assigned, runners are allowed to move back to a higher corral or wave, with the exception of the first corral of any wave. For example, if you are assigned to Wave One, you may move back to Wave Two, Three, or Four into any corral EXCEPT for the first corral in any wave. Violators are subject to penalties and/or disqualification.

Oh due to injuy wrote:

So if you wasn’t injured you’d basically won the whole enchilada??

Go home douche bag!! Enough of these homo’s @letsrun

The running community willl be a better place without you!!

wtf dude you should seek therapy

It seems like a waste of time to fly across the world and run it just to say you ran it.

Isn’t Boston in April? You’ve got plenty of time

Been in that situation a few times. The right thing to do is get in a coral with your expected finish time. No reason to make thousands of people pass you.

The times where I knew I wasn’t in shape and just ran to enjoy the experience were fun. It is really relaxing to not worry about rushing to get to your coral. The port-a-Johns clear out before the gun goes off and you can get that last use without any worry.

Do whatever you want, you earned making it there, race like you earned if your not fit. Chris Barnicle 16 trials-esque

Unless you've been invited to run with the elites don't worry about it. It's crowded for the first mile or two no matter what corral you start in. As long as you are running by yourself and aren't running side by side with other friends blocking people from passing you won't hurt anyone.

No one who matters cares about variances between your qual time and your finish time. There is some fat dude who gets triggered and makes noise because he could never qualify for Boston. He's just trying get races to blow money on his service so that he can simply toss their results into a spread sheet.

Stay healthy and enjoy the race.

Old funky chicken wrote:

Been in that situation a few times. The right thing to do is get in a coral with your expected finish time. No reason to make thousands of people pass you.

The times where I knew I wasn’t in shape and just ran to enjoy the experience were fun. It is really relaxing to not worry about rushing to get to your coral. The port-a-Johns clear out before the gun goes off and you can get that last use without any worry.

Don’t kill yourself. I know plenty of people who’ve run Boston without being in peak shape due to injury (including me). You deserve to be there, don’t worry about that. Remember: there will be charity runners there doing 6 1/2 hour races.

It IS a good idea to drop yourself back a corral or two, though. The way that things are set up in Boston, you wind up running side by side with the folks in your corral for a long time. If you’ve never run a major, you will be shocked - you have quite literally never seen a sea of people sweep along like that. If you start in a spot faster than you intend to run, you’re gonna feel like those kids who springy the first 200 meters of a 5k and then get swallowed by the pack. Only in this case, you’ll be getting swallowed for 4 or 5 miles before you settle into the right spot in the pack. It will be ... very unnerving and un-fun.

Wave Surfer wrote:

Sorry, was a genuine question having never run a major marathon before. Obviously there’s no room for running-related questions on Letsrun so I think we’ll both be better off without each other.

Cheers

Sit on the curb til everyone's gone, then start picking them off. Great for your needy ego.

Wave surfer wrote:

I’ve entered Boston for the third time, having previously entered but not run due to injury. My qualifying time will likely get me a 1/1 start but I’ve no intention of maintaining the kind of training that got me this time.

In fact, I’d be very happy to sneak under three hours just to tick Boston off the list (I live on the other side of the globe, so it’s a big time and financial commitment). Is this considered poor form and should I flag this with the organisers and accept a lower starting wave/coral? Should I flag it on the grounds that I don’t want to be investigated for running a significantly slower time than my qualifying time? Should I put on my big boy pants and try to run a PR?

get your behind in gear and RACE it.

Your bib # will be assigned based on your qualifying time. If you're #300 and you're finishing with bibs in the #5000's, they're going to be snickering at your sorry a$$.

I was in 1/6 with a 3:04 BQ 2 years ago.

If you want to run 3:00, just start in 1/4 or 1/5. Have fun. It's a great race, well organized, best crowd support.

Just start at the back of your assigned corral.

You have earned the right to be in the corral in which you'll be seeded, so do stay there. Certainly many others in your corral will not be setting PRs that day, and they won't be in ideal shape after difficult winters, injury, demanding jobs, jetlag from long flights from parts afar, or whatever the legitimate reason(s). Perhaps some of them qualified on fast courses after ideal training.

So, then, I think it's OK to be selfish, to a point, because you just can't presume everyone in your corral is in peak shape. There's nothing wrong with giving yourself the reward of running Boston exactly the way you want. Remember that it will be crowded, especially in the opening stretch and at refreshment stops, and these "big race" givens will impact your time. It's probably hard to PR at a mega-race, even if you are in a positive groove.

At historic Boston, a finish is the just reward for all of your miles, all of your previous racing. Pat yourself on the back and give yourself a good chance of finishing when you run.

I bet the statistics for any one corral show a true mix: PRs, finish times that are as expected, very slow finish times, etc. Don't worry about the powers-that-be. Jock Semple, for example, won't be around to try to rip off your race number if you're running too slowly! Or to celebrate your PR, if you go for the gusto.

Don't be ragging on me. I was following doctor's orders. We couldn't have uteri falling out all over the course. They would have created a slip hazard.

Man Overboard wrote:

Just start at the back of your assigned corral.

That’s why I do, unless I’m really out of shape, i.e. post injury. You’ll be fine, and won’t start too fast out;)