Boston 2021 Date Selected - October 11th

What are the chances of this happening? Mid October has a great chance of decent weather.

Temps are usually perfect (high of 50, tops)

Winds are also usually coming from the West.

Humidity is a big question. It can be very humid still in October - but it can also be dry too.

Better question is whether the race can even get off in October. Certainly hope it does though because this could be absolutely perfect conditions to run!

I give it a 10% chance that it actually starts on October 11. I give it a better chance if it is elite only around Boston Common.

With the strict COVID-19 guidance in Massachusetts this year, not sure you will see 30,000+ runners and nearly 1 million spectators through 8 cities and towns along the course.

It looks like qualifying is good through September 15, 2018. My thought is there will be a number of qualified individuals looking to run in a race that will most likely be limited.

I give it a 10% chance.

another casual observer wrote:

Temps are usually perfect (high of 50, tops)

Winds are also usually coming from the West.

Humidity is a big question. It can be very humid still in October - but it can also be dry too.

Better question is whether the race can even get off in October. Certainly hope it does though because this could be absolutely perfect conditions to run!

1. COULD be absolutely perfect conditions to run...yeah, because that happens so often

2. Humidity is a big question...Well, given the majority of your training will be in July, August and September, where probably 80% of the population experiences high temps and high humidity, this shouldn't be an issue.

3. It probably won't be a high of 50 in mid October in Boston. Better that its probably going to be in the low to mid 60s for the high..which of course doesn't usually happen till about 3 in the afternoon. Maybe it will be in the 50s for the start of the race...maybe.

I’m voting for very small field size. 15 min cut off. With a qualifying window of nearly 3 years, that’s a lot of competition. People have been racing during the pandemic so it’s not like we lost a year. No way 30k people race. I’m guessing 10k. 8k qualifiers. 2k charity. 1 for Jimmie Johnson.

Lots of races in October including the majors. The fields will be spread making people choose. This might work.

Does anyone else find it irritating they insist on keeping it on a Monday?

Paul2432 wrote:

Does anyone else find it irritating they insist on keeping it on a Monday?

Yeah, but it makes sense. Columbus Day is a bigger deal up there than most other parts of the country so a lot of stuff will already be closed. It's like their Patriot's Day of the fall.

NErunnr wrote:

I give it a 10% chance that it actually starts on October 11. I give it a better chance if it is elite only around Boston Common.

With the strict COVID-19 guidance in Massachusetts this year, not sure you will see 30,000+ runners and nearly 1 million spectators through 8 cities and towns along the course.

It looks like qualifying is good through September 15, 2018. My thought is there will be a number of qualified individuals looking to run in a race that will most likely be limited.

I give it a 10% chance.

Doesn't Boston Common have a nice hill on the east end? That would be brutal doing that every lap. I will suggest laps around the Back Bay Fens.

Paul2432 wrote:

Does anyone else find it irritating they insist on keeping it on a Monday?

If I lived in the Boston area I wouldn't complain about having an extra Monday off during the year.

Excellent way to celebrate Columbus Day!!

Just waiting for registration date to be announced.

I used to watch in High School, lived near the 6-mile mark. I'd ride my bike over.

Now I'm in my 60s and I have a qualifier (16.5 minutes under) -- looking forward to this!

So glad I got my BQ last year....I tried for years, but couldn't break 3:50 for the marathon. Luckily, on registration and race day of my last marathon, I identified as a 73 year old woman and got my BQ time with ease.

The press release was pretty careful/intentional. I think they wanted to make an announcement but are planning for any/all possibilities- race w./ full field, race w./ partial field, no race/virtual.

It's really going to be at the hands of state policy & how quickly MA gets out the vaccine. I still can't really see a large scale event at this point tbh. A smaller version of the race seems like the most likely option if it doesn't get cancelled.

I think we're going to see some mid size marathons happen this spring. Depending on how the vaccine progresses, could you do a 10k race with everyone showing a vaccine or negative test? Masks on before/after the race. No mass pre and post race events.

I think their cautiously optimistic line is right here. Unfortunately it'll be tough for people hoping for their first Boston. I think a lot of solid runners will be left out if they go by fastest times.

Agreed on all points. Consider also that international runners may be left out due to travel restrictions, etc. Field size may be helped by travel restrictions and also the close proximity of the other majors if they happen.

As for small to mid sized marathons happening, they already are in states like FL as I'm tapering for the Florida Marathon on the 7th. Guidelines are exactly as you stated.

61 year old male, qualified 51 minutes under, 2:58:28. I'm hoping it happens. I'm in the Tahoe 206 mile trail race four weeks prior, and the California Ironman two weeks after.

If the race does goes as planned in October 2021, does anyone have an idea of when registration would be for April 2022? Would someone have to run a qualifier before October 2021?

CertifiedEliteMastersHobbyJogger wrote:

Agreed on all points. Consider also that international runners may be left out due to travel restrictions, etc. Field size may be helped by travel restrictions and also the close proximity of the other majors if they happen.

Great point, with all of them happening within 6 weeks of each other the field should be reduced. Although at the same time, some of the other majors allowed multiple year deferrals so people don't have to stick with this year if they have a good Boston time and are worried about getting another BQ in the future. I was signed up for Boston and NYC last year but I'm definitely going to defer my NYC and just run Boston assuming I get in (I'm 17 minutes under thanks to aging up to 35-39).

However, something tells me if they have to reduce the field size they will institute some sort of lottery to at least part of the field with qualified times. Don't think it's great optics if they end up with a qualifying time of 15-20 minutes under.

Raysharp001 wrote:

61 year old male, qualified 51 minutes under, 2:58:28. I'm hoping it happens. I'm in the Tahoe 206 mile trail race four weeks prior, and the California Ironman two weeks after.

Haha you just couldn't resist making this about YOU

Perhaps they can move the Boston Marathon to Florida and actually run it.