2021 Boston Marathon registration starts tomorrow Should I register

As a Canadian I wonder the same thing. For now I think I'll not register and I'll hope that my qualifying time run in October 2019 is still good for the April 2022 edition.

I wonder what other international runners are doing.

I'm 6 minutes and change under the qualifying standard and I've never run Boston. I've always wanted to, so what the hay, I'm going to give it a shot and register. It's a bucket list thing along with NYC.

Am I correct that they are just going to take registrations all week and then take the top 16,000 under their respective qualifying times? I'm -21:00 so I shouldn't need to rush to try to register at 10:00 am, right?

trollin' along wrote:

Am I correct that they are just going to take registrations all week and then take the top 16,000 under their respective qualifying times? I'm -21:00 so I shouldn't need to rush to try to register at 10:00 am, right?

Correct.

Mailing bibs should be the universal policy for marathons. They could always have a print out station for those few who forget. Race expos are worthless to runners and mark up the cost of the marathon trips by a lot by forcing us to get to the city by a certain time the day before or two days before the race. My calves were hugely tight from walking t/f the subway to get to the expo at the Javits Center a few years ago and my race was terrible as a result. All that walking just to get a bib they could easily have mailed.

I registered this morning, I'm -5:27.

I didn't take the insurance option, I assumed that refunds would be issued if event was cancelled, but, admittedly didn't look too deep.

I ran it in 2019, so I'm not really concerned about whether or not I get to do it. Good luck to everybody giving it a shot.

The insurance doesn't cover race cancelation.

Per the BAA website:

Policy coverage does not include:

If he BAA and event organizers cancel the race due to factors outside of their control.

AntBanks wrote:

I registered this morning, I'm -5:27.

I didn't take the insurance option, I assumed that refunds would be issued if event was cancelled, but, admittedly didn't look too deep.

I ran it in 2019, so I'm not really concerned about whether or not I get to do it. Good luck to everybody giving it a shot.

All the insurance policies I've read will NOT refund you if the event is cancelled due to Covid-19 (since this is highly likely and they'd lose their ass on it). Same goes for Chicago. It's a scam and you'd be throwing money out the window.

So, they have the real race and the virtual race. Plus virtual 5k and miles they did this past week. I’m assuming each town decided they wanted $XXXX to hold the race during the pandemic.

I think New England is still so far behind with opening. I don’t even see Florida holding a 20k person race in the fall. And seeing the insurance doesn’t covered covid cancellation? Whaaaaa...? That’s the reason people would even buy insurance.

Seriously mate? wrote:

AntBanks wrote:

I registered this morning, I'm -5:27.

I didn't take the insurance option, I assumed that refunds would be issued if event was cancelled, but, admittedly didn't look too deep.

I ran it in 2019, so I'm not really concerned about whether or not I get to do it. Good luck to everybody giving it a shot.

All the insurance policies I've read will NOT refund you if the event is cancelled due to Covid-19 (since this is highly likely and they'd lose their ass on it). Same goes for Chicago. It's a scam and you'd be throwing money out the window.

Also, most events I've seen will NOT refund if event is cancelled due to Covid-19. So if these fall majors get cancelled we're SOL basically.

I registered. I won't get in I don't think as I'm about 3 minutes under the standard. The insurance is definitely a scam IMO, as I think everyone paying for it probably thinks it covers COVID cancellation. For people who it's not their first time and are worried about that or unsure about the safety/travel (despite all of the hopeful signs at the moment), I'd hope you just wait for a "normal"year instead of rolling the dice that if come race-day it's cancelled or you don't want to go you'll be able to get your entry back. That's from a pure selfish standpoint though.

I just registered. I'm 17 minutes under and have been hurt for ~9 months. At this rate I don't even know if I'll be able to run but who knows if I'll ever qualify again so gotta knock it off the bucket list.

I am registered but not optimistic - I am 6:40 under. Really hope they keep the window wide for next year so I can use my time from 2019. I would really like to do one more so I went ahead and registered.

Wish I had read this before buying the insurance. Whoops. I'm local so figured I'd toss my hat in the ring--I'm -5:17 under qualifying threshold, so might be borderline, but it's hard to tell what the demand for the race will be (particularly from international runners) given all the uncertainty. My money is on the race actually happening in October, but I've run Boston a few times and don't think this will be anything like the normal race from participant or fan perspective. Hopefully will be closer to normal for 2022 race next April, but I'm guessing it won't be fully back to same experience until 2023.

I registered. Being 6 min under, it's borderline if I'll get in Oct or not with the shrunken field size. I'll be happy if I do, but even happier if I don't and it means I run April '22 instead. Oct means summer training in the sweltering Southeast, versus cooler winter-training for April '22. My qual time is from Feb '21, so I should be good for at least one of the two (hopefully).

xczvzxcv wrote:

Mailing bibs should be the universal policy for marathons. They could always have a print out station for those few who forget. Race expos are worthless to runners and mark up the cost of the marathon trips by a lot by forcing us to get to the city by a certain time the day before or two days before the race. My calves were hugely tight from walking t/f the subway to get to the expo at the Javits Center a few years ago and my race was terrible as a result. All that walking just to get a bib they could easily have mailed.

Agree that expo's are worthless for runners, but they are a major revenue generator for the race. Several thousand dollars per booth paid to the race organization. Requiring every single participant to pickup their bib at the site of those booths massively increases their value to retailers. It's literally forced traffic through their store.

I registered. I'm 51:32 under. I love the race. Some say it's overrated and not worth the hassle. To each his own.

xczvzxcv wrote:

Mailing bibs should be the universal policy for marathons. They could always have a print out station for those few who forget. Race expos are worthless to runners and mark up the cost of the marathon trips by a lot by forcing us to get to the city by a certain time the day before or two days before the race.

Well, that's the point. Sponsors want the captive audience. Also, for the average runner who is doing a bucket list event, the expo actually is kind of exciting. But I agree that mailed bibs should always be an option.

xczvzxcv wrote:

My calves were hugely tight from walking t/f the subway to get to the expo at the Javits Center a few years ago and my race was terrible as a result. All that walking just to get a bib they could easily have mailed.

Oh gimme a break. If your calves couldn't handle walking a few blocks, that's not what ruined your marathon.

I gave it a shot, my last year in the US so it's this year or not at all. I have a 32 minute buffer so people have said they think there should be no issues getting in, whether it actually goes ahead or not well that's another question...