Elite field in Houston Marathon too limiting

Not trying to be argumentative, by why are you asking us and not the Houston Marathon elite organizer?

He didn't qualify for either the elite field or olympic development field:

http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/Marathon/EliteAthletes.cfm

Houston went to a lottery system this year. That really pissed people off. I think they are being strict with elite entries out of a strange sense of fairness to the hobby jogger who didn't get an entry. In other words, they have taken a position that either you get in by having a qualifying time or by going through the lottery. No exceptions.

It is a tough call to make and they were probably a bit too rigid. However, in a trials window year, they might end up having to comp an extra 100 runners if they loosened the time standard by a few minutes. That is @10k in fees they would give up.

The Houston Marathon should let him buy a regular entry and have an auto-qualifier standard so faster runners don't have to go through the lottery. But that gets the hobby joggers pissed, and the hobby joggers pay the bills at the marathon.

As for buying a charity entry, if he can afford it, he should do it. The start corrals are not policed very well. It is very easy to get up front and start right with the elites. You do not even need to show up that early. Just start worming your way to the front about 10-15 min before the gun. If you look fast, people will let you through.

I got a second seed elite entry to the marathon last year. That meant I got a comp entry, bottles on the course, and a spot in the top corral. I didn't get travel, hotel, per diem, or anything like that. I thought it was a pretty good deal, as that was all I was looking for and it doesn't really cost them anything to drive a few more water bottles out on the course.

It would suck if they aren't doing that this year, but if they are, your friend would certainly qualify. I hadn't run a marathon and my half PR was 67:20. Ask Dave Chester about it.

What's going on down in Houston?

That does seem kind of weird. Why wouldn't they open that up to a 2:22 guy. I assume you are US. I could undertand if you were a Kenyan. And how would a hobby jogger know anyway?

Since you claim to bee with another marathon, I wonder if Houston ever wondered about people they deny who might later, bite 'em in the ass with a nay vote for something?

Didn't a race in Houston award only the male winner a $500 prize a month or so ago and not the female?

I have a friend who got an Olympic development entry (and who had hit the time standard) - he said they're offering customized fluids to everybody in the Olympic development program.

That's a fair amount of logistics work right there, not to mention the staging area pre/post race, shuttles to/from the race, etc. Sounds like they made a choice between offering the OD guys more support (fluids, etc) or supporting higher numbers, and they opted for more support.

I agree. And I ran 2:24, so I should get in if your buddy gets in with a 2:23.

slippery slope wrote:

I agree. And I ran 2:24, so I should get in if your buddy gets in with a 2:23.

And I ran 2:25, so I should get in if that 2:24 guy above gets in.

slippery slope 2 wrote:

And I ran 2:25, so I should get in if that 2:24 guy above gets in.

And I just ran 2:26, so I should be accepted if 2:25 got in.

I think I went to college with your colleague. If his name is Kevin tell him Lasse said hello and wish him the best in qualifying. He will know who I am...

Just got back from a 2:27 26.2 mile run. I should probably also be accepted if 2:26 got in.

Precious Roy wrote:

The Houston Marathon should let him buy a regular entry and have an auto-qualifier standard so faster runners don't have to go through the lottery. But that gets the hobby joggers pissed, and the hobby joggers pay the bills at the marathon.

Doesn't piss me off, good for him if he can get in. I just hope I can get into the 2012 marathon, would love to be there to see all the excitement!

Does anyone know when the lottery opens for next year?

Houston isn't the only fast marathon in Winter. Take a look at New Orleans or Arizona.

And I agree that Houston should time limit their olympic development program. They are giving out a $500 bonus for qualifiers and I believe are providing some meals and maybe hotels.

MNL wrote:

The elite field is closed and he is currently listed as #20(!) on their elite waiting list...

Don't they figure many athletes may want to preview it?

I think you answered your own question. It's an even more popular race this year. Get in line.

slippery slope 3 wrote:

slippery slope 2 wrote:

And I ran 2:25, so I should get in if that 2:24 guy above gets in.

And I just ran 2:26, so I should be accepted if 2:25 got in.

and if everyone is that slippery, getting in shouldn't be a problem at all, I'd worry about the guy behind be while stopping fast

I think you mean "too limited," not "too limiting." Were it up to the runners in the field, they'd probably be OK with 2:23 or even 2:40.

yes if you have run 225,226, or 227 you should be able to race. He's not asking for financial support he just wants to race. If you have run under 2:30 you're probably pretty small so should not take up to much space out on the course to cause any problems. This is the Olympic Trials host

a johnson wrote:

Just got back from a 2:27 26.2 mile run. I should probably also be accepted if 2:26 got in.

2012 Houston Marathon lottery opens June 1, 2011.

why is there so little money for the top finishers (especially the winner) at houston

My guess as to why is that, well, they don't have to let in your friend. Simple as that. They have a defined program for elites, and they have a lottery for the rest. They had to draw the line somewhere, and they happened to draw it a bit in front of your friend. I'm sure he's a great runner, but there's no incentive for his inclusion in the field, and he's not elite in the sense that he'll be competing for the win.

He's in the weird spot of being not good enough for the perks of elite running, but significantly faster than the rest of the field. You've got to realize that a 2:22-2:23 isn't special. It's damn fast, but he'll probably finish in the teens. Many people are trying to qualify for Boston, should we let them in the race for free after registration has closed? What makes him any different?