Mr. Ridiculous Pants wrote:
What bugs me is the guy from Minnesota who has run Boston 20 years in a row and didn't get in. There MUST be something that can be done for people in this situation. Assuming his time still qualifies him they should make exceptions for longtime competitors(of course at what number, 10 years? 15? 20? is debatable).
Boston already does this. One of my former coaches has run Boston every year since about 1977. He's a former 2:35 guy but hasn't qualified for Boston in a couple years. The BAA contacts him every year to let him know he has a place in the race. As he puts it "I quantify for the Boston Marathon, not qualify". (He tries to qualify, but has not been successful). To hold a place for those who supported Boston when it was smaller and for those who have a real sense of the history of that race is a nice sign of respect by the BAA.
If they made it "20 years" how many runners would we be talking about, maybe a couple hundred? In the big picture that's immaterial.