What's the big deal with Boston?

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8 years ago 08/23/2015 12:59pm EDT

I don't really understand the draw of huge races to begin with - sure, a dinky race where I'm running alone the whole time is lame, and hardly good PR material. But for a mediocre runner who would just be jammed into the middle of the pack at a

Race like Boston, what's the point?

I kinda wonder if I'm missing out on something by not going. What's the draw for a mid-pack kinda runner?

Is it to be there and experience the carnival? I don't like huge crowds in general. Amusement parks drive me bonkers.

Is it the history? That I can appreciate; being a part of such a long and storied race.

Is it the fact that it's (kinda sorta) hard to get into the draw itself?

The other thing for me is that the winter is my off-season. It's cold up here, and I much prefer skiing and mountaineering in the winter, only running on the nicer days, at maybe 1/2 to 3/4 my normal volume. Peaking for a spring race means killing my ski season, and often being flat for fun local races in the early summer. And going through the trouble of getting to Boston just to jog it in seems kinda lame, and disrespectful to those who really want to be there and race it.

Enlighten me. If I'm missing out on something really cool, I'd like to get excited and partake. If it's just not up my alley, then I'll continue to observe from a distance.

8 years ago 08/23/2015 1:03pm EDT

re: autoxfil

8 years ago 08/23/2015 1:06pm EDT

re: autoxfil

Running is a bit of a fringe sport, but runners forget this since we are constantly immersed in the sport. Let's face it; it's not like football, basketball, or baseball.

Since most people don't know some of the finer points about the sport (like how hard it is to run a 15 minute 5K vs an 18 minute 5K. I mean REALLY how hard it is, not just, "Oh yes, that IS INDEED faster. Neat."), running a marathon sounds impressive, an ultramarathon even more impressive, and needing to qualify (AKA be decent) at running to run Boston makes it more impressive than your standard marathon.

8 years ago 08/23/2015 1:36pm EDT

re: autoxfil

autoxfil wrote:
Is it the fact that it's (kinda sorta) hard to get into the draw itself?

This. You have to qualify for Boston. This gives Boston runners a bragging point with other marathoners.

8 years ago 08/23/2015 2:46pm EDT

Boston is like olympics for mortals. You have to qualify, but the qualification is leveled for age/gender.

I really don't like big races anymore either, but Boston keeps me wanting to come back. It's the only marathon where I can start with 1000 people running about my same pace, and I don't have to worry about getting around stupid slow people who lied to get into the better corral. The crowd support and the traditions are unrivaled. Run it once and decide for yourself.

8 years ago 08/23/2015 4:21pm EDT

re: bored troLLer

bored troLLer wrote:
Boston is like olympics for mortals. You have to qualify, but the qualification is leveled for age/gender.
I really don't like big races anymore either, but Boston keeps me wanting to come back. It's the only marathon where I can start with 1000 people running about my same pace, and I don't have to worry about getting around stupid slow people who lied to get into the better corral. The crowd support and the traditions are unrivaled. Run it once and decide for yourself.

Exactly.

Personally, I found running through small towns with crowds cheering on the runners to be pretty cool.

And I must admit, non-runners at least pretend to think running Boston is impressive ... and most of us like that whether we admit it or not.

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