Was talking to a friend about this...I'd love to hear from you folks..
For those runners who run the Boston Marathon...
Why is Boston so important to you OTHER thank it's the oldest annual marathon?
Like it's not the hardest. It's the hardest one to get into. It's not the hardest qualification times (NY is tougher)...just curious.
Not Really a Brojo wrote:
Was talking to a friend about this...I'd love to hear from you folks..
For those runners who run the Boston Marathon...
Why is Boston so important to you OTHER than it's the oldest annual marathon?
Like it's not the hardest. It's the hardest one to get into. It's not the hardest qualification times (NY is tougher)...just curious.
Fixed my own type
You answered your own question. 1. Oldest marathon. 2. Toughest big-city marathon to get into. That's it.
The history was part of the allure. I have read many articles and books about Boston or that included Boston in it.
The need to qualify (although that has been lessened in recent years with access to charity programs) also was a cool enticement.
I was always amazed at the crowds that come out---and having run it, the crowds were even more amazing than I imagined.
It is one of the few events that met or exceeded my expectations.
Its on Patriots Day which is a holiday for locals. Have you ever run a marathon lined with spectators the entire 26.2 miles chanting "USA...USA"?
Corollary question: Why do you care what other people do or care about?
People love to talk about getting that BQ.
You never hear if any other Q.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but I think you get the picture:
1. Held on Patriot’s Day, it’s as ‘Merican as apple pie and baseball.
2. It’s got perhaps the deepest HJ field of any marathon in the world so there are lots of people to run with.
3. The number of spectators is unbelievable. Helps that it’s held on a holiday in the middle of the day and runs by Fenway right as the sox game ends.
4. The course is a fair but challenging test that has withstood the test of time.
5. You have to qualify to get in. The qualifying standards are “easy” enough that just about anyone can qualify with dedication, but still “hard” enough that it’s a significant accomplishment.
6. The last ~600m on Boylston from Hereford to the finish line is just something you have to experience to appreciate.
7. So that when people inevitably ask you can say, “Yes I have run Boston.”
8. As Big Papi said, “[Boston] is our f&cking city.”
It's the big show. I would gladly go to another event which featured another distance anywhere else if it had the build up, turn out, and excitement, if one existed. But as far as i can tell, there isn't one. At least not in this country.
Every time i go to Boston Marathon, i ask other runners if Chicago Marathon and NY Marathon are comparable, and the answer i get is kind of mixed. I will probably try Chicago one of these years, and getting into NY seems just too convoluted unless you run their qualifying events.
Boston has earned its reputation. I think there's a few others of that caliber that i haven't personally experienced, but i don't really hear them talked up the way Boston is.
I'd rather run Dubai.
Because I can.
Just another item on the bucket list. A destination race. One and done. It was a fun weekend.
the history, the town, the day, the course, the time of year (a rite of spring), but mostly because I like being part of the only race I've been to that brings together so many dedicated and accomplished runners; a uniquely large part of the field trains hard and is racing, not just finishing. That creates a special feeling that does not exist in Chicago or other big marathons. Some of it you just can't explain. I ran Boston the first time because I'd qualified, inadvertently; loved it so much I resolved to keep doing it every year as long as I can. Still going 13 years later.
Just another item on the bucket list wrote:
Just another item on the bucket list. A destination race. One and done. It was a fun weekend.
I concur. Minnesota hobby-jogger here. When I was doing marathons, people would ask me if I had done/would do either Boston, New York, or Grandma's (not Twin Cities, strangely). Qualifying for me wasn't a given, and, as the years pass, the effort of that accomplishment is what I appreciate most about Boston. Glad I did it, but IMO the hassle+expense:reward ratio of the event itself put me off from returning.
You people have somehow failed to cite the correct answer...
Dubai is a good example of a race with very little depth compared to Boston. 79 runners broke 3:00 in Dubai. Over 1400 broke 3:00 in Boston.
Boston does it the American way.
Anybody and everybody is welcome if you prove yourself good enough.
Sadly, London closes the door on Americans and other foreigners even if they are good for age.
A 2:35 finish at the Hartford Marathon will get a guy into the B.A.A. Boston Marathon.
This same 2:35 Hartford resident will not get into the London Marathon.
Last train to London wrote:
Boston does it the American way.
Anybody and everybody is welcome if you prove yourself good enough.
Sadly, London closes the door on Americans and other foreigners even if they are good for age.
A 2:35 finish at the Hartford Marathon will get a guy into the B.A.A. Boston Marathon.
This same 2:35 Hartford resident will not get into the London Marathon.
+1. God bless ‘Merica.
Last train to London wrote:
Boston does it the American way.
Anybody and everybody is welcome if you prove yourself good enough.
Well, not really. I mean, you can qualify with a BQ and still not get in. So yeah, you're good enough but not good enough.