I qualified for Boston but have no intention of ever doing the race because it’s a slow course. Why do it?

Troll alert: 10+

I agree Boston is a bit of a hole. Nothing special at all. I would only go there if Bekele ran it. Imagine him destroying the field there.

I qualified for the OT 'thon but have no intention of ever doing the race because it’s a slow course. Why do it?

Expensive Hotels and hills and humidity and rude Atlant@ssholes(?)...what’s the point? Weather sucks there most of the time too and I also don’t wanna get blown up by terrorists who think it’s such an important race tooThank you

HOTLANTA is slow wrote:

I qualified for the OT 'thon but have no intention of ever doing the race because it’s a slow course. Why do it?

Expensive Hotels and hills and humidity and rude Atlant@ssholes(?)...what’s the point? Weather sucks there most of the time too and I also don’t wanna get blown up by terrorists who think it’s such an important race tooThank you

You don’t have a choice because it is to compete in the OT, as opposed to traveling to be with M@ssholes and to sport your BAA jacket in a celebratory effort on a crappy slow course for having made it as a runner

I can't speak for everyone but it seems like an interesting race to do so if the opportunity is there and you can afford it, why not do it? A lot of history in that race, I know personally as a big Bill Rodgers fan I am excited to get up there and at least experience it once. Who knows, maybe I'll end up loving it and go back. I don't think it's the greatest race in the world by any means, just based on the course expectations and crowd anticipation at the start. Lighten up, tough guy.

ohhhhh hot take bro!

Actually, it's an aided course, major net downhill.

You can find your soul mate in Boston, one of the most romantic cities in the world! ?

*yawn*

This troll topic has been done to death by people better at it than you.

Same here, except I would use a different type of language to express my sentiments :-)

For me it has always been a calculation of cost vs benefits. When I was younger, it was "Go to Boston, run around 2:30, spend $1000 (or more) and earn nothing" or "Stay home, run a local marathon, run around 2:30, spend next to nothing and earn $1000". Now 2:30 changed to 2:40+, and the earned cash is a few hundred they give for winning the masters", but still even if the earned cash was nothing, the local option still wins against Boston. I understand the argument about "the experience", but for me the fun of the experience was to try to keep my running cash-positive, which required a combination of training and management skills.

I suppose the way I saw it was that Boston qualifying time was 2:20 or possibly faster.

I would run Boston, though, if one of my kids had a shot at top 15 and I would be there anyway to support him/her.

So you qualified on a 4000' elevation drop course?

Your fun of running is earning money? Not that relatable unless you're a pro runner. Assuming most of us have jobs here, and running is something we do for fun and not to test our time management and finance skills. Boston is a historic course with great crowd support. If that's your jam, its a good call. If you're trying to make money as a sub-elite or only run PRs then dont do it.

Qualified for Boston in every marathon. Have no intention of wasting time and money in a democrat cesspool like Boston.

I would run Boston if the logistics didn't suck so bad (same problem with NYC). Sorry, I don't want to catch a 6am bus so I can start running 4+ hours later.

I had the same attitude in my 20s. Why go run a race where conditions are not necessarily good and the place is expensive. I only ran marathons to run PRs and that did not fit the need.

THEN: One year in my 30s I had a Boston qualifier and my brother was living in Boston. I went and it was the best marathon I have ever run (not a PR, but close). People come out and line the course for almost the full 26.2 miles and cheer for runners as they go by. I finished about 1000th place, but was treated like I finished with the elites in the recovery area. The precision of the logistics is amazing and it really is a first class race. It is a pure competition race where the course is not easy, the conditions vary, and the elites are not allowed pacers. It does not feel like big business as so many races now do. In short, it is a great experience. If you are only looking for a PR, wait a few years, but do it sometime.

I PR'd there, like many others...great crowd support too.

Why do it? Run fast there and you'll get respect. Finish in the top 100? Respect.

The Boston Marathon is a slow course?

I qualified 4 times, and still haven’t done it. Just the thought of spending $2000 to stay 2 full days in Boston sounds crazy. I would rather spend the money on something else