The Boston Marathon CAN NOT be cancelled because it's higher priority than other events

Cool story brah! Changed my life!

Hardloper wrote:

When most marathons get cancelled you can just find a smaller marathon close by. The Boston Marathon is an end-all bucket list item for recreational athletes so it cannot be substituted.

They didn't cancel it in 1918 during the Spanish Flu epidemic. (although the deadly 2nd wave of that flu didn't occur until the fall.) But they could easily still hold it. Why not.

It just depends on if they care about how it will mean people die because of it. But hey, athletic legacy. *shrugs*

It's literally the hobby jogger Olympics. But still, the participants who have BQs are presumably much healthier than the average person, so i say let them run and ban the charity joggers.

Piano_Man87 wrote:

Hardloper wrote:

When most marathons get cancelled you can just find a smaller marathon close by. The Boston Marathon is an end-all bucket list item for recreational athletes so it cannot be substituted.

They didn't cancel it in 1918 during the Spanish Flu epidemic. (although the deadly 2nd wave of that flu didn't occur until the fall.) But they could easily still hold it. Why not.

It just depends on if they care about how it will mean people die because of it. But hey, athletic legacy. *shrugs*

In those days Boston had like 100 participants, not really a comparable situation.

The top 100 in this race is faster than any other race except for the olympics. Same with the top 1000.

And the city/state/BAA all want the race to go on. It is the biggest event in the city and brings in hundreds of millions in revenue. And for the BAA, it funds everything else they do for the year.

Either postpone or only let elite runners run and general public runners defer to run next year and hope a vaccine is available by next year.

Some runners will choose not to defer and that will allow some people spots to qualify for 2021. Open up the number of runners to say 40,000 for the 125th annual so more people are able to qualify.

Charity runners can defer too. Less charity numbers available for next year so the charity runners will have to raise more money for each one.

It's all about the $$$. Nothing more.

I'm sure you're a proud BQer sporting your gawd-awful Boston Jacket everywhere you go, but the luster of the race is long gone.

horde wrote:

Either postpone or only let elite runners run and general public runners defer to run next year and hope a vaccine is available by next year.

Some runners will choose not to defer and that will allow some people spots to qualify for 2021. Open up the number of runners to say 40,000 for the 125th annual so more people are able to qualify.

Charity runners can defer too. Less charity numbers available for next year so the charity runners will have to raise more money for each one.

I recently had a chance to hear a BAA insider talk about a possible postponement. He said the BAA is concerned that people will show up and run anyway. Given the individual prep these runners have done, that scenario is understandable.

Would be fitting for the race to be canceled for you when your hero keeps saying the virus is no big deal.

Hey Texas soi, are living in or near Austin?

I recently had a chance to hear a BAA insider talk about a possible postponement. He said the BAA is concerned that people will show up and run anyway. Given the individual prep these runners have done, that scenario is understandable.

This is not a sensible reason to not cancel it. Most of the spread would happen at the expo, buses, airports/airplanes, and amongst volunteers at aid stations. 1000 people running the event unsupported is of no consequence by comparison. I'm also concerned that people will willfully race Boston sick because it tends to be an important bucket list type of event.

Very likely starting this week there will be additional travel bans for S. Korea and Italy. Since Boston is such an international race I cannot see how it's held on April 20.

Boston is chalk-filled with epidemiologist and public health types. I'm sure the BAA is getting the cue that there is no way forward. Perhaps the BAA (like the current Administration) is hoping there is a seasonality aspect to COVID-19 and the warmer weather next month will stop it in its tracks. Doubtful, but that's all we have at the moment. What NYC RR did in 2012 (after Sandy) is a good path. Allow runners to defer anytime over the next three years. This way you're distributing ~ 30,000 runners over three years instead of one.

I’m just glad I skipped a spring marathon. Saved myself a lot of cash. It’s just a race and racing is incredibly selfish. Nobody’s curing cancer or teaching kids how to read by running the Boston marathon. It’s really a silly thing to be so obsessed with it’s “importance.”

Everything should just go on as planned, live your lives, there will always be something, Last Year everyone was worried about Toxic Masculinity, Don Lemon says the Country's biggest problems are White Supremacy and White Domestic Terrorism, in 1918 it was the Spanish Flu, in 1347 they had their own version of the Corona Virus, a Plague, Let the Professionals deal with these problems and live your lives, like nothing bad is happening, China has this Corona Virus pretty Much under control, and our Medical Officials are a Million times better than China's and the USA can control it a lot better than China, all these races getting postponed and/or canceled is getting me mad, I was looking forward to the Cheptegei VS Kamwaror Half Marathon Battle and whatever new stars will emerge.

yip yip wrote:

I’m just glad I skipped a spring marathon. Saved myself a lot of cash. It’s just a race and racing is incredibly selfish. Nobody’s curing cancer or teaching kids how to read by running the Boston marathon. It’s really a silly thing to be so obsessed with it’s “importance.”

The older I get, the more I am starting to adopt this viewpoint. I’ve spent a lot of time/energy training for Boston this year and sometimes I wonder WTF it’s all for.

douglas burke wrote:

Everything should just go on as planned, live your lives, there will always be something, Last Year everyone was worried about Toxic Masculinity, Don Lemon says the Country's biggest problems are White Supremacy and White Domestic Terrorism, in 1918 it was the Spanish Flu, in 1347 they had their own version of the Corona Virus, a Plague, Let the Professionals deal with these problems and live your lives, like nothing bad is happening, China has this Corona Virus pretty Much under control, and our Medical Officials are a Million times better than China's and the USA can control it a lot better than China, all these races getting postponed and/or canceled is getting me mad, I was looking forward to the Cheptegei VS Kamwaror Half Marathon Battle and whatever new stars will emerge.

****************************

There is so much in your comment that's SO stupid, it'd take the rest of the evening to lay it all out.

'Getting mad' because things you like get canceled is okay. Reacting like an absolute moron is *not* okay. (Unless, you know, you're five years old. And even then, it's *still* really not okay.)

Be safe Hardloper!

svck it Trebek wrote:

It's all about the $$$. Nothing more.

I'm sure you're a proud BQer sporting your gawd-awful Boston Jacket everywhere you go, but the luster of the race is long gone.

Hardo quotes like this is what makes so many here so pathetic, stop acting like you think you're Galen Rupp

Not true

To guarantee entry to Berlin you need to be Sub 2.45. Boston much easier. Bucket list??

Considering quotes i received for accommodation, and comparing it to major marathons worldwide.

They can keep it