Boston Marathon Changes 2012 Qualifying Times

What time do you need to run to enter the Boston Marathon? For the first time in recent history, the answer is: it depends.

To enter the Boston Marathon, now you need to meet or beat two criteria:

1. Old Qualifying Time = 'Standard Eligible to Submit an Application' = run a time that meets the official qualifying standard in an officially recognized marathon
2. New Qualifying Time = Entrant Time = Run a qualifying time that beats the qualifying standard by an amount determined after registration is closed

Of the 23,521 applications submitted by runners who ran Qualifying Times to enter the 2012 Boston Marathon, 20,081 were accepted. Unfortunately for the 3,228 runners who had their applications rejected, nearly 14% of those who applied.

To meet size constraints, it came down to this: if you ran a qualifying time, you needed to beat that time by one minute and 14 seconds to enter the race. The new Entrant Time = qualifying time minus 0:01:14. For example, in the M40-44 division:

1. Old Qualifying Time = Standard Eligible to Submit an Application' = 3:20:00
2. New Qualifying Time = Entrant Time = 3:18:46

These changes were announced by the Boston Athletic Association in the following press release excerpt:


September 26, 2011 -- The Boston Athletic Association today notified applicants of their acceptance into the 2012 Boston Marathon. This year and for the first time, the B.A.A. implemented a new registration process for eligible qualifiers whereby the fastest runners in relation to their qualifying times were able to submit their entry on a rolling basis.  Acceptance was based on performance rather than on a first come, first served basis.  The 116th Boston Marathon is on Patriots’ Day: Monday, April 16, 2012.

• 23,521 applications were received during the two weeks of registration.
• 20,081 applicants have been accepted or are in the process of being accepted, pending verification of qualifying performance (14,780 from Week One; 5301 from Week Two).
• 3,228 applicants were unable to be accepted due to the large number of eligible qualifiers who submitted an application for entry combined with field size limitations.
• An additional 277 qualifiers who had run 10 or more consecutive Boston Marathons were also accepted. 

Those who had a verified qualifying performance of one minute, 14 seconds or faster than the eligible standard for their age group have been accepted into the race.

Boston Marathon 2012 Sold Out.

Boston Marathon 2012 is sold out as of 9/23/11. [Charity entries may be available]

Update: 20,000+ entries accepted into Boston Marathon 2012, 3000+ entries rejected.

Around 24,000 finished the race in 2011, and estimates suggest about 25,000 to 26,000 will race in 2012.

The BAA's new 'performance-based' registration process accepted applications from runners who met the qualifying time criteria between 9/12/11 and 9/23/11.

However, BAA notes that many who registered may not be guaranteed entry. Posted on baa.org, 'Entry is not on a first-come, first-served basis . . .'

Applicants will be notified of acceptance or rejection 'next week.'

The 'performance-based' criteria are not clearly defined publicly. Our assumption is that applicants be accepted in order of fastest qualifying time in their age group. If so, will baa.org factor in the degree of difficulty by marathon?

Average finish times can vary among most marathons by 30 minutes or more.  At the extremes: consider a 5:16 average finish time in the Los Angeles Marathon compared to a 3:47 time at the Hamilton Marathon.

See details in our analysis of Top 25 Toughest Marathons.

For everything else, see our Complete Boston Marathon Coverage.

Ironman DNF (Did Not Finish) Rates for 2011 Season

Ask any triathlete which races they think will have the highest rate of starters who did not finish (DNF) for one reason or another, and they'll likely mention one or more of our top 25 Toughest Ironman races. Ironman events in St. George, France, and Lanzarote, featuring monster bike courses, would have been our picks. But the data tells a different story.

Believe it or not, Ironman Lanzarote has the lowest DNF rate: an astonishingly low 2%. St. George easily had the highest DNF rate at 16.5%. France, Regensburg and the new race in Wales all had DNF rates over 10%. The flat courses in Florida and Arizona help limit DNFs, while tough bike courses in Texas and Wisconsin push DNFs to the 7%-8% range.

We took a closer look at Lanzarote and Lake Placid. Lanzarote sorts results by men and women; only 2 women out of 113 starters DNF, 1.8%. Of the men, only 2.1% DNFd. One thing appears to be certain: those who have chosen to race Lanzarote are extremely ready for every challenge on the course. They finish, no matter what. Impressive.

At Ironman Lake Placid 2011, water temperatures were high enough that only those who swam without a wetsuit were eligible to qualify for Kona. More than 600 chose to swim sans wetsuit, and more than 1800 raced with the benefit of wetsuit buoyancy. Was there a difference in DNFs between the wetsuiters and the non-wetsuiters? No. 

Ironman Wales Results Analysis: Compared to Ironman UK

Congratulations to the 1134 triathletes who completed the inaugural Ironman Wales triathlon in an average time of 13:02. Any race over the 13 hour mark is one of the toughest in the world, and the 12% DNF rate, also one of the highest of all ironman events, proves the point.

With two races in the United Kingdom, each known for difficulty (UK average finish time in 2010 was 13:01, nearly identical to 2011 Wales, though in 2011 UK was much faster at 12:35), we compared the two by age group to see how comparable the courses may be.

Predicting Your Ironman Marathon Time After Swim and Bike are Completed

You're entering the transition area of an ironman triathlon, after finishing the swim and bike legs of the race. With 26.2 miles to run, and typically with wobbly legs after riding 112 miles on the bike, as you're changing into running shoes, it's natural to wonder: how long is it going to take me to run the marathon? What will my finish time be?

At this year's Ironman Wisconsin, more than 2200 athletes were possibly thinking the same thing. After analyzing the results of all finishers, the answer is as simple as this: the average marathon was equal to swim + bike time multiplied by 0.6.

If you start your marathon with 7 hours elapsed in your race, your marathon target should be 7 hours x 0.6 = 4.2 hours = 4 hours, 12 minutes. (remember, the .2 = 20% of an hour, or 12 minutes in this example).

Ironman Wisconsin 2011 Kona Qualifying Times Analysis

Congratulations to the 65 driven and determined triathletes (out of 2244 finishers; see our Results Analysis) who qualified for Kona at the 2011 Ironman Wisconsin. Generally, we expect Kona qualifying times to be faster compared to the previous year, but there were some surprises. Additionally, 4 slots were moved from male age groups to the women's side, which would normally suggest that with fewer slots, in M30 to M45 last qualifying times (LQT) would be significantly faster.




Not necessarily so. In fact the last qualifying time in only 5 age groups was faster, compared to 2010. And in the age groups that lost slots, the last qualifying times were actually slower than in 2010. Heat that led to a 13:24 average finish time for all athletes may have something to do with it, but wouldn't account for so many slower times. Could the field have been weaker this year? Could the trend toward fewer and fewer slots per race be discouraging more triathletes from training hard enough to qualify? Time will tell as the 2012 qualifying season continues.

Ironman Wisconsin 2011 Photos

We covered the race from the swim start in Lake Monona, to cycling hot spots like Old Sauk Pass and all over the run course, from the bike path to Camp Randall stadium to the finish line. Here are some photo highlights. Nearly 180 photos are here: Ironman Wisconsin by Raymond Britt. For more, see our Ironman Wisconsin 2011 Results Analysis and our complete Ironman Wisconsin Coverage.

Ironman Wisconsin 2011 Results Analysis

Congratulations to the 2244 triathletes who finished the 2011 Ironman Wisconsin. While conditions have been worse in previous races (2004's heat and 2006's frigid drizzling come to mind), temperatures that rose into the high 80s clearly had an impact on the field.

More than 8% of starters didn't finish (12% of registrants didn't start), and the average finish time of 13:24 was 8 minutes higher than seen in 2010 and 2009. Overall, Wisconsin remains near the top of RunTri's 25 Toughest Ironman Rankings. How did your finish time stack up against average finishing times by age group? Also see our Kona Qualifying Times Analysis and our Ironman Wisconsin Race Photos.

Sarah Palin Runs Half Marathon in Iowa -- 1:46:10, 2nd in Age Group

Sarah Palin ran the Jump Right in and Run Half Marathon in Storm Lake, Iowa, on Sunday September 4, 2011, finishing with a time of 1:46:10. At a pace of 8:06 per mile, it was fast enough to win her second place in her age group.

It was also an unexpected, unpublicized and nearly anonymous run for Palin, who registered for the race using her maiden name, Heath.






Overall she finished in 5th out of 33 women; impressive. Photo and results by www.stormlakerunningclub.com.

Ironman Louisville Kona Qualifying Times Analysis

At the 2011 Ironman Louisville, 65 triathletes rose above all others to qualify for Kona, to compete at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in October. Remarkably, the dynamics of slot allocations and finish times in Louisville changed perhaps more than in any 2011 qualifying event.

Especially noteworthy: a shift of 4 slots from men age groups to women, which dramatically increased competition among men, leading to qualifying times an hour or more faster than in some age groups, compared to 2011.

Chicago Triathlon 2011 Results Analysis

Thousands of determined triathletes swam, biked and ran through Chicago to cross the finish line both exhausted and excited. Despite the bright sun and blue skies, it was a tough day on the course, from choppy water in Monroe Harbor to strong winds on Lake Shore Drive. Overcoming these challenges should make all finishers feel even more satisfied with their performance.

Our results analysis is below; for everything else you need to know, see our Complete Chicago Triathlon Coverage.

More than 3300 triathletes completed the international distance event in an average time of 3:15. If you did as well or better in at least one of these categories, consider your day a success. Congratulations.

Nearly 1900 triathletes competed in the Sprint division, finishing in an average time of 1:55. Sprint competitors faced the same challenges in the water and on the bike course, and should similarly be proud of their finish times. Of note, the mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, slipped into the sprint distance competition. How do his results compare? Look at our Rahm -- Triathlete Analysis.

For details, advice, results, photos and more, visit our complete Chicago Triathlon Coverage.