Boston Marathon 2014 Registration Analysis and Timeline

As of 9/18/13, with interest in running Boston 2014 at an all-time high, the increase of accepted entrants raised to 36,000 vs recent years' norm of 27,000, the dynamics of qualification and the entry process have been dramatic. Following the qualification entry rules at baa.org (and listed below), the rolling entry process has been underway and steady reports and estimates from the BAA and RunnersWorld.com reveal an extraordinarily complex picture of how the 36,000 accepted entrants appear to be allocated.

A reported 7,900 qualifiers had submitted applications in hopes of securing one of 5,000 remaining qualifying entries; when registration ends on 9/20/13, BAA will determine a revised -- faster, in 2012 it was BQ time minus 1 minute 14 seconds -- qualifying time to confirm the final 5,000 qualifying entrants. Charity entries may still be available afterwards, however.



Late April, 2013: In the days after terrorists' bombs ended Boston Marathon 2013, a tremendous surge of interest in participating inBoston Marathon 2014.

Our analysis shows 'Qualify for Boston Marathon' is one of the hottest searches on google, and compared to search trends at the same time of year since 2008, the interest is nothing short of extraordinary.
Here's our hypothesis about why we're seeing this skyrocketing demand to know about how to qualify to race Boston in 2014. It doesn't appear to be the usual 'I hope I can qualify' interest, which is steady year to year. The exceptional volume of search and visitor traffic certainly prove more than ever, runners want to be in Boston

But more importantly, the leap in interest seems to suggest more of a fighting spirit. Runners are thinking: dammit, I'm going to run Boston to prove we aren't afraid of evil, we're going to face it head on, to show once and for all that no one's going to mess with us again. Runners see it as a sort of patriotic duty, to unite in a tribute to honor those who suffered in the tragedy and to take back the legendary event.

Boston Marathon Statistics, Data and Analysis

The Boston Marathon Media Guide is a great resource for everything from race history winners, and number of finishers to course records and elite runners participating in this year's event. But there's so much more to know about the race; we're here to provide it. 

After running Boston 13 times, and covering the race from the media side for years, I've analyzed the race from all angles. And here's the result: just about everything else worth knowing as you prepare for the race.

Ironman Marathon or Regular Marathon: Which is faster?

Is it possible that a marathon in an Ironman Triathlon -- after swimming 2.4 miles and riding 112 miles -- might be faster than simply running a regular marathon?

Yes, it is. When you look at finish times of several top marathons and several top Ironman triathlons -- each of which we've competed in -- you'll see that an Ironman marathon can be faster, on average.


The marathons at Ironman Austria, Ironman Switzerland, New York City Marathon and Chicago Marathon are all in the 4:25 range. Ironman New Zealand and RnR Arizona Marathon are nearly identical at about 4:35, on average. RnR San Diego Marathon's average finish time of 4:52 roughly equals the average of 25 Ironman marathons, and is only a few minutes faster than Ironman marathons in Lake Placid, Canada, Florida and Arizona.

Very interesting, all fact-based, nice trivia, but still, perplexing . . . how can it be?

It's a bit of an illusion, actually.

A first reality check is our own experience running marathons on each of these courses. Our regular marathon times were roughly 40 to 45 minutes faster than on Ironman courses. Our fastest marathon was a 2:54 in Boston; the same year we ran a 3:36 personal best Ironman marathon in Lake Placid.

The next check is comparing the average of 25 top marathons -- 4:24 -- with the average marathon at 25 top Ironman triathlons -- 4:50 -- a difference of 25 minutes.

The reality is, there's more to an average marathon finish time than meets the eye. A very recent trend has shown more women than men run regular marathons; but Ironman triathletes tend to be male. Women's regular marathon times are slower than men's; see our analysis of New York City marathon results and number of runners per age group, for example. In contrast, it's not uncommon for men to represent 75% or more of the field at an ironman triathlon. And the men run faster ironman marathons.

We'll be presenting a side-by-side age group marathon comparison shortly. Until then, you have to admit, it's pretty interesting that an ironman marathon can be faster than a regular marathon.


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