Changes coming to the Boston Marathon

After the 2011 Boston Marathon sold out in 8 short hours, The Boston Athletic Association has announced some changes to how runners will enter the Holy Grail of marathons in future years.

Can read the full announcement here, but in a nutshell:

Qualifying times for 2012 will stay the same, but will be lowered by 5 minutes across the board for 2013 – and forget the extra 59-seconds that have been allowed in previous years.  The new times will affect everyone trying to qualify on or after September 24, 2011.

The BAA is also implementing a “rolling admission” policy beginning for 2012 – that is, those who beat their qualifying time by 20 minutes or more will get to register first, followed by those who qualified by 10+ minutes, then 5+ minutes, and finally, those who qualified by the skin of their teeth.  The exception will be anyone who has run the last 10 consecutive Boston Marathons, who can register anytime during the registration period regardless of their qualifying time.

These changes are meant to address the demand based on performance, rather than the current first come, first served basis.

Qualifying for Boston is so far outside my current ability plan that I won’t personally be affected by these changes, but I find it fascinating to ponder all the same.  I am interested to hear what you think of the changes – please feel free to comment!