Progress registering? We'll see.

BAA just opened registration this morning for the 125th Boston Marathon, being held the day after the Chicago Marathon in October. I've been registered for Chicago for weeks (months?), and just sent in my application/registration for Boston. Hopefully it won't take BAA too long to verify my BQ-17:58 time and accept my application after the registration period ends on Friday. 

In addition to that, a couple of weeks ago, I submitted my preferences for NYC Marathon: 2021 (1st) and 2022 (2nd). For now, MCM is only being held as a virtual event, but it's possible that they will turn it into a live in-person event. And, if MCM goes in-person, I have a good chance of being a pacer again -- it's the only way I will be running in MCM this year.

So, if everything goes well, all events go forward as planned, it's going to be a really busy few weeks:

Oct 10: Chicago (goal: sub-3 -- just signed on with my trainer again)

Oct 11: Boston (goal: finish, consider a "fun run" re: pace)

Oct 31: MCM 50k (goal: 5-hour pace group leader)

Nov 7: NYC (goal: TBD, at least BQ for 2022 with my "age-up" BQ time of 3:25)

Aggravating race developments

While my training was a little tricky last week, and has rebounded back to normal in advance of my expected marathon later this month... that marathon was just postponed. Delaware Marathon was scheduled to take place on April 25. A couple of weeks ago we were informed that they had received an interim decision of rejecting their permit, and that they'd make the final call on the race on April 1. Well, the word has finally come down -- they've postponed to June 13. Ugh! That is going to be one heckuva HOT marathon. Now to see if I can find an acceptable marathon for May 1-2 to use to coincide with the Abbott WMM virtual marathon, rather than do a boring looped course locally.

As if that postponement wasn't bad enough, BAA announced the other day that they are considering requiring "up to" two negative COVID-19 tests in order to pick up one's bib for the in-person marathon -- EVEN IF you have received the vaccine in full. Pointless waste of time, resources (i.e, the tests themselves), and money (for those of us that have to pay for it -- not having symptoms, it's not covered by my insurance nor by local or state government). Hopefully there is sufficient (polite) pushback that they reconsider this and announce an altered policy BEFORE the in-person registration period opens on April 20. Requiring one negative test OR proof of vaccination I can understand, especially if that's a central part of what the eight town/city governments are going to require of BAA as part of their COVID mitigation plan, but two negative tests and ignoring the vaccination is plain ridiculous. We'll see...