The B.A.A. just announced earlier today their new additional method of entry into the Boston Marathon: the Boston Qualifier Selection. As you know, for years, not only have time-qualifying runners needed to run at least as fast as the Boston Qualifying time for the age group, but they have needed to run from only a few seconds to as much as 7.5 minutes faster than that standard. And there is never a way to know in advance if what you've run was a "good enough" BQ to get in -- not until the results of the registration window are announced. (This past year, my BQ was about 2:30 faster than the standard, but the "cut-off" time was about 4:30 faster, so I was squeaked out by about 2 minutes.)
With this new system, while the BQ and floating "cut-off" buffer will still continue, B.A.A. will take all of the people who had a BQ but didn't make the cut-off and enter them into a lottery for 1,000 additional bibs.
Certainly mixed emotions over this change in process:
1) Annoyed that it wasn't in effect for this year. I would have had a 10% chance of getting in, having been squeaked out.
2) Disappointed I won't be able to avail myself of it -- at least anytime soon. Now that I no longer have a streak to continue, I am not focused on securing a bib for Boston. So, my concentration is much more on pacing others in marathons. (And, if things work out well enough with my nascent local chapter for Achilles International, hopefully being a guide for some, too.)
3) Confused as to why they didn't simply expand the field by 1,000, thereby lowering the cut-off by about 20 seconds or so. (Not that that would've helped my situation.)
4) Happy that some more people who did everything right and BQ'd will be able to get in, despite not making the cut-off.
5) Curious what sort of emotions those who get in via the lottery will experience. Aside from being happy to get in, will they suffer from Imposter Syndrome? After all, they didn't get in via the regular time-qualifying method. Will that cheapen the experience for them?
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