Boston Marathon Registration - 2012 Race

THE BOSTON MARATHON considers itself an elite event.  They want to accommodate all the runners they can, but they do not want to be the biggest or to be the everyman race.  As some note, that is what the New York Marathon is for.  During the running boom of the 70's registration exploded to the point where some restriction was necessary.  Consistent with its culture, Boston went with qualifying standards. 

It used to be that all qualifying times were equal.  Registration opened and there was plenty of time for everyone to register, except maybe the most hardcore procrastinators.  We are in the midst of another running boom and Boston felt the effects last year.  The Internet was abuzz with stories of lesser marathons that never used to sell out reaching their maximums.  Speculation and frenzy built as registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon approached in the fall of 2010.  When registration opened, the surge overwhelmed Boston's computer.  The marathon filled in just eight hours.  I know one guy who tried to register intermittently from work every chance he had.  He was not able to get on the Boston Marathon computer all day.  (After registration closed he wrote a pleading e-mail to Boston explaining his plight.  To their credit, Boston accommodated him.)

Ultimately, Boston needed to update the rationing system.  They could go to a partial lottery, like many other races.  They could allow the luck of first-come-first-served based on computer access.  Looking to their roots, Boston decided to go to a tiered process that preserves the elite status of the race.  At the same time, it remains open to all who can qualify, whether amateur or professional.  It has always been rare that the truly casual runner could qualify.  Now it will be just a little more rare.

On Monday, September 12, 2011, 10:00 AM Eastern time, those who beat their qualifying time by at least 20 minutes could register.  Wednesday it went to ten minutes and Friday was five minutes.  Qualifying times are based on age and gender.  A runner must achieve the time standard in a race that adheres to USATF guidelines, or the foreign equivalent.  Friday at 5:00 PM registration closed.  With some space remaining, registration will reopen for a second week for everyone who meets or exceeds their qualifying time.  At the end of the second week, the remaining registrations are allocated to those with the best qualifying times, based on age and gender.  In theory, there could be a third week, but don't count on it. 

After the stories of last year's calamity, I was apprehensive.  My concern was unfounded.  Everything went smoothly for me in this year's registration.  For those looking for information on the process, here you go.  I connected to the Boston Marathon registration site at about 7:05 AM, Pacific time.  My browser connected immediately.  It is Boston's form, but similar to other computer race registration forms:  name, address, phone, date of birth, age on race day, gender, e-mail, additional informational questions and payment information. 

The only unique information needed for the registration form is the name of the qualifying race along with finish time and overall place.  I qualified at the California International Marathon, which was run the previous December.  It is one of the more common qualifying races.  I figure this is an automated process for most runners and that CIM results were already loaded into their computer.  I had a copy of my results from the CIM website printed out and in front of me.  I made sure to list my name exactly as it appeared in the results.  I used net (chip) time and place.  Although, my place was the same for gun and chip time.  The list of races on the pull-down menu seemed very long and probably includes all but the most obscure qualifying races.  The form also has a way to enter information for races not listed.

I received a receipt with a submission ID immediately after transmitting my application.  I received an e-mail about 20 minutes later acknowledging my entry had been received.  About four hours after that I received confirmation that my registration had been accepted:

"This is to notify you that your entry into the 116th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 16, 2012 has been accepted, provided that the information you submitted is accurate."

Hmm, sounds like it was written by a lawyer.  No dishonor in that, but not the friendliest.

For the 2013 race, qualifying standards will be tightened a bit.  As the race director noted, more and more people are running and more are qualifying.  Boston is just responding to the market while striving to fulfill their goal and mission, "that is the pursuit of athletic excellence." 

Boston does not issue registration updates and will not say precisely how many applications they will accept.  Most reports list the race registration cap in the 25,000 to 27,000 area.  Somewhere around 20,000 of those come from the regular registration process.  (There is another process for charity runners and every major race has its elites, VIPs and other special accommodation.)  Going into the first Friday, speculation was that about half of the available space was already taken.  This was based on the submission ID numbers, which appear to be sequential.  On Sunday, BAA announced that registration will go into the second week.  It is certain to sell out during the second week.  

Congratulations to all who got in.  For those who qualified but did not get in, it is still an awesome achievement.  There are many who want to qualify but can't.  Some work hard and did not miss for lack of effort.  Others simply are not willing to put forth the effort.  It is a mix of luck and hard work. 

UPDATE:  The second week of registration closed at 5:00 PM on Friday, September 23, 2011.  By all accounts, everything went smoothly throughout the registration process.  BAA solved the problem of last year's chaos with the new tiered registration system.  Based on an Internet report, 14,918 runners qualified during the first week and another 8,596 applied in the second week, making a total of 23,514.  The report indicated that around 21,000 will be admitted through this process, leaving about 2,500 applications over the limit.  The final registrations will be accepted based on times, with the fastest runners, as compared to the applicable qualifying standard, being accepted.  Those who submitted registrations during the second week will start receiving notices on Monday.  BAA expects to finishing notifying runners by Wednesday.

UPDATE 2:  Forget the conjecture from the Internet, here is the official word from BAA:

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.