Boston Marathon - new registration procedures

liamo123

pgmcpq wrote: »

Hoping to get in tomorrow.... I've already cancelled one work conference call at 9am :rolleyes: . Bit uneasy about this. I'm probably over reacting but I'm out with a persistent injury. There is a doubt in the back of my mind that I'll be able to return to shape to give Boston a decent shot .... still I have to give it a crack.



Don't. Best case you'll get rejected. Worst case the system will remember you and screw up your application tomorrow.

If ur not in u can win pg ... Hopefully ur injury woes will clear up in the very near future and u can give this a good shot...Best of luck, hope u get accepted....

loughie

Waiting until tomorrow to try to register. If I get in I get in and have to try to explain to herself and the kids.....that Xmas will be cancelled........if not Xmas will be back on

TFBubendorfer

loughie wrote: »

Waiting until tomorrow to try to register. If I get in I get in and have to try to explain to herself and the kids.....that Xmas will be cancelled........if not Xmas will be back on

I did it in 2009. I had free accommodation (and therefore dinners) with friends and the flights were fairly cheap; I spent well under €1000 for the entire trip!

anymore

Condo131 wrote: »

Not planning (at this stage) at doing it....however I make it in with nearly 20 mins to spare! The joys of M55!

I too will qualify for m50 with a pb of 3.31.40 so will be eligible to register in the second batch as my qualifying time for m50 is 3.45. However i am not sure doing Boston is worth the hassle of trip to US !

loughie

Well I registered just after 10 AM ET time today so hope I didn't mess it up! Have to start saving for it (as well as training!) if I get in as I don't know many in Boston. Sister used to live there!

Speedy44

at least I hope I am !

I lived in Boston for 16yrs and did the marathon 3 times in that period. The wife is from there and the brother lives there, and the kids were born there too, so it is like going home :rolleyes:

Just waiting on confirmation now, anyone any idea how long that takes?
Anyone get it yet?

TFBubendorfer

Speedy44 wrote: »

Just waiting on confirmation now, anyone any idea how long that takes?
Anyone get it yet?

I imagine that will have to wait until it is filled up, they won't know where to make the cut-off until then.

Ah yes:

Those who are the fastest among the pool of applicants in their age and gender will be accepted. Accepted athletes will be notified by September 28.

Krusty_Clown

Speedy44 wrote: »

at least I hope I am !

I lived in Boston for 16yrs and did the marathon 3 times in that period. The wife is from there and the brother lives there, and the kids were born there too, so it is like going home :rolleyes:

Just waiting on confirmation now, anyone any idea how long that takes?
Anyone get it yet?

I received confirmation the next day (Tuesday). Worded like this:

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.You can verify your acceptance into the field by searching the 116th Boston Marathon Entrants database on the B.A.A. web site. Additionally, a Confirmation of Acceptance card will be mailed to you via US Postal Service mail in October.

So you can do a look-up on the above link. Looks like there are currently around 12 registered runners of Irish citizenship.

pgmcpq

BQ-10 email confirmations are out. Registration still open so all BQ-10 applications should be in.

KentuckyPete

Just gave registration a lash there. I'm 20 mins under the BQ time for M45 so hopefully that'll compensate for applying so late.

I keep saying I'll do Boston and then finding excuses for not applying. So, took the plunge this time without thinking about it (or telling the OH - trouble ahead :rolleyes:)

Fingers crossed now...

figs

Got confirmation today to say I'm in! Nice to see there's a few others here in too.

RacoonQueen

figs wrote: »

Got confirmation today to say I'm in! Nice to see there's a few others here in too.

I hope you've been training!

figs

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I hope you've been training!

Errr... maybe not as hard as I should have been.... nothing the next 7 months won't sort out!

loughie

Got my confirmation today! Hopefully bring OH and get family to mind the kids.

KentuckyPete

I'm in!!!

Just got the confirmation e-mail there

This puts a whole new complexion on the winter

Speedy44

Excited about this already. Also, I know of at least 2 other lads from the club that are doing it, and their around the same pace as well, so it should be fun

loughie

Any advice on how soon I should book flights and accommodation?

Krusty_Clown

loughie wrote: »

Any advice on how soon I should book flights and accommodation?

Accommodation - over the next month or two
Flights - Wait until Aer Lingus has the next seat sale (currently around €583 inc taxes)

Killerz

For a cheap option on accom, i thoroughly recommend the hostelling international hostel on hemenway street in boston (think there may be a different one, but this is best). I stayed there in 2011.

The place is literally full of athletes- indeed a good few irish too. They put on a pre-race breakfast, and pancakes the next day. Myself and a friend of mine stayed there this year- 90 dollars for 3 nights in a 4 bed dorm- we were in with a dude from california (2:49 marathoner) and a spanish multi-marathoner. We all agreed a time to get up in the morning when we' throw the lights on and a time for lights out that suited everyone. There are also some private rooms too i believe.

And the flexibility of having access to a kitchen etc... Not to be sneezed at. When accom near the centre of things can be 200+ per night, this is a good option, especially for someone travelling a lone, or with a mate or two doing the thon.

Its a stones throw from the subway - 2 or 3 stops to the buses from boston common, and about a mile from the finish line. Nice area aswell- close to fenway, and the bars on boylston street for patriots day celebrations!

Ps i booked this in late september last year, before the registration process opened... Worth getting moving on accommodation if not already booked
Never thought a hostel would be a good option, but this is.

Peckham

I'm in.

Get moving on accomodation now. There's a good hotel thread on the Runners World forum which is a good resource for working out where to stay and where to avoid.

I provisionally booked a good deal back in April for the Sat/Sun/Mon nights in a really central hotel that came recommended on the Runners World forum (Hotel 140, $597 for a double room for 3 nights). However, I'm probably going to book an apartment now and stay for a week. Am bringing a few family members with me, so will suit better and keep costs down. I won't cancel my hotel booking, and could maybe pass this on to someone else if needed.

As for flights, a quick search through the old Aer Lingus seat sales emails in my Gmail suggests that the cheapest deal they did for April 2011 was €209 each way including taxes, which was at the start of February, so if you're willing to hold out until then for booking then you might be able to snap up a good deal (however no guarantees that sale will be repeated). Basically if you can get return flights for under €500 per person including taxes, then that's probably as good a deal as you're going to get.

pgmcpq

For anyone still waiting : it looks like the cut off for entry is BQ-1:14 (not including the 59 second grace period). Bit of sickener for people who fought like hell to get just under the BQ.

Krusty_Clown

pgmcpq wrote: »

For anyone still waiting : it looks like the cut off for entry is BQ-1:14 (not including the 59 second grace period). Bit of sickener for people who fought like hell to get just under the BQ.

So that's 1 minute 14 seconds under each of the BQ qualifying standards? That's a bit rough all right.

Woddle

My mate missed out by 9 seconds due to field size limitations
3:18:46 was the cut off and he ran 3:18:55 for over 40

plodder

pgmcpq wrote: »

For anyone still waiting : it looks like the cut off for entry is BQ-1:14 (not including the 59 second grace period). Bit of sickener for people who fought like hell to get just under the BQ.

That's surprising. I would have qualified then (- 3 min). But will have to run somewhere else (an improve 2 minutes) before I can qualify for 2013.

wideball

Made it in by 4 seconds!!

Krusty_Clown

Anyone book their flights yet? Aer Lingus still seem incredibly expensive (€610 return on the cheap days).

Going to have to start thinking about kicking off the training plan soon enough.

Brianderunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Anyone book their flights yet? Aer Lingus still seem incredibly expensive (€610 return on the cheap days).

Going to have to start thinking about kicking off the training plan soon enough.

Check out gohop.ie, was just looking at flights to the NYCM myself.

Krusty_Clown

Brianderunner wrote: »

Check out gohop.ie, was just looking at flights to the NYCM myself.

€0.52 more expensive and via US Airways, which has to rate among the suckiest airlines in the world. Skyscanner.ie produces similar results.

KentuckyPete

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Anyone book their flights yet? Aer Lingus still seem incredibly expensive (€610 return on the cheap days).

Going to have to start thinking about kicking off the training plan soon enough.

Sh1t, I haven't sone anything yet. I must get it boxed off this weekend.

Meanwhile I was out running with a lad recently who reckons that to break 3:00 in Boston you need to plan to run asplit of 1:27:30/1:33:30.

Jaysus, are the hills in the second half really that bad? I'd be afraid of a serious blowup if I ran 1:27 over the first half.

Krusty_Clown

KentuckyPete wrote: »

Sh1t, I haven't sone anything yet. I must get it boxed off this weekend.

Meanwhile I was out running with a lad recently who reckons that to break 3:00 in Boston you need to plan to run asplit of 1:27:30/1:33:30.

Jaysus, are the hills in the second half really that bad? I'd be afraid of a serious blowup if I ran 1:27 over the first half.

I'm playing the waiting game, waiting for the Aer Lingus 'sale'. If Aer Lingus start to pump up their prices, the other airlines will still be around the €500-€600 mark. Still, I don't want to pay that kind of money.