Imagine the look of horror on my face when I went to the Boston marathon website a few weeks ago to register for next years race and saw this….

How could this be? How could they have sold out all 25,000 slots in 8 hours?

At first I thought… is this a spoof or something? How could the race sell out in one day?
But that’s exactly what happened. I confirmed it with the race director Dave Mc Kilvary. The Boston marathon sold out in 8 hours and 3 minutes…Incredible!

I think a lot of people , including myself, were caught off guard and not really worried about registering on opening day, because last years race didn’t sell out until mid February. But,I guess the growing popularity of this race, and marathon running in general,caught the promoters by surprise. Add to that the ability to rapidly spread word about opening day of registration though social media outlets, and Bam , you have a selling frenzy! But 8 hours? c’mon.

To put this into perspective, most popular marathons of this size often take several months to sell out, and some never sell out. What makes this even more astonishing, is that this is the only race in the world in which the entrants have to qualify in order to get in. If you think that’s easy, consider this… a 33 year old man would have to run a qualifying race in under 3 hours and 10 minutes in order to even register for Boston. But that’s not all; assuming that you were lucky enough to achieve a qualifying time, that qualifying time is only good for about 18 months. This means that some of the people who qualified for the 2011 race, but who didn’t get in, will have to re-qualify by doing yet another race in order to register for Boston 2012. That’s gonna piss off a lot of people.

And what about me? Am I screwed? Well, thankfully, I was able to get in contact with the head of registration, Barbara Sicuso, who is also in charge of the mobility impaired division. As an impaired athlete with a qualifying time from last year’s race, she was able to reserve a spot for me and will mail me a paper application.

So after all the fuss and worrying about not getting into the race, it dawned on me….do I even want to do the race ? I’m really not sure my body can handle the training required to do another marathon. Maybe Ive forgotten just how bad this last exacerbation was. How it was one of the worst Ive ever had, and how it’s taken a lot of out me. With my lung function the way it is and my body getting weaker, would I really be able to pull this off for a 3rd time? Do I really wanna put myself though this again? To be honest, I don’t know right now, but at least I have the luxury of knowing that if I wanna get into the race, I can….which is something I really needed to hear .

I hope to come to a decision in the next few weeks.

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7 thoughts on “Boston Scare

  1. danielle10 says:

    It seriously amazes me that there are that many people who qualify, let alone that the event sold out that fast.

    Good to know you have the option of entering, though I know you'll seriously think about it first.

  2. teamshep says:

    Steve –

    If you decide you're going, you better let her know I'm coming as your guide. Yup. You're stuck with me. I am NOT going to set you loose on Boston without a Shep Guardian Angel …. that and I wouldn't mind getting your butt across the line in one piece (peace!) again. I would love it if Mike was there too, but you never know!

    Whatever you do, I'm with you — your Shep Sherpa! Would be fun to see the folks at the start! We'll have to coordinate this. Have race backpack will fill with your paraphanelia (sp)! Also – will try to talk to the Boston Based Sheps about seeing if we can pull together a course crew.

    "Mobility Challenged" Team Pre & Post event meals at Elephant & Castle???

    1. Thanks, but I couldn't put you through this again, especially since I cant pay for anyone's expenses like Mike did. Of course if you just happen to be in Boston that weekend…

      Right now it's still real iffy. I'll let everyone know by early January.

  3. mommato2beauties says:

    Well…if you decide to do it…keep me updated…I'll try and figure out how to get myself to BeanTown for race day. Where is the finish line…I would actually LOVE to be there to cheer you over it!

  4. teamshep says:

    Steve –
    PUT ME THROUGH THIS AGAIN???? YOU'RE SAYING THIS TO A CRAZY WOMAN WITH A WHIP???? OOOOHHHHH BOYFRIEND … YOU ARE GOING TO DROP ANOTHER 10 MINUTES IN 2011 AND I AM RIGHT THERE!

    You decide to do it and give me running room and I'll take care of the finances. We will have a lot of logistics to deal with. Remember – there are protective Shepard Trees in Boston and I am good at saving.

    Who else would be willing to carry your freaking nebulizer, water, snacks, and even figure out how to get your bib number and how to get the heck to the start?

    Put me through … SHEESH!!! Stay healthy and let me know in January. SERIOUSLY!!!

  5. mymusicallungs says:

    Ha ha -lots of fun going on here!
    Just wanted to say, you're bonkers, but I understand you!

    Plus, I knew there'd be a loophole for the mobility impaired athletes. SO good luck if you do choose to enter.

    Also, the London Marathon-the biggest charity marathon event in the world, sells out in hours, and you can only get provisionally accepted if you can prove just how much sponsorship money you are raising for your chosen charity. I know a bunch of people who have run it several times for Asthma UK.

    I'd love to think you could do that one, one day! xx

  6. kerri says:

    Because Steve and I have already talked about this subject, I am just going to say five words:

    Lizzy, I freaking LOVE you.

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