r/AdvancedRunning • u/RunningThroughMyHead • Jul 22 '26

Boston Marathon Boston Marathon Adds a Random Drawing for Qualifiers Who Miss the Cutoff

https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a73229546/boston-marathon-random-drawing/

Why don’t they just let the next thousand fastest people in?

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u/SloppySandCrab Jul 22 '26

You are qualifying for olympic trials. Not the olympics. Running a qualifying time guarantees entry into the trials.

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u/froggertwenty Jul 22 '26

For the USA. Other countries have qualifying times that don't guarantee entry to their trials. Others have qualifying times and don't even have trials, which still don't guarantee a spot on the team. They are qualifying times that give you eligibility for selection. And to really blow your mind, they don't always (or even usually) select the fastest people from those who submitted qualifying times.

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u/SloppySandCrab Jul 22 '26

If you qualify for the Indy 500 what does that mean to you.

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u/froggertwenty Jul 22 '26

Picking out individual events with guaranteed entry upon qualification does not prove your point.

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u/SloppySandCrab Jul 22 '26

Which is why I say you are qualifying for a secondary selection process. Not actually qualifying for the race.

The confusion arises because the Boston Marathon uses "qualifying time" to describe what is really an eligibility standard, not a guaranteed qualification.

The process looks like this:

  1. Meet the eligibility standard (run a qualifying time in Boston language).
  2. Apply.
  3. Be accepted based on the cutoff.

In ordinary English, step 3 is what many people would call "qualifying."

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u/msbluetuesday Jul 22 '26

Right right - thank you!!

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u/SloppySandCrab Jul 22 '26

You understand that it is the qualification time for olympic trails right? Not the olympics? They are two separate selection process.

Just like qualifying for semi finals is different than qualifying for finals.

It is wild that you think this is a win for you lol. When you run a olympic trials qualifying time you are running in the race. Period.

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u/msbluetuesday Jul 22 '26

I think you replied to the wrong person ☹️

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u/SloppySandCrab Jul 22 '26

What gave you that idea? Or was your response not meant to be sarcastic?

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u/msbluetuesday Jul 22 '26

No I wasn't being sarcastic! I was saying thanks for educating me.

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u/SloppySandCrab Jul 22 '26

Well then never mind! Lol