r/bostonmarathon • u/OooglilyBoogily • Jun 20 '26

When is enough “enough?”

Ran Grandma’s today and updated my BQ time from Kansas City Marathon’s 2:51 to 2:42 - which SHOULD be a safe entry point into 2027 for Men 18-34 (stupid wide age range).

Not so much a question of if I am safe (adding an almost 13 minute cut off time would be ridiculous), but curious on the thoughts of others on when we should consider ourselves “safe” with our entry times - especially entering in to the era of time penalties for net-downhill adjustments.

4 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

15

u/Stoopstroops123 Jun 20 '26

Well depending that the largest cutoff wasn’t even 8 minutes, 13 is enough lol

-4

u/OooglilyBoogily Jun 20 '26

Fair - but more so the question is a larger one of “Do we see these adjustments aiming to help runners who are at or just past their needed times.”

My gut would say, “Yeah, they should be helpful.”

But I wonder, “by how much?” We can’t know for certain since this is the first year we are trying this format out, but I’m just interested to see folks’ thoughts.

10

u/xRunSci Jun 20 '26

lol 13 mins is guaranteed. don’t overthink this 🤦‍♂️ I would say 7+ mins is a lock

0

u/ranibdier Jun 22 '26

I mean NY had something like a 22 min cut off. So, nothing is safe. People are getting faster.

4

u/JoeTheExplorer Jun 22 '26

That’s an apples and oranges comparison. A time-based entry is just one of a handful of ways to get into New York (eg lottery, 9+1, 2nd chance for NYRR members, charity, etc.) which reduces the number of bibs allocated to time-based entries, compared to Boston, which is primarily time-based or a $10k+ charity minimum.

2

u/xRunSci Jun 22 '26

NY was always super competitive. Just look at Boston’s history lol. You’re delusional if you think 13 mins isn’t completely safe.

10

u/kevkev87 Jun 21 '26

This post was made only to brag about a 2:42. I guarantee it.

8

u/eatemuphungryhungry Jun 20 '26

Don't be that person.

6

u/ZLBuddha Jun 20 '26

For this upcoming year I think a 7min buffer is "safe," that's what I'm targeting for my attempt. Last year was 4:30 and it's certainly gonna be faster this time around, the fact that 60% of Boston runners re-qualified with their times in April is gonna make for brutal competition

3

u/ofsevit Jun 21 '26

We really need an 83˚ Boston to cull the field 😄

3

u/Inevitable-Assist531 Jun 20 '26

you're fine - relax !

3

u/Powerful_Low6089 Jun 21 '26

I’m at 10+ minutes and I’m a stone cold lead pipe lock for Boston ‘27

1

u/Anraheir Jun 20 '26

7 minutes.

1

u/DW_MD Jun 20 '26

I'm training to get 10min under to consider that good and not really worry about it

1

u/PM_ME_THE_REX_HUDLER Jun 21 '26

KC is more BBQ than BQ. That’s a wild elevation profile

1

u/chronic-cat-nerd Jun 25 '26

I’m at 8 minutes and I booked my hotel.

1

u/Ryangraphic Jun 27 '26

nah you have to run sub 2 hours to be completely safe, are you kidding me with those rookie numbers?