A Good Question
The other day I got an email from someone who went on a well-positioned rant about today’s marathons. He noted that his finish time 20 years ago at the Carlsbad Marathon (then the San Diego Marathon) had him finishing toward the back of the pack; today, he’d finish in the top 5 percent. I saw he sent his commentary to a bunch of people, but paid it no mind until some of the others started to weigh in. I’m not going to name any names, but most of you who regularly read Runner’s World would recognize them. Why, some wondered, has the industry allowed Boston to stay the only qualifying marathon? Now I’m wondering too. Should we have more races that require qualifying times, particularly smaller marathons that could use a boost in prestige? And should we leave the bigger, sure-to-sellout events to anyone who can register quick enough?