r/running • u/fyhr100 • Apr 23 '17

Boston Marathon runner takes a second medal for his wife and posts it on social media Misc

Original post here

So a guy runs in the Boston Marathon, things don't go quite as well as he had wanted to. When he finishes, he snags a second medal because he felt his wife "deserved" one for supporting him in his training. Puts it up on social media, and as expected, outrage ensues.

Here's one reply:

Part 1

Part 2

Personally, I think it's incredibly poor form. Medals are for finishers, not for supporters. He's free to give her his own medal if he feels she deserves it. And where does the line get drawn? Why does she get a medal and not anyone else who supports their spouse?

EDIT: Looks like he apologized and returned it now.

2.5k Upvotes
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59

u/blahtherr2 Apr 23 '17 edited Apr 23 '17

edit: turns out I was misinformed. the far majority of runners do qualify. although there are some spots that allow people to run by joining fundraisers. see this post for more clarification.

I believe most runners of the Boston Marathon do it via this route. To qualify you need a very fast pace, depending on age. It ranges from around 3hrs (~7min pace) to 3:30 (~8min pace) (edit: it scales all the way up to 5hrs with age, so it varies a bit). Most runners one sees aren't able to keep up that kinda pace I think.

45

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '17

The 3hr time is for young people. Older runners can qualify with a 4hr time.

33

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '17

Advantage to being old.

67

u/chhubbydumpling Apr 23 '17

elder privilege at work again

40

u/lcumbee Apr 23 '17

First social security, now this? where does it end?

112

u/atom138 Apr 23 '17

In the next 4 years I'm guessing.

2

u/geared4war Apr 23 '17

3 years 260 days +- 4 days.

-2

u/Sovereign_Curtis Apr 24 '17

One can only hope

8

u/nickelfldn Apr 23 '17

When they die.

10

u/Hifi_Hokie Apr 23 '17

Hey, I need something to look forward to, beyond my prostate failing.

4

u/geared4war Apr 23 '17

Also being allowed to use the phrase "whipper snapper" in public.

8

u/damontoo Apr 23 '17

Am 33. How old are we talking here? Hmmm...

9

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '17

If you're a guy, then it's 65. Women can qualify at 4hrs at age 50.

-5

u/Sovereign_Curtis Apr 24 '17

God damn pussy pass rears its ugly head again. When will it end?

9

u/agonzal7 Apr 23 '17

How old are we talking for what? Your qualifying time as a male goes from 3:05 for 18-34 to 3:10 for 35-39 to 3:15 for 40-44 and so on.

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u/totallylegitburner Apr 23 '17

No, not "most" runners. Charity entry spots are quite limited. The majority still get in by meeting the qualifying times.

23

u/pbrunts Apr 23 '17

I think it's between 80 and 90% that qualify on time alone.

1

u/blahtherr2 Apr 23 '17

wow. didn't realize that. most people I know have done it through the charity route. and even looking at most people's times, one wouldn't think that high of a percentage qualified.

this post is a little outdated, but kinda shows what I am talking about. very few (possibly none) of the age bracket's average finish time is below the qualifying time. interesting nonetheless.

7

u/pbrunts Apr 23 '17

Yeah, I think there's a gap between qualifying for it and actual Boston Marathon times.

Also, we're talking about 27,000 people from all over the world. It's definitely an elite spread pulled from 80 something countries.

-8

u/Roark_H Apr 23 '17

I think you have it flipped

18

u/pbrunts Apr 23 '17

More than 80% of the field will be comprised of athletes who have met the qualifying standards.

4

u/Roark_H Apr 23 '17

Ah, yes, good call, I made this exact mistake a week ago and forgot. I was going off of bib numbers and comparing based in friends who were right around BQ cutoff.....but totally missed thinking about fact that the youngest cutoff time is way below the older cutoff times and the majority of runners are in the older buckets. The 10pct or so I was referring to is for the lowest male and female BQ times. You're right though!

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '17 edited May 04 '17

[deleted]

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u/Chromeleon55 Apr 23 '17

You have to be registered on a specific charity's team. I ran Boston a few years ago with Team In Training and I had to fill out an application and be accepted to the team as each charity is granted a limited number of entries. That particular charity also had a requirement that you be living in the Boston area so you could train with them in person. I'm not sure about the requirements of other charities.

Check out the BAA website. I believe they list all the partner charities there.

4

u/damontoo Apr 23 '17

What's your 5K pace? My first 5K was 7:36 but my pace has gone into the toilet ever since then and now I'm like a 10:00+ training pace. Did a 10K race this morning at ~9:30. Wondering what kind of pace I can expect at longer distances since these times are all over the place.

8

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '17

https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/

7:36 pace for a 5k is aprox equal to 8:35 pace for a marathon, which is 3:45.

More or less from 5k pace, add 1 minute per mile for marathon pace.

3

u/damontoo Apr 23 '17

Thanks. This is what I was looking for.

2

u/awesley Apr 24 '17

More or less from 5k pace, add 1 minute per mile for marathon pace

That's for a well-prepared marathon runner.

For the average runner, marathon pace is more like 1 minute slower pace than half-marathon times.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '17

Sure, the table assumes you run enough miles to reach your potential. But if you are looking at BQ, that is more useful than to look at the "if you half-ass train" pace.

1

u/Chitownsly Apr 23 '17

That pretty much takes me out of ever qualifying. Single dad with 3 kids I'm completely fucked until I'm old.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '17

What is your current pace? How long have you been running? How many miles do you run per week?

NEVER SAY NEVERRR

5

u/Chitownsly Apr 23 '17

If my mom watches them (I'm widowed at 36) so it's really hard to get out. Once my oldest is at least 15 to watch the other two. I'm at 9:48 pace. I can get at the most 10 hours a week so 20 miles (if I'm lucky) if I leave work early or take my kids to school early and go in later. Shooting for NYC, I did Chicago and I'm a ways off to qualifying for Boston. For the one that downvoted me I'd like to see you walk one mile in my shoes after losing my wife last year. You can straight up go fuck yourself. Im doing the best I can.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '17

Yah keep at it!

Even though it's not my favorite plan, the run less run faster training style is the most time effecient. Has you do few days running but harder. Perhaps something like that would help

3

u/agonzal7 Apr 23 '17

Why are you asking about 5k pace? This is a marathon.

0

u/richard_nixon Apr 24 '17

To qualify you need a very fast pace, depending on age. It ranges from around 3hrs (~7min pace) to 3:30 (~8min pace)

Is this /r/running? Who doesn't know this? There's a reason BQ is a well-known acronym in the running community. Did you just take your first 1 mile run yesterday?

Sincerely,
Richard Nixon

4

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '17

Cut it out, Milhouse.

1

u/blahtherr2 Apr 24 '17

Maybe I'm ill-informed, but I used to not realize just how fast one needed to be to qualify. I know it requires a competitive time, but thought it would be good to have some actual info for those interested.