omg what a selfish twat. This is the "I deserve" culture we live in. If i decide to identify as a pregnant person can i whine and squeal and "earn" a spot too?
I fully support deferrals for pregnant women. As someone who was unable to run during pregnancy and who is also subject to all the other reasons humans might miss a marathon, such as injury or sickness, I think most men don't appreciate the amount of time pregnancy takes away from running and it's overall impact. For an event like Boston, you have to string together a significant amount of time to train, qualify and then actually run the event. I think I had one such stretch between 2011 and 2020, when I birthed my three children. I think of having children as more of a biological imperative than a lifestyle choice.
You are right, however, that the deferral will naturally result in tougher qualifying times for the 25 to 35 age groups. We should expect to see a higher percentage of qualifiers in those groups, and to keep things fair, a significant shift in the qualifying time to reflect that. Personally, I'd rather have a tougher qualifying time and the option of pregnancy deferral. And yes, they should require some kind of proof of pregnancy. Since all pregnant women require prenatal care, that should be extremely easy to obtain.
I run regularly still(have since 1978) and I am glad for a lot of reasons that I scratched that marathon itch many times in the distant past and have zero interest in participating and especially training for one. As far as Boston goes, my little beef with that event is not only the soft qualifying times, but the requirement to additionally supercede your age group qualifying time by several minutes. Back in the days when I ran there ('83, '86) to get in th the BAA Marathon you ran your qualifying time, wrote a check out for your entry(maybe $15.00), sent in your. entry and crossed your fingers hoping to get in. If you didn't you tried again the next year. Plus, be it online or snail mail, if you get in, good for you.
If you don't, well, crap. Try again next year.(Personally, I never quite understood the many runners who define their running selves by whether or not they have "run Boston.") I feel much the same way about the pregnancy deferral. Have a safe, healthy pregnancy and delivery and line up a babysitter and get training again.
omg what a selfish twat. This is the "I deserve" culture we live in. If i decide to identify as a pregnant person can i whine and squeal and "earn" a spot too?
I fully support deferrals for pregnant women. As someone who was unable to run during pregnancy and who is also subject to all the other reasons humans might miss a marathon, such as injury or sickness, I think most men don't appreciate the amount of time pregnancy takes away from running and it's overall impact. For an event like Boston, you have to string together a significant amount of time to train, qualify and then actually run the event. I think I had one such stretch between 2011 and 2020, when I birthed my three children. I think of having children as more of a biological imperative than a lifestyle choice.
You are right, however, that the deferral will naturally result in tougher qualifying times for the 25 to 35 age groups. We should expect to see a higher percentage of qualifiers in those groups, and to keep things fair, a significant shift in the qualifying time to reflect that. Personally, I'd rather have a tougher qualifying time and the option of pregnancy deferral. And yes, they should require some kind of proof of pregnancy. Since all pregnant women require prenatal care, that should be extremely easy to obtain.
I run regularly still(have since 1978) and I am glad for a lot of reasons that I scratched that marathon itch many times in the distant past and have zero interest in participating and especially training for one. As far as Boston goes, my little beef with that event is not only the soft qualifying times, but the requirement to additionally supercede your age group qualifying time by several minutes. Back in the days when I ran there ('83, '86) to get in th the BAA Marathon you ran your qualifying time, wrote a check out for your entry(maybe $15.00), sent in your. entry and crossed your fingers hoping to get in. If you didn't you tried again the next year. Plus, be it online or snail mail, if you get in, good for you.
If you don't, well, crap. Try again next year.(Personally, I never quite understood the many runners who define their running selves by whether or not they have "run Boston.") I feel much the same way about the pregnancy deferral. Have a safe, healthy pregnancy and delivery and line up a babysitter and get training again.