We interrupt this scheduled post to discuss a hot topic… the Boston Marathon cut off time! To get into the marathon in 2019 you had to run better than 4:52 faster than your qualifying time. Wha?? Woah, that is huge. Even though it sucks, they also raised the standards for qualifying in 2020 by 5 minutes. It is good because there’s lot of disappointment in working your butt off to qualify, only to get cut and not be able to actually run Boston! Of course I speak from experience 😉
****** back to other stuff now…. *****
Once a year the Jr High band gets a special opportunity to go on the field with the High School marching band. This is really quite a treat because our HS marching band has won many contests and awards – they are top notch! Here is the full band, without the Jr High…
The Jr High band got to perform one song on the field at the football game a few weeks ago. To keep it simple, they marched on the field in lines. None of the fancy choreography the that HS band does, but it was probably the first opportunity for a lot of these kids to memorize a song. That’s a pretty big deal!
The best part for Zach? He got to be in the front of a line! It was funny because one of my friends who hadn’t seen in him in awhile pointed out another shorter boy in the line up and thought that was Zach. I said “oh no, that’s not Zach. He’s grown 3 inches since last year!” He’s taller than his sister now! He’s on the 45 yard line…
They played “Good Times” by Owl City. Remember that song? If not, here it is!…..
The video was taken by another parent, so it’s not focusing on Zach primarily, but he did get a couple of zoom shots 😉 I think they did a great job. It’s a really good song for the trumpets too!
When Zach gets into high school next year he might have a hard time decicing if he wants to join cross country again, or go into marching band. Good news though – you can do both! It’s a bit of a trade off I think because you can march at parades, but you don’t get to march at the football games (I think? – due to the fact you miss band practices when you are at XC practices). Still, it’s an option! Personally I’d like to see him do both, AND still make the honor roll. Keeping up the high hopes!
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Q: Did you, or your friends, get cut from Boston 2019?
Q: Did you play sports in high school?
Not me. Concert band, and ballet lessons.
Q: Do you go to football games?
We only go to a few HS football games. We don’t watch it on TV at home either, but I’d much rather see it live than watch it on TV!
Fortunately, I had a -14BQ this year so I was able to register last week. I had one friend who just missed getting in by a few seconds and a couple who are legacy runners and registered back in August. With the change in standards, I doubt I will be able to BQ again. Wonder what the cur will be NEXT year? Less than a minute maybe? I was a hippie in high school. It was the 60s. Woodstock and Vietnam and all that craziness. I have been to a couple of Notre Dame games but I can’t afford Bears tickets. And they usually suck anyway.
That is one heck of a good cushion. I’m sure that felt good to get the acceptance and avoid waiting for a decision! Now we need to hope for some decent weather in April!
I haven’t run a marathon to BQ, but with the standards changing, it’s like fewer people will be able to say they BQed even if the cutoff time is lower next year. But it still stinks for anyone who BQs and doesn’t get in, although by now everyone knows you have to be like 5 minutes under. I think with so many more marathon options people can be choosy about a course that maybe helps them get a slight advantage, or either do one of the last chance races that are good for two years. Those have to affect the numbers.
Love the band pics! I was in high school band and that’s a huge band with all the kids from both schools. Way to go!
I’m still surprised it was such a high number. Several of my friends who were targeting 2020 are now feeling that they won’t be able to make it. Maybe they will surprise themselves!
I hope so. It makes me sad to see people write things like “Oh, I’ll never BQ now”. You gotta believe…
Also, the downhill marathons always get blamed for this, and I can see why. I do agree because I’ve never known anyone who ran slower down hill than up. But IMHO, there are soooo many marathons now- not just downhill- where you can be picky about things like the course and choose the fastest ones. There’s even websites that rank marathon courses. All that data is just like how Garmins and other technology help people.
Great band! Nice crisp, clear, bright sounds. I think Zach should do band. 😉 This is coming from a musician AND a runner!
So, when the times are lowered by 5 min, do you still think you’ll have to be 5 min faster than THAT, or is the lowering so that basically if you BQ then you definitely get in?
I think pretty much everyone who qualifies will get into 2020. It doesn’t really change anything for me. I’ve always targeted 5 under (3:50 for a 3:55 BQ), and I got in with 3:53. So, when I turned 50, I went up to 4:00, but still, you know you need to get 3:55. Seems the same to me! When I get back in marathon shape, I’d probably still try to go for 3:50, and hopefully it would end up around 3:53 again. Well, “IF” I get back into marathon shape!
That makes sense! I think it’s good then that they changed the time because it more accurately reflects the name. A BQ should get you into the race! If it doesn’t get you into the race, then it’s like, well why call it a BQ!?
The first time I BQ’ed I needed a 3:40 and I did it in 3:38 but I got in. The second time I needed a 3:35 but I did 3:28 and I was good to go. I am nowhere near that shape right now! Also I went up and age group since then so I guess as a 36 year old I would still need a 3:35??