Talk:Boston Marathon

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rated as B-Class on the assessment scale

1 Race date?
2 Professionals/Amateurs
3 Qualifier?
4 Length
5 Copyright violation
6 Heartbreak Hill
7 In Space
8 Rules?
9 Qualifying
10 Appearance fees

[edit] Race date?

The first paragraph states it happens on April 19 and then a later paragraph says its the 3rd Monday in April? Which is it? RedWolf 01:43, Dec 11, 2003 (UTC)

Their website says Patriot's Day is the 3rd Monday. I changed the first two paragraphs. Wake 04:27, 12 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I'm tweaking that section as well: the Monday date is due to Patriot's Day, not Boston blue laws as suggested. - Pjmorse 12:49, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Professionals/Amateurs

I also notice the 1st paragraph is heavy on the professional aspect. However, amateurs far outnumber professionals. Wake 04:32, 12 Dec 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Qualifier?

Is Boston the only marathon that requires a "qualifier"? When did that start? Is it just to keep the level of competition up?

It's probably just to keep the number of participants down. The New York Marathon has a lottery, although if you're a member of the Road Runners club and run a certain number of shorter races, you can be exempted from the lottery. -- Plutor 14:30, 19 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The qualifying standard was introduced in an effort to keep numbers down. (Obviously, it "failed" in that numbers are much higher now.) The NYCM does have a qualifying standard, but it's faster and essentially only exists to allow talented athletes to bypass the regular registration hurdles, which are difficult due to high demand. - Pjmorse 12:48, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

This article says that the only other major marathon that requires qualification is the Olympics:

Besides the Olympic Trials and the Olympic marathons, Boston is the only major marathon that requires a qualifying time.

I'm pretty sure that the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics requires qualification as well, which would make this statement not entirely accurate.74.116.184.237 20:33, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Length

The length has changed since 1897, when it was 24.5mi. Trekphiler 21:36, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Copyright violation

Reverted copyvio from http://boston.about.com/od/sportsandrecreation/a/runners_city.htm -- Perspective 18:02, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Heartbreak Hill

The heartbreak hill section needs a more reliable source than a blog. -- MisterHand 22:23, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] In Space

Should we include how astronaut Suni Williams will be "running" it this year on the ISS? [1] --zandperl 01:50, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rules?

What are the exact rules? Discarding clothing? Changing clothing? Changing shoes? (What are the best shoes for very wet conditions?) Leaving the course and re-entering? Links to complete rule details and discussions?-69.87.203.29 14:31, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Qualifying

Many of the racers are "fund raising", which is another way to enter (through organizations?), besides "qualifying" by time -- the article does not say anything about that! And if the article is not going to have more complete info about qualifying times, it should have a direct link there to such info. Here are some: [2] [3] -69.87.204.133 17:04, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Appearance fees

How many runners get paid how much in appearance fees, openly or under-the-table?-69.87.193.102 01:44, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

That information, unfortunately, is not released to the public, but conventional wisdom in the running media (i.e. nothing that can be cited, again unfortunately) is that the total appearance fee budget for a marathon like Boston is on the same order as the total prize money pool. --Pjmorse 12:46, 17 April 2007 (UTC)