Engage in conversation with an avid runner and it won’t be long before the topic turns to the Boston Marathon. Boston is the oldest, most iconic annual marathon in the world and qualifying to enter it is a goal of many a runner.
To apply for entry to Boston you must run a “BQ” in a certified marathon during Boston’s qualification period (usually late September to early September of the following year). A BQ is a marathon finish time at or better than the Boston Qualifying Standard published by the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) for one’s age and gender. For me, a 60 year old male, the standard is 3 hours 50 minutes (3:50:00).
However, there are always more applicants than the maximum field size (typically 30,000 runners) so an application is not sufficient. To actually gain entry into the race you have to beat your qualifying standard by at least the cutoff time. The length of the cutoff time is set by the BAA and is used to trim the applicant pool down to the field size limit and insures that only the fastest runners gain entry.
This works for the BAA but is a nuisance for runners. When they line up for their qualification race they won’t know how much faster than their standard they need to be because the cutoff time is not determined until the BAA counts up the number of applicants during the registration period in September. Runners therefore have to hedge their bets. A reasonable guess may be to beat their standard by 5 to 10 minutes.
It is a classic market demand situation and many marathons will actively promote their ability to BQ runners. For example, there are the BQ.2 Marathon Races in Geneva, IL and Grand Rapids, MI where odds are better than 50% that a runner will BQ. This is accomplished through scheduling the race for ideal weather conditions (45–50 degrees with low humidity) and providing the support that normally only elite runners get.
As you might guess, the Boston Marathon has a relatively high percentage of BQ’s because, after all, excluding charity and disabled runners, its entrants have already shown themselves capable of a BQ. But there’s a lovely irony in this. In 2019, for example, there were 22,641 runners accepted on the basis of their BQ (less cutoff) time yet only 8,878 runners, well under half of them, ran a BQ in that race. It is much harder to run Boston than it is to get into it.
Another compelling market strategy is for the race to be run on a downhill course. In 2019, of the top 12 marathons for highest percentage of runners finishing with a BQ, nine of them were on downhill courses. And four of these used the same course in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle: the Palouse to Cascades Trail in Iron Horse State Park near North Bend, WA.
The trail drops gently and consistently just over 2000 feet as it winds its way through Iron Horse State Park. Most prominent of the events that use this course are the Tunnel Marathons of North Bend, WA; three races held in June, August, and September where more than 30% of the finishers BQ.
The effect of a downhill slope on a runner’s pace has been quantified. Strava, the social network for recreational athletes, has done the big data thing on its users’ records to relate a runner’s mile pace on a flat course to graded courses (uphill and downhill).
Strava’s model uses the premise of equivalent heartrate. A runner’s heartrate will increase if she runs faster on a flat course or maintains her speed running uphill. Referencing her heartrate recorded during uphill/downhill runs, Strava calculates her Grade Adjusted Pace (GAP), the pace that she could achieve at that heartrate on a flat course.
One can flip GAP around to determine the benefit of a downhill marathon. Using my own data I have found that the -1.5% grade of the Tunnel Marathon course knocks about 13 seconds off of my marathon pace. The first 2.6 miles of the Tunnel Marathon course is flat, so for the remaining 23.6 miles I am likely to run a total of 5 or so minutes faster than on a flat course. This is an enormous benefit towards achieving a BQ and improving one’s margin against the as yet undisclosed cutoff time.
But the benefit of running downhill comes at a cost. Uncontrolled, that extra speed will generate more force on the body with each foot strike. And there is a tendency for the runner to lean backwards a touch to control his speed. With his center of mass too far back the runner’s feet will land heel first thus putting too much stress on the knees and quads.
To compensate, the runner has to bend forward at the ankles to match the torso’s angle to the ground that it holds while running on a flat course. To protect her knees the runner must take shorter, faster steps. Without these corrections there will be serious cramping and pain towards the end of the race and a longer recovery period afterwards.
Like all things marathon, one must practice before a downhill race by including significant hill work in the training plan. Running uphill strengthens the leg muscles making them more resilient to downhill punishment. Coming back down the hill allows for practicing the proper downhill form.
You may ask why I am so concerned about a BQ given that I am already entered in Boston 2021 as a charity runner. Well, it’s because I also want to run Boston as a qualified runner in 2022. You can call it ego, mid-life crisis, bucket list, or another chance to give a big FU to Parkinson’s. Whatever. I like to set goals.
I registered for the June 2021 edition of the Tunnel Marathon (aka “The Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon”). And I also registered for the Super Marathon that uses roughly the same course to be held 2 weeks later. The latter race was a backup in the event of injury or cancellation. Originally, all I wanted was a shot at a robust BQ; I wasn’t intending to do both of them.
But then I realized that doing two marathons two weeks apart would be a good way to start training for the WMM wherein several of the races are to be held on consecutive weekends.
As it turned out they were two very different races.
Besides the downhill slope, the signature (and absolutely awesome) feature of the Tunnel Marathons is running through the Snoqualmie Tunnel. Formerly used for a railroad, it was abandoned in 1980 and is now part of a rail trail in Iron Horse State Park.
The tunnel is about 2.3 miles long and the course enters it early in the race. Whatever the conditions are outside, inside it is cold, damp, and very dark.
Runners wear headlamps hoping to see where they are going. But even with the headlamp it was difficult. I found that my breath would condense in a cloud in front of my face obscuring my sightline.
I experimented. Sometimes I held my breath to prevent the cloud formation or I’d duck below or around my exhale so as to see past it. Mostly I just ran carefully while looking downwards in front of me so that I might see and avoid ground hazards.
With at most 600 runners in these races the issue was not so much what was in front of you. It was easy to avoid others. The real danger was underneath you. At times the tunnel ground was uneven, puddled, or riddled with pot-holes. One could easily trip or roll an ankle.
In fact, as I read the day after the race, Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema broke her foot in the tunnel during a mishap in the first race. I did see a runner hobbling after the tunnel exit but all I could offer her were condolences and a fist bump. Had I recognized her and not been in a hurry I might have taken the opportunity to speak with her about the evils of the filibuster.
The weather on that first one was ideal for me. Cool and rainy, I felt very comfortable throughout the race though I got thoroughly soaked. I slowed a bit near the end but did not really hit a wall. Ultimately I turned in a 3:42:35.6 which means I can withstand up to 7:24 in cutoff time.
The cutoff time has never been as high as 7 minutes for the full 30,000 runner Boston field. It is 7:47 for the 2021 race but that is mainly because the field size was reduced from 30,000 to 20,000 runners this time around for pandemic safety. Thus I have high confidence that in Boston 2022 the cutoff time will be less than 7:24 and I will be admitted as a qualified runner. Thank you downhill course.
With my BQ in the bag I was free to take it slow and easy on the subsequent Super Marathon. Tunnel aside, this course is stunningly beautiful replete with forested trails, waterfalls, and mountain streams. I looked forward to taking it in more thoughtfully this time around.
Good thing too because this second one was held on the weekend of the now infamous Pacific Northwest heat dome of June 2021. Race day temperatures were predicted at higher than 100. For safety the race director moved the race time up to 6 am in hopes of a cooler start and actively discouraged runners from seeking a BQ or a PR (personal record) that day.
That must have hurt considering that the BQ is the race’s raison d’être but the race director was keeping the welfare of the runners foremost. Additionally, more than the usual allotment of medical personnel were on the course this time in the event of heat related injuries.
This was a good test for my plan of running at least some of the WMM at a slower than my normal pace. It had been suggested by some friends and family members that I might not have the wherewithal to reign myself in. They needn’t have worried.
I found it easy to give myself a more leisurely pace. At times I chatted with other runners, something I hardly ever do. And I stopped at each water station to drink several cups and walk a few hundred yards before picking up the pace again. Stopping is something I’ve never done on a race but it was more than appropriate this time given the heat and the BQ monkey already off my back.
I turned in a 4:23:37.6 for the Super Marathon which would likely be about 4:27:00 if converted to a flat course as several of the WMM are. Most of the WMM have a time limit for all runners at something like 6 hours. I’m good with that.
The heat took its toll on the rest of the Super Marathon field as well. The race website boasts a historical 34% BQ rate but this time around the unofficial rate was less than 12% (approximately 40 out of 339 finishers). By contrast, with better weather, The Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon yielded 213 BQ’s (40.5%).
So far so good. Two marathons in two weeks with no lasting ill effects.
In the next few posts I’ll discuss my training strategy for the WMM 2021.
COVID watch: A month ago it appeared that we were turning the corner on the pandemic and that the races would proceed as planned. But the Delta variant is menacing the world now so race directors are sounding more cautious. Some specific details by city are listed below.
Berlin: Germany is still mandating COVID testing for all unvaccinated travelers entering the country. The case count is rather low now so there’s cause for optimism. Nonetheless the race’s website is keeping open the possibility of mandatory testing to enter the race and perhaps masking during it.
London: The Delta variant is surging in the UK and the CDC is recommending avoiding travel there. The UK, however, has removed all lockdown restrictions arguing that the very high vaccination rate among UK residents will eventually decrease infection rate. It’s a dicey situation now.
Tokyo: Tokyo 2021 is still restricted to only residents of Japan. I have been offered a deferral to Tokyo 2022 to be held on March 6 which is an acceptable compromise though I would so much prefer the original plan.
Chicago, Boston, New York: In the US, the Delta variant has caused a return of mask mandates and renewed calls for the unvaccinated to get the jabs. But the regions most at risk (South and Midwest) are no more likely to heed this guidance than they did the first time around. Boston, New York, and Chicago are located in lower risk regions so these races still look assured but as we all know, things can go sideways rapidly in the US these days.
As you may already know I am a charity runner in the London, Boston, and New York marathons this year. If you share the passion that the Michael J Fox Foundation and I have for finding a Parkinson’s cure please consider contributing to any of the WMM I am running in as a member of Team Fox (links below). All donations are meaningful and greatly appreciated.
fundraise.michaeljfox.org/boston-marathon-2021/joesgottarun
fundraise.michaeljfox.org/londonmarathon2021/joesgottarun
fundraise.michaeljfox.org/tcs-nyc-marathon-2021/joesgottarun
