IT'S TIME TO DIAL BACK OUR BOSTON MARATHON WORSHIP

QUALIFYING FOR THE Boston Marathon is a grit meter for me. I have raced it every year since 2013 and will continue to do so as long as I make the cut.

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Streaking the world's oldest marathon for over 10 years has been an honor-and a privilege. Throughout that time I saw how it changed after the 2013 bombing, raced both years Meb Keflezighi and Des Linden won their laurels, and ran virtually during the pandemic.

Boston is the holy grail for many runners. Every year, Boston-hopefuls train to meet qualifying times, only for some to get shut out by the influx of much faster registered runners.

For the 2025 race, you had to run 6:51 faster than the actual Boston qualifying time (BQ) for your age group. Every couple of years, the time standard goes down, making qualifying even harder. But outside of the 10 percent of the field-size registration that's open to charity runners, improving your marathon pace is the only way in.

When I attended a four-day-long camp that was organized by women's running apparel company Oiselle in 2023, fellow participants and I discussed the Boston Marathon at length.

Oftentimes in the mess hall, they ruminated on when it would be their time to qualify and whether they'd have to wait until they turned a certain age, when the time standard would be more attainable.