Boston 2012 or Not?

This is the big week for people who are planning to run the Boston Marathon in 2012. And I have 99% decided I’m not one of them.

Crazy things have happened with Boston’s registration over the years. I posted about my chaotic experience registering last year – thankfully I stuck with it, clicking “submit payment” to the tune of $139 about 30 times before I finally got a confirmation – I had no idea the marathon would fill up in 8 hours.

So we all knew changes were coming. Too many people were qualifying and registering to run Boston, and the streets and organizers can only accommodate so many people. The changes were announced earlier this year and it was big news among my running friends.

Bottom line, yesterday was the first day to “apply” to register if you’ve qualified by 20 minutes or more. Then there will be later waves for those who met their time with a margin of 10 or more minutes, then 5 or more minutes, then all who qualified by less than 5 minutes. No one can say for sure when it will fill up, but most are betting that some people who have qualified by less than 10 minutes but more than 5 will make it in.

By way of background, when you’re trying to qualify, you talk about getting your BQ (Boston qualifying time), then after that you want to get your Re-Q (requalifying time, used to be the same as your prior time unless you aged into an older bracket), but for 2013, the times are being moved to 5 minutes faster, so to get a re-Q, you’ll have to meet your new time.

I got my “re-Q” but I didn't qualify by enough to apply to register with those who have the 20 minute cushion, but I can still apply eventually. But I don’t think I’m going to. I loved the Boston Marathon, I’d probably put it as one of my favorites of all time. Why not run in 2012?

(1) I don’t love travelling for races that I’ve already run.

(2) I feel like I shouldn’t take a second turn at the race, knowing others were shut-out and haven’t gotten their first chance yet.

(3) I think I want to run the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon next spring, and if I run that weighted, it wouldn’t help me PR in Boston.

(4) Boston is always right by our wedding anniversary, and I was fine with (should I say hubby was fine with?) travelling for it once, and I’m sure I’ll do it again, but I don’t want that race to become an anniversary tradition; I’d rather host our traditional rehearsal dinner recreated menu dinner party, and then celebrate our anniversary together.

(5) As is the case with all my trips lately, just not enough vacation time – we want to go to China next fall for a long vacation instead of Europe (we’re trying to just hit Italy every other year), and if I added some days (at least 2 probably since the race is Monday and I’d travel home Tuesday), it would take away from the time we could spend in China.

(6) One of my best friends has been trying to qualify and she hasn’t quite made it yet, so I’d rather wait to repeat Boston until I can go with her.

But on the other hand, it IS one of my favorite marathons ever, the jackets last year were crappy so it would be nice to get a good one in 2012 (assuming they’ve fixed them), even if my good friend isn’t running it, I’ll have lots of friends who do and it would be fun to run with them, and my Bataan training would hopefully leave me able to run Boston, if not PR.

But no, I’m really thinking no. I need to put all those pro-Boston arguments out of my head. Or let them in my head and apply to register when it’s my turn, because if I don’t decide, it will be decided for me, since the race will certainly sell out again.

So I’m not registering. Not registering. Not registering. Right? Right….