http://www.boston.com/sports/marathon/articles/2010/12/19/baa_is_caught_in_a_numbers_game/?page=full
After numerous meetings and research, the BAA has narrowed its options to what race director Dave McGillivray called some “necessary adjustments’’ and “a few innovative approaches.’’ The final formula will involve a combination of adjustments to the qualifying standards, field size, and registration start date and window during which runners can qualify. It is highly unlikely any form of lottery will be instituted.
(in 2010), the BAA granted non-qualifying invitations to 5,740 runners in a field of 26,790. The invitational entries, priced at $250 each (nearly double the $130 fee for qualifiers), were distributed in allotments both massive — 1,000 to principal sponsor John Hancock, 500 to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 498 to foreign tour operators — and minute enough to accommodate privileged runners connected to the BAA and its partners.