2012 Boston Marathon Tracking Thread

[ChrisL]

I've talked to one runners who mentionned that people were taking their timing chip off so to not be tracked to be able to get in next year.

Wow- you mean they ran but officially deferred? That's crappy (and essentially banditting)

Well it's gaming the system but I wouldn't go so far as to call it banditing - they paid their fees didn't they?

They deferred, though, in order to maintain their spot for next year. That means they DNSed.

i guess it depends on your definition of banditing (and i suppose this situation is pretty unusual). a quick search google says "A bandit in a race is any person that runs the course and makes use of the race support but has not paid for the right to be there". by that definition, as joe dwarf said, they're not bandits because they paid to be there and they'll pay to be there again next year.

(not that i agree with what they did, at all - i just wouldn't technically call it banditing).

If banditing isn't the word, they we need a slimier one.

If this indeed the case, and a lot of them, it will be interesting to see what the RD will do about it ... If anyone who had officially deferred their registration to 2013, and happens to wear their bib and cross the finish line, or not ... and happen to have gotten a photo of themselves taken, they could probably do some some sort of search to match and DQ/BAN them for 2013 ....

The easiest solution would be to ask people to send their bib back with the chip to BAA, no bib, no pass.

[HCcD]

It is 28.8C / 32C humidex now in Ottawa, along with 25kph winds/ 40kph+ gusts at times ... so, can imagine what they went through in Beantown today, running in the marathon ...

Sure glad that I decided to boycott Boston this year, in protest of their change of registration and BQ standards, last Fall ...

[Jogger Barbie]

@40K
Lisa - 4:45:41


Finished ....
CinC's DH: 3:44:03
Mark (canal runner) - 3:47:47
Alain - 4:14:17
DJHL - 4:36:53
Robin - 4:39:03
Sylvie - 4:54:19


YAY Sylvie

And GO, Lisa!

[Jwolf]

Finished ....
CinC's DH: 3:44:03
Mark (canal runner) - 3:47:47
Alain - 4:14:17
DJHL - 4:36:53
Robin - 4:39:03
Sylvie - 4:54:19
Lisa - 5:01:38

YAY MANIACS!!!!

[Jogger Barbie]

Finished ....
CinC's DH: 3:44:03
Mark (canal runner) - 3:47:47
Alain - 4:14:17
DJHL - 4:36:53
Robin - 4:39:03
Sylvie - 4:54:19
Lisa - 5:01:38


CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!!

[deerdree]

but they're taking a spot from someone else for next year's race. that's the person who is getting hurt. it's one thing to defer, but i don't think it's fair to run the race twice.

I suppose. The person who is theoretically losing their spot would lose it whether or not the pseudo-banditer ran the course though. So really people are just miffed that they get to run the course twice on one qualifying time, even in horrible conditions and with no official time.

yeah, i see your point. i still think it's a fair thing to be miffed about.

[deerdree]

Finished ....
CinC's DH: 3:44:03
Mark (canal runner) - 3:47:47
Alain - 4:14:17
DJHL - 4:36:53
Robin - 4:39:03
Sylvie - 4:54:19
Lisa - 5:01:38


CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!!

[HCcD]

Congratulations, to everyone who finished what you started this morning ....

In particular, to Sylvie ... I bet this is one birthday that you will forever, remember .. And, don't forget that you had prayed for this day to happen, just not the weather forecast ....

[mcshame]

Lurking about, glad to see so many of the maniacs finished in brutal conditions.

[Avis]

Congratulations to the Maniacs and all their friends!

[Squish]

Congrats to all you maniac Maniacs for running and finishing today! You are all heroes in my eyes. I can't wait to hear race reports...I think. And I am super relieved that everyone finished safely.

[Doonst]

Lurking about, glad to see so many of the maniacs finished in brutal conditions.

me too

[deerdree]

RE: Banditting (or not)

With apologies, what exactly are these people doing? They start the race, then remove their time chips? How would that make them deferred to next year? Wouldn't they be recorded as DNFs? Or do DNFs automatically get in for next year?

Also, congrats to everyone who ran!!

allegedly, they're taking the chip off before they cross the start line, so there's no evidence (other than pictures, maybe) that they ran the race. on paper, they DNS'ed the race, which is one of the requirements for being able to defer to next year.

if they took off the chip after they'd crossed the start line, then yes, it would register as a DNF and they wouldn't be allowed to defer.

[Jogger Barbie]

It is 28.8C / 32C humidex now in Ottawa, along with 25kph winds/ 40kph+ gusts at times ... so, can imagine what they went through in Beantown today, running in the marathon ...

Warm and sunny here right now, though not nearly that warm.

I definitely have mixed feelings. It would have been awful out there today, and I am a terrible hot weather runner even with a chance to get acclimatized. So in a sense I'm glad that I never had to face those conditions or make a decision about deferring. However, I am looking at weeks of not running, or of very little running. In the final analysis, I'd probably rather suck up the awful weather and a PW...

[Jwolf]

It is 28.8C / 32C humidex now in Ottawa, along with 25kph winds/ 40kph+ gusts at times ... so, can imagine what they went through in Beantown today, running in the marathon ...

The finish line temps in Boston were listed as 29 on the website earlier.

[HCcD]

It is 28.8C / 32C humidex now in Ottawa, along with 25kph winds/ 40kph+ gusts at times ... so, can imagine what they went through in Beantown today, running in the marathon ...

The finish line temps in Boston were listed as 29 on the website earlier.

Remind me never to enter a marathon when both Lisa and Sylvie are registered, together ... aka Chicago 10-10-10 and, now Boston 2012 ...

Ottawa Race Weekend has had several years into the low 30s plus humidex, if I recall .. as, well as Manitoba and Quebec City, from personal experience ...

[MikeM]

Congrats to everyone for getting it done in those crazy conditions!

[Habs4ever]

Way to go Maniacs.

[Spirit Unleashed]

wow a 5 hour marathon in heat is brutal, especially with thousands of people around to hassle with.

[BJH]

I'm happy to hear everyone finished safely. Congratulations!!!

[CinC]

tough day out there - dave's comment 'it was the hardest race he's done'

brutal blisters, tough heat - when we were watching, it was interesting to notice the low bib numbers coming in later and later with the higher bib numbers. he said he got a bit of a 'pick up' when around 20miles, someone yelled out 'go 2 thousand whatever' (their bib numbers are assigned based on qualifying times) - dave's bib was 8xxx. so it helped put things into perspective.

both of the guys had tough days and were 30min off their goal times (our friend Mark came in at 3:28 - goal was 2:58) - it is what it is. they worked as hard as they could -that's all they could have done.

congrats maniacs who completed - wear that jacket and medal with pride!

[JSmitty]

Very happy for all who finished... I do remember Chicago with Lisa, Sylvie and Andy.
It seems that with the weird temperatures this year that warm marathons could be more common.
Hope that everyone recovers well and thanks very much to the trackers today.

[Sandra]

I'm happy to hear everyone finished safely. Congratulations!!!

+1

[gnu]

I am relieved that the two runners from Guelph who run with my husband have finished safely .

Whozat?

Finished ....
CinC's DH: 3:44:03
Mark (canal runner) - 3:47:47
Alain - 4:14:17
DJHL - 4:36:53
Robin - 4:39:03
Sylvie - 4:54:19
Lisa - 5:01:38


CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!!

YEAH!! So happy right now!! Congrats to all of you on a hard-fought victory! I am not going to say I hope you enjoyed every step because that would be asking an awful lot even on a perfect day, but I hope you're thrilled to be able to say you survived Boston 2012!

[LadyVo2]

OK - here is the real deal about deferrals...from RW

With all due respect to winners Sharon Cherop and Wesley Korir, the big story for many runners in Boston this weekend was the weather. With temperatures forecast to climb well into the 80s on race day, many of the nearly 27,000 registered entrants were starting to sweat well before Monday.

So when Boston Marathon officials announced Saturday that they would give runners the option of deferring to the 2013 race, things really got hot. Online and on the ground, everyone was asking: How many runners will defer? Will this affect my chances of getting a spot next year? And how will this work, anyhow? What a mess!

Compounding the confusion, several sources reported -- erroneously -- that as many as 4,000 or 5,000 runners this year deferred to 2013.

Not true.

Here's the scoop, directly from B.A.A. Communications Director Marc Davis, whom we spoke with moments ago. (Answers are not direct quotes, unless noted as such.)

How many runners have deferred to 2013, really?
None at all, yet.

Who is eligible for a deferral?
The only runners who will be eligible to defer are those who:
1. Picked up their bibs for the 2012 race-- or "virtually" picked them up, meaning they contacted the B.A.A. personally to have their bibs set aside for them;
AND
2. Did not start the race.

According to Davis, 427 runners meet those two criteria.

How and when will these 427 runners be able to take advantage of the deferral?
The B.A.A. will contact them, most likely via email. Davis said he wasn't sure yet exactly when that would happen. It's important to note that this figure represents not the number of deferrals, but the number of people who will be given the option of deferring.

Why are some people reporting that 4,000 or more runners have deferred, or may do so?
Presumably they took two real figures -- 26,716 runners registered for today's marathon, and 22,426 who actually started the race -- and concluded that the difference (4,290) equaled the number who could, or had, "deferred."

That's simply not so, said Davis, who pointed out that a certain percentage of registered runners don't make it to the starting line in any given race, regardless of the weather, due to things like food poisoning, family emergencies, injuries, and so on.

Davis said that the number of runners who did show up and run today was really quite high -- especially given the drumbeat of ominous weather warnings. More than 98% of those runners who did pick up their bibs, Davis said, started the race as planned.