boston marathon

[snowwheels]

I am just curious as to whether anyone here has done it (post injury obviously) and what they thought of it from that perspective in terms of the race itself and the qualifying standards. I did it in 2004, along with Columbus, Philadelphia and Baystate in 2003 plus a bunch of halfs and 10k's but it is obviously totally different as an able bodied athlete. Today just got me thinking about perhaps giving racing a shot and trying to get back into Boston next year or the year after. I know this is probably incredibly ambitious due to Boston's stature in the marathon world but I am young and in pretty much perfect shape so I figure now is as good of a time as any.

[SCI-Nurse]

I know several people in chairs who have done the Boston. It is certainly possible if you can meet the qualifying requirements. Training is of course critical, and you need to get some other marathons under your belt first. Here are the requirements that you need to meet at other qualifying races first:

PUSH RIM WHEELCHAIR DIVISION QUALIFYING TIMES

Open (Classes 3 & 4) (age and time)
18-39 Men: 2hrs 00min Women: 2hrs 25min
40-49 Men: 2hrs 15min Women: 2hrs 40min
50-Over Men: 2hrs 30min Women: 2hrs 55min

Quad (Classes 1 & 2) (age and time)
18-39 Men: 2hrs 45min Women: 3hrs 10min
40-49 Men: 3hrs 00min Women: 3hrs 25min
50-Over Men: 3hrs 15min Women: 3hrs 40min

http://www.bostonmarathon.org/Boston...Qualifying.asp

Here are today's wheelchair division winners:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...wheelchair.ap/

Good luck in your efforts in this area...keep us up to date on your progress with training, etc.!

(KLD)

[jeff@zoom]

boston can be a fast race with a tailwind but headwinds seem to prevail there. there's an elevation drop from the start thru about 13-14 miles; then it starts to climb to around 20 miles; then down again to the finish. even with all the downhills it's still a hard race. in boston it seems that you are either going uphill or downhill - not much flat pushing so you have to be strong on the hills. with a strong tailwind it would be a blast.

[snowwheels]

Thanks for the somewhat useful info, the question I have that remains unanswered is whether the 2 hr qualifying time is a difficult time to attain on a relatively flat course such as Columbus. I know all about the race, the hills, etc. I've done it before, though not in a chair. I hope someone with some sort of marathon experience can give me some sort of insight on the difficulty of the qualifying time.

[Cappy]

Crap...I just saw the results where only 6 handcranks competed.
That just sucks. I was in South Carolina on the 11th. I could have done this race.
I was looking for qualifications but didn't see any. If ya use the push rim standard then I qualified for the race.
Oh well...hopefully be healthy for next year.

[cheesecake]

snowwheels~
I would suggest hooking up with a track and field team through Disabled Sports USA. Make your first marathon as a member of Achilles track or something like that. If you contact Achilles, you can compete in the NYC Marathon without qualifying. Get yourself a time, and use that for future marathons. I don't know where you live but Achilles has track programs all around the US. Mary Bryant is an excellent contact to get you up and competing. If you need other info, let me know.

[cheesecake]

I have not done Boston Marathon or the rim wheelchair racing. I did the NYC Marathon in a handcrank. My take is that a flat surface is great for runners, a bear for push rim racers. The downhill helps pick up a lot of speed and balances for the uphill push. In NYC I hit speeds of 45 mph plus going downhill and I really picked up time.

If you are steady, strong and have great endurance, you might be able to make the 2 hrs no problem. Me, I would want to have the advantage of the hills to pick up my momentum and pace. Just my opinion. Hope that helps.
Bottom line, you won't know till you try!

[Cappy]

Dang! 45mph? That is movin'.
That must be a heck of a downhill in NYC. I know in LA my max speed was ~26 for the first 8 miles before it flattened out.

[jeff@zoom]

if your boston qualifying time is the 2 hr. mark, that's a fairly respectable time on any course. on a flat course it'll be constant pushing (averaging 13.1 mph). i race a lot and it took me 3 years before I broke the 2 hour mark. I was doing about 90-100 miles a week then. For marathon training now I'm doing about 140-150 miles a week and can do a marathon around 1 hr 40 min. so yes, it's a reasonable qualifying time but i don't think you can do it on minimal mileage. hope this helps.