Short answer: run a marathon that Boston accepts as a qualifying race and run it fast enough.
OK. Next questions:
- What are the qualifying races?
- What is “fast enough?”
- How do we train to be able to run “fast enough?”
For the first two questions, start at this BAA (Boston Athletic Association) page. Lots of great information. For example, scroll to the bottom for a link to a page listing the recent top qualifying races. What I found especially interesting is that not everyone who runs a qualifying time is accepted into the field. Yikes!
https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/qualify
As for the third question, that’s what I set this site up for.
- Formulating a training plan is the easy part. Doing the training isn’t quite as easy.
- How do we approach training? Setting realistic expectations is critical.
- What races to run as qualifiers.
- What races to run as part of the training plan.
- What issues, injuries, challenges, product hype, good tips and tricks, etc., will we learn along the way.
On this site I’ll be detailing my experiences with all this stuff, things I learn along the way, experiments with pre-race prep, hydration, heat, weather, the challenges of “the grind,” etc.