Getting into the Boston Marathon.

[goofeygirl]

I am not fast by ANY stretch of the imagination. I would never get into the Boston Marathon with my marathon times.
However I saw on tv there were a lot of finishers that took quite a bit of time...and that would be me. So I gather for the most part they are running for a charity.

Has anyone ran the Boston Marathon for a charity?

This would something on my bucket list...to do that race. However my time would be nothing close to what some of them get.

 

[RunDisney Crazy]

We are in the same boat. I think I could get under 4 hours but to even qualify I would need to get sub 3:13 and that's not going to happen. But I would love, I mean, who wouldn't love to run the Boston Marathon.

If anyone knows how that works, as far as running under a charity, please let us know.

Also, what about open or masters open teams? How does that work? I'm sure it has to be a organized, legitimate, bonafide membership group.

Thanks.

 

[groovygirls]

I ran last year and this year for the Zoo New England Marathon Team. There were 5 of us! On the BAA website there is a list of charities you can pick from. You usually have to apply to be on the charity team, agree to raise so much money (I think it is 3-5,000 depending on the charity) and finish within 6 hours because the roads have to open. For those who finished after 6 hours the water stations were gone and you had to run part of the course on the sidewalks.
Most of the charities will take your credit card # so that if you don't raise the requested amount then your credit card is charged.
You can find smaller groups like I did- they put the call out of FB looking for runners and I responded. Bill Rogers gave me the number and I got to feed a giraffe with him- so cool!
It is a great experience and I encourage you do it- there is nothing like Boston!

 

[StarGirl11]

I am trying to get my speed down for a BQ but I did look at the charity route once before balking at the minimums (I would have to pay pretty much the entire minimum myself so yeah not a good idea. Not trying to be el cheapo but its a lot of money and combined with travel expenses I just couldn't see it).

They are definitely a way to get in. Most require a minimum of 4000 citing that BAA has that minimum. Which I am kind of doubtful because I have seen at least one charity with a lower than 4000 minimum (not easy to find had to dig around the website to find it, I think it was the Alzheimers Organization but don't quote me on it and it might have changed since then). Just keep in mind when you start looking at all the charities look at all of them before picking the one you want to run with.

 

[Pleglech]

Bill Rogers gave me the number and I got to feed a giraffe with him

Now there's a sentence that you don't read every day.

Keep in mind that this year, demand was so high that charities were turning away applicants. Many required participants to submit fundraising plans. That may or may not be the case in the future, so YMMV.

 

[goofeygirl]

Thanks for the replies.

I agree...it wouldn't be easy. Boston is one of the ... if not than THE most prestigious races out there.
After what happened last year...there seems to be even greater interest in it...and I wonder if what happened last year is any reason why races such as these are selling out so quickly?

Anyway...I will check out the charity route. I probably don't have a shot in all heck of getting ahead with this but its worth a try anyway.

 

[RnbwSktles]

The NYC Marathon is at the top of my list since that is my "hometown" race. However, I didn't get selected this year through the lottery and I can't make the charity thing happen. Most of the fundraising goals for NYC are $2500-$3500 and everyone laughed in my face when I asked if they would donate to help me race. So...there is no way Boston would ever work!

 

[Dug720]

The NYC Marathon is at the top of my list since that is my "hometown" race. However, I didn't get selected this year through the lottery and I can't make the charity thing happen. Most of the fundraising goals for NYC are $2500-$3500 and everyone laughed in my face when I asked if they would donate to help me race. So...there is no way Boston would ever work!

If NYC is your hometown, why not just do 9+1 and get guaranteed entry?

 

[SultanPprShkr]

I'm putting together an excel sheet with the charities from baa.org and their minimum fundraising required. None of the charities include anything with the fundraising minimum other than the race registration and team gear. most charities require you to pay $100-150 for registration fees also.

On average they're about $4,000 mins.. some I think I've seen lower than that, but some had a min as high as $6,000 or even $7,000.

 

[RunDisney Crazy]

Wow. Feel like I just found poop in my cornflakes. I figured there was a fund raising aspect but didn't expect 4K all the way up to 7.5K. I thought, just maybe, that local branches of large charities, Susan G Komen, United Way, etc may do the fund raising and would lessen your part greatly. But guess not.

I guess this is why it's so hard and prestigious to get into. Oh well, there's always the lottery! Cash lottery that is!

Thanks for all the information!!!!

 

[RnbwSktles]

If NYC is your hometown, why not just do 9+1 and get guaranteed entry?

I quoted hometown because I was using that term loosely. I'm over an hour from the city by any form of transportation. I did consider this method, but that would mean adding at least $30 to every event just to get there, on top of the headache and time consumed. I also wouldn't have time to complete that in 2014 and I don't think I can commit to running a marathon at the end of 2016 (doing 9+1 in 2015) at this point. I'm kind of over not getting in so I might try the lottery again next year and see what happens. Otherwise, I just won't do it.

 

[SultanPprShkr]

Wow. Feel like I just found poop in my cornflakes. I figured there was a fund raising aspect but didn't expect 4K all the way up to 7.5K. I thought, just maybe, that local branches of large charities, Susan G Komen, United Way, etc may do the fund raising and would lessen your part greatly. But guess not.

I guess this is why it's so hard and prestigious to get into. Oh well, there's always the lottery! Cash lottery that is!

Thanks for all the information!!!!

The bigger the charity name, the bigger the minimum is. I couldn't find info on the TNT Leukemia charity, but they're known for having very high minimums for their races. Good luck! Start fundraising now for 2017 or something? lol.

 

[Pleglech]

I quoted hometown because I was using that term loosely. I'm over an hour from the city by any form of transportation. I did consider this method, but that would mean adding at least $30 to every event just to get there, on top of the headache and time consumed. I also wouldn't have time to complete that in 2014 and I don't think I can commit to running a marathon at the end of 2016 (doing 9+1 in 2015) at this point. I'm kind of over not getting in so I might try the lottery again next year and see what happens. Otherwise, I just won't do it.

I'm kind of in the same boat (except that I have zero desire to run NYC). Look up the Central Park marathon instead. It's a small but well organized affair ... I was able to drive right in on race day and park about 1/2 mile from the start this year.