2012 & 2013 Boston Marathon Qualifying times

Boston Marathon Qualifying Times

Below are the Boston Marathon qualifying times for 2011, 2012 and 2013. There are only 25,000 entries allowed to run the race each year. - The 2011 Boston Marathon took place on April 18th. The nice weather led to record shattering performances. All the fast times here will make it difficult to qualify for next year's race. Here is the full 2011 Boston Marathon Race Report.
- The 2012 Boston Marathon has some changes to the qualifying standards. They are actually letting the runners who are dramatically under the qualifying standard register earlier.
[Related - Use The 100 Day Marathon Plan To Run Your Best Marathon Time]

Minimum Boston Marathon Qualifying Times 2012

Age - - - - - Men - - - - - Women18-34 - 3hrs 10min - 3hrs 40min
35-39 - 3hrs 15min - 3hrs 45min
40-44 - 3hrs 20min - 3hrs 50min
45-49 - 3hrs 30min - 4hrs 00min
50-54 - 3hrs 35min - 4hrs 05min
55-59 - 3hrs 45min - 4hrs 15min
60-64 - 4hrs 00min - 4hrs 30min
65-69 - 4hrs 15min - 4hrs 45min
70-74 - 4hrs 30min - 5hrs 00min
75-79 - 4hrs 45min - 5hrs 15min
80&up - 5hrs 00min - 5hrs 30min

The 2012 registration process allows the faster runners to register first. Here are the details. Make sure you check your age and gender category.
Week One of Registration
Sep. 12, 2011 - Qualifiers 20 minutes or under the qualifying times listed above.
Sep. 14, 2011 - Qualifiers 10 minutes or under.
Sep. 16, 2011 - Qualifiers 5 minutes or under.
Week Two of Registration If necessary
Registration will close if the field fills up after September 16th. If there are still spots available on Sep. 19th, all qualifiers can register. This doesn't mean you have been accepted into the race.
On September 23rd, applicants who register during the second week of registration are notified if they qualified for the race. All the applications will be processed, and the fastest runners from the second group of applications will be allowed in.
The times also mean you have to be exactly at or under the listed time. For example, if you are in the Men's 18-34 Division, you have to run 3:10:00 or under. You won't qualify with a 3:10:01 through 3:10:59 anymore.
Exceptions - The Boston Athletic Association recognizes that it has a rich history and wants to honor those who have raced often in the past. Because of this, runners that meet the qualifying times, and who have finished the last ten consecutive Boston Marathons can enter anytime during the registration period. This won't affect the field too much because there are only about 500 runners who have run 10 or more consecutive Boston Marathons.
Price - The entry fee will also increase to $150. For the 2011 race, the entry fee was $130. The invitational entry fees for non-qualifiers will increase to $300 for the 2012 race. The previous fee was $250.
- The 2013 Boston Marathon will be even more difficult to qualify for. All of the age and gender categories will be five minutes faster. Here is the list below.

Minimum Boston Marathon Qualifying Times 2013

Age - - - - - Men - - - - - Women18-34 - 3hrs 05min - 3hrs 35min
35-39 - 3hrs 10min - 3hrs 40min
40-44 - 3hrs 15min - 3hrs 45min
45-49 - 3hrs 25min - 3hrs 55min
50-54 - 3hrs 30min - 4hrs 00min
55-59 - 3hrs 40min - 4hrs 10min
60-64 - 3hrs 55min - 4hrs 25min
65-69 - 4hrs 10min - 4hrs 40min
70-74 - 4hrs 25min - 4hrs 55min
75-79 - 4hrs 40min - 5hrs 10min
80&up - 4hrs 55min - 5hrs 25min

The same registration process for the 2012 Boston Marathon will apply for Boston Marathon qualifying times in 2013.
You might be wondering, why all these dramatic changes? In the past few years, there has been a tremendous surge in the amount of marathon runners all over the country, and the world for that matter. The Boston Marathon has been flooded with applicants.
For the 2011 Boston Marathon, the field filled up with qualified applicants in just over eight hours. After what happened with registration for this year's race, the Boston Athletic Association Executive Director released a video statement on why things filled up so fast. You can watch this below.

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Not all marathons meet the requirements for Boston. If you want to run in Boston, make sure you are running on a certified Marathon course. There are two different websites that list qualifying marathons for Boston. U.S.A. Track and Field, and The Association of International Marathons.



If you are serious about qualifying for Boston in the future, start training now. Also, running just under the qualifying time doesn't guarantee you a spot in the big race. Follow the best training plan out there and qualify early. Run a faster time, so you don't get left out in 2012 or in 2013. It's not too early to train, even for the 2013 race. Any marathon run on or after September 24, 2011 at a certified qualifying marathon course can be used as Boston Marathon qualifying times in 2013. Good luck!

- Written by David Tiefenthaler

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A Strong First Quarter for the Stock Market

Stocks continued 2010 trends having their best 1^st quarter in 12 years as the US stock market rose 6%.  Our client portfolios were perfectly positioned with the proper mix of cash, bonds, US and International equities.  For the typical investor, quarterly results included:

• Fixed Income/Bonds: We have continued to underweight this category due to concerns over rising interest rates which could hurt bonds.  Intermediate-term, investment-grade bonds returned a paltry 0.9% for the quarter.
• US Equities: We have been adding to US stocks as corporate earnings continue to be impressive.  The DJIA and S&P 500 were up 6.4% and 5.4% respectively.
• Foreign Equities: Due to war and political instability in the Middle East, the earthquake/nuclear problems in Japan, and ongoing financial instability in Europe, we have not been adding money here as foreign stocks grew 3%.
• Cash: We continue to hold a bit more cash than usual for liquidity and buying opportunities on down days in the markets.

Despite ongoing concerns about the health of the consumer and robustness of the recovery, the evidence continues to show momentum towards improvement.

• New claims for unemployment benefits continue a downward trend.  The pace is slow but the trends confirm slight increases in hiring and falling new claims.
• A recent survey of chief executives shows higher sentiment towards growth, expansion and hiring in the coming year.
• Corporate profits are expected to continue to grow at a healthy rate although at a slower rate than last year.

Finally, the economy has shown an affirming resiliency.  Despite the collapse of the Portugese government, ongoing European debt concerns, governments toppling in the Middle East and North Africa, a crippling of the 3^rd largest economy in the world (Japan) plus ongoing nuclear radiation concerns, US stock markets bounced 5% off the mid-March lows.

As the economy continues to slowly improve, the consumer has not shared in the recent market exuberance.  Corporate profits have occurred despite the ongoing problems of consumers.  Can the profit outlook continue?  What is the fate of the consumer if hiring doesn’t pick up?  Read more about this disconnect at my blog: chris-rhim.blogspot.com

As always, please contact me at (301) 655-4970 should you have any questions or concerns.

Chris

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Social Security Not a Pension

 [AUTHOR'S NOTE: This ran in the Sunday, April 3, 2011 Valley News Letters to the Editor page.]
Ezra Klein's March 30 article on Social Security characterizes the program as "one of the stingiest national pension programs in the developed world".  He goes on to state: "At the heart of Social Security is a simple vision: The richest country the world has ever known can guarantee its citizens a decent retirement."  The problem with these claims is the fact that Social Security was never intended to be the main source of retirement income but rather social insurance. The reality has always been that Social Security is not a retirement plan and is not currently funded with the long-term in mind.

The Social Security Act was passed to provide limited benefits to combat poverty and unemployment; alleviate the burdens of widows and fatherless children; and provide a benefit for the elderly, retirees and the disabled.

A private pension works by accumulating a lifetime of worker contributions, investing them, and paying out a benefit upon retirement.  In contrast, Social Security is a conduit system whereby current worker payroll taxes are collected and paid to today's retirees.  Social Security cannot prefund by investing in marketable assets such as equities, because federal law prohibits it from investing in assets other than those backed by the U.S. government.  Excess collected funds purchase non-marketable US Government debt (the Social Security Trust Fund) and become part of the overall US deficit or debt-financed spending.  This government debt is backed by "the full faith and credit" of the US government.

Due to Baby Boomer retirement, Social Security benefits paid will exceed payroll taxes collected within approximately 10 years.  At this point, the Trust Fund securities will be redeemed drawing down the Fund.  While some argue the Fund is merely an accounting trick, others cite the US debt securities as obligations of the US government which the government must pay.

Due to its stated mission and funding mechanism, Social Security should not be anyone's primary planned for source of retirement income.

Christopher Rhim
Norwich

Egypt, the Middle East and Money Managers: A Disturbing Reality

I remember reading last year the almost threatening advice from a stock-broker who claimed, "If your investment advisor isn't putting you into African investments, they simply do not have a world view" or a clue as the rest of the article went.

Fad investments, while not new, took on new resiliency in 2010.  Burned by traditional wealth building blocks like stocks and real estate, and unable to earn anything from bonds, investors plunged into riskier investments with reckless abandon.  Frontmen touting the potential of commodities, distressed properties, antiques, junk bonds, and emerging market stocks and bonds became part of the new investing lexicon in a low-interest rate world.  Can't earn a lousy 4% on a US Treasury?  Then buy higher-yielding sovereign debt (bonds of foreign nations)!  Tired of debt problems and a bleak European economic outlook?  Then look to the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and Africa many of which are commodity based whose raw materials are fueling the next big economic revival.

Ah, commodities and specifically oil from the Middle East.  This appeared to be the sole focus of some money managers as I read their reaction to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.  Said one, "to me, it's like a natural disaster, in terms of the economic impact... it doesn't have as much to do with economics as it has to do with politics".  I wouldn't characterize the potential loss of a pro-Arab ally that signed a peace treaty with Israel and who controls the Suez Canal (through which approximately 40% of the world's oil flows) a natural disaster like a hurricane.  Said another, "The importance of Egypt is geographical.  It's only a $200 billion economy with 80 million people... as long as the army remains organized, the canal will stay open."  Armies are not democracies.  It remains to be seen whether the more secular or radical Islamists take hold of the opposition-leading Muslim Brotherhood.  Stability is no sure thing regardless of what the army does.

With the future of such a vital world region in doubt, we need to drop our naivete and simplistic world view for one that confronts the current and long-term realities.  For 20 years, we have had US fighting ground troops engaged off and on since the 1991 Gulf War that liberated Kuwait.  This means a generation of Middle East youths have seen American troops fighting in their area of the world their entire lives.  This is a protracted problem that will continue for the forseeable future.

Money managers who view this region simply in terms of oil and stability will fail to anticipate the social and political changes that impact money flows and investments.  For political as well as economic reasons, our attention will increasingly be drawn to the Middle East and other troubled areas throughout the world.

Lets hope we investment advisers have our minds as well as our eyes fully open and avoid the mentality of another adviser who stated, "Long-term, this is a blip on the radar screen".  Hardly.

Should You Be Worrying About Bonds?

Today, Standard & Poor's (the bond rating agency) cut the debt of Japan to AA-, it's fourth highest rating.  I remember back in 2003, a client asking me about his Maryland municipal bonds that were AAA-rated, paying excellent coupons and performing well.  He asked why we didn't go out and load up on more.  I cited Japan's last rate cut in 2002 and stated bluntly, "If they can cut Japan's rating, they could Maryland's too."

Worries over bond downgrades will remain a major story for the remainder of 2011. 
Almost unheard of in the history of the US bond market are discussions of US sovereign debt being downgraded and the near panic that would ensue.  This past fall the city of Harrisburg, PA missed a bond payment prompting default procedures and a sudden chill in the almost $4 trillion municipal bond market.  An article this past week in the Wall St. Journal discussed the letter a MD resident received regarding her MD Health and Higher Education bonds and the letter offering 50 cents on the dollar if she sold (she did).  If more stories of defaults surface and people panic, the trading markets for more than a few bonds could all but disappear overnight. 

Question: So, I don't want to panic but do want to take steps to protect myself, what do I do?

• The first thing you need to do is have an adviser pull some research on the bond.  Trading history, size of the offering, the prospectus if available and most recent disclosure document would tell a lot.  An examination of the quality of the bond vs. similar competitors should be done to truly evaluate how it would hold up in a panic. 
• Second, an examination of any change in your risk profile should be discussed and noted by your adviser.
• Third, the bond needs to be examined in relation to other bonds in your portfolio; and another time against the client's overall allocation.

Bonds are confusing; I just don't understand them and wonder if I should be in them at all. 

• Bonds are a lot more difficult for the average investor to understand.  Data is readily available regarding any stock or mutual fund in existence.  To research a particular bond requires knowing where to look plus perspective on the specific market your bond exists plus the bond market as a whole. 
• Unlike stocks which trade on exchanges like NASDAQ, AMEX, and the New York Stock Exchange, there is no organized exchange where bonds trade. 
• Bonds are priced on the spread (the difference between the bid and ask price).  The majority of the time, individual buyers buy and sell completely blind to the spread the broker receives for trading the bond.  Because of this, retail bond investors often get taken advantage of.
• Knowing which bonds are safe, in today's market, is really left to professionals who are experienced in the bond market.  There is a vast array of bonds with myriad characteristics that the average investor is not equipped to understand.   
• Your best defense is working with an adviser you trust.

At Mid-Recovery: What Does Our Economy Look Like?

2010 proved to be a continuation of the recovery that began in 2009.  For the year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 11% with the S&P 500 up 12.8%, and NASDAQ up 16.9%.  Concerns over rapidly rising interest rates proved false with rates actually dropping.  When rates fall, bonds do well as just about every category of bonds had positive returns.  The second year of equity gains can be attributed to five consecutive quarters of strong corporate profits.  Businesses continued the trend of reducing costs, holding steady on payroll and holding greater than normal cash.  Strong corporate performance and business spending remains the best hope for a stubbornly high 9.4% unemployment rate.

Now that talk of a double-dip recession has faded, what will the next few quarters look like? 

The Republican-controlled Congress will attempt to bring more fiscal discipline to new legislation and the budget ceiling.  Concerns over both Federal and state budget deficits will grab headlines causing investors and businesses alike to remain more cautious than normal.  Investors caught a temporary break with the extension of many tax cuts from 2010 but new health care mandates will draw employers' attention to spiraling costs.  While 2010 was a speculator's market in commodities and foreign currencies, look for a reversal particularly in gold and silver.  We expect commodities pricing to revert back to the rules of supply and demand with China and other emerging economies increasing their demand for such raw materials.  Money will continue to flow to the higher interest-rates in foreign currencies until either inflation or a stronger US economy draws money back to less speculative investments.
Result: Take diversified approach to both US and foreign equities; clear winner is undetermined.

We will probably will not see higher inflation, municipal bond defaults nor higher interest rates in 2011.  The Fed is scheduled to buy $600 billion of additional Treasuries this Spring to help keep rates low.  With companies still below capacity, businesses will unlikely raise prices for either products or wages. Due to the new makeup of Congress, government spending and investment will add less to overall growth.

Still hampering the economy are record high personal bankruptcies and commercial real estate delinquencies.  Look for only gradual improvement in 2011.

What are some of the wild-cards in 2011? 

• Federal Stimulus: Quantitative easing (or, the Government pumping an additional $600 billion into the markets) favors investors who buy riskier assets such as high-yield bonds, commodities and foreign securities.  The Fed feels this stimulus is necessary to ensure stability in the markets.  A change in tenor by the Fed could prove destabilizing. 

• New Jobs: 2010 non-farm job growth was 1 million new jobs.  The problem is that we had seven million more jobs at the market peak in December 2007.  There is a direct correlation to the number of new 2011 jobs and overall growth in the economy. Will the new long-term unemployment rate be 6% instead of 5%?  What are the social and economic implications of such a change?
• China:  Increasingly, US policies are determined by events in Asia with China at the center.  What impact will China's military buildup (and political response) have when confronted with an untested, new leadership in an increasingly unstable, nuclear North Korea?  China's double-digit growth rates and larger world role will continue to draw Wall Street firms and institutional investors. Closer ties to the West will bring new pressures on a China that may be unable or unwilling to meet the traditional responsibilities of a world power.  China's thirst for resources and the constant inflationary pressures on food, housing and fuel will challenge Chinese leadership in dealing with an increasingly demanding  Chinese work force.