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