Boston Athletic Association Closes Registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon
Applicants to receive notification next week
Posted Monday, 26 September, 2011
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon has closed. In preparation for next year’s race, the B.A.A. implemented a new registration process, allowing the fastest runners in relation to their qualifying times to register during a two week period.
Registration began at 10 a.m. ET on September 12 and concluded at 5 p.m. ET on September 23. For the first time, the registration was not first come, first served, but rather allowed for a more systematic and orderly application procedure.
Next week, applicants will be notified of their acceptance. Those applications who are unable to be accepted also will be notified next week.
At the conclusion of the first week of registration, nearly 15,000 applicants were informed of their acceptance. A total of more than 20,000 entrants will be accepted through this process. Additionally, 277 qualifiers who have run ten or more consecutive Boston Marathons have been accepted and notified.
“We have been very pleased with how smoothly our new registration process has worked,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. “Regrettably, we are unable to accept all applicants due to field size limitations and the large number of applications we received from qualified runners. Our new process is based on fairness and athletic accomplishment, and we appreciate the cooperation we have received from all marathoners during the process.”
Until all applicants are notified and qualifying performances are verified, the B.A.A. will not release data on the cut-off time needed for acceptance. The name of accepted applicants will be posted to the “Entrants” page of the B.A.A. web site, which is the official web site for the Boston Marathon. The B.A.A. will issue and post a wide range of statistics on the new registration process and its applicants in the coming weeks.
The 116th Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 16, 2012, Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In February 2011, the B.A.A. announced that qualifying times for the 2013 Boston Marathon would be made more stringent by five minutes across all age groups and both genders. The qualification window for the 2013 Boston Marathon begins tomorrow, September 24, 2011.
For details on the B.A.A.’s new registration process for the Boston Marathon, click here: http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/registration-process.aspx
To see the qualifying standards for both the 2012 Boston Marathon and the 2013 Boston Marathon, click here: http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/qualifying.aspx
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial. The Boston Marathon is part of the World Marathon Majors along with the Virgin London Marathon, BMW Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathon.
