Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Sept 09, 2009 - update

well, my day just took a really exciting turn in the positive direction...

i've just received clarification that my Sept 28/08 Toronto Waterfront Marathon result of 3.42.26 will be recognized as a qualifying run for my entrant as a female for the 114th Boston Marathon, which runs on Apr 19/10. (female standard for age 35-39 is 3.45.59)

there was some initial confusion regarding whether or not my TO run would be sufficient for a female qualification given the lack of a transgender athlete policy for the TO Waterfront Marathon at that time, but Boston has given the green light...

this is the second year in a row that my acceptance into Boston occured in an anticlimactic way by receiving communication while sitting in my living room.. i am determined that my 3rd trip to Boston will become finalized upon crossing the finish line on Boylston St. on April 19/10. so, let the training begin!

what makes this story extra unique is that my run on Sept 28/08 was run at a slow and gentle pace, given that i had just completed another marathon on Sept 27/08 in Akron Ohio. As you may recall, i decided to give up on Boston qualifying in an effort to find new challenges that were more attainable at that time, as i was unable to hit the male BQ standard of 3.15.59 little did i know that a year later, i would be using this as a female qualifier, as the actual qualifying time window for the 2010 Boston Marathon started on Sept 27, 2008. amazing!

but wait, there's more!!! i will now be eligible to participate in the "Boston to Big Sur Challenge"

to celebrate their 25th anniversary, the Big Sur International Marathon will challenge and honour 400 special runners who complete Boston and Big Sur in the same year (that's 2 marathons in 6 days!) The run from Big Sur to Carmel California is a very challenging hilly run, but is among the most scenic in the world, with mountains on one side and the pacific ocean on the other. the Big Sur marathon has also sanctioned me as a female runner (but with exclusions from awards). assuming i am in good financial and physical health, i will plan to make the journey to california after running boston to complete this challenge!

Jennifer

2 comments:

myranger said...

WOW, you are incredibale Jennife. I loved reading your blog. I ran my first marathon last April in OK city. My next one will be in KC next month. I look to reading more about you. Have a great weekend sweet heart....ed

Jennifer McCreath said...

wish i lived closer to KC.. i'm a big Chiefs fan! thanks for checking in and good luck with your run!