Brian Rock 
Note: This article was published last year, in anticipation of the 2026 Boston Marathon. I plan to publish an updated version in the next few weeks, once BAA announces the registration dates for the 2027 Boston Marathon. Registration will likely take place September 14-18, which means that races on 9/12 or 9/13 (i.e. Erie) will … Read more
Feature image by Martineric from Lille, France., CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Like Boston, London, and Chicago, the New York City Marathon offers a method of guaranteed entry for faster runners. While the other three races have recently tightened their standards, NYRR has not followed suit. At least, not yet. I’ve been working on … Read more
Last week ended with the Mile by Impact Zone, and I had a decent showing. It wasn’t my fastest mile ever, but my legs felt pretty good and I finished strong. It was a good end to the week, and I think things are looking up. I’ve a 10k coming up at the beginning of … Read more
Since Garmin launched Garmin Connect+ back in March, the reception hasn’t been great – at least on the Internet. The premium subscription service includes several exclusive features, and the headline feature is “Active Intelligence” – Garmin’s new take on AI. As it is implemented today, it basically summarizes data that’s already readily available in Garmin … Read more
Feature photo courtesy of erp3d on reddit A question I frequently get asked is, “How accurate was the Boston Marathon Cutoff Time Tracker in the past?” It’s impossible to answer that question directly, because the tracker itself is new this year. This is the first time that I’ve collected the results and made a continuing … Read more
My last major update on the Boston Marathon cutoff time projection came at the end of March. The projection was 5:20, and things had been moderating slightly for several weeks. But as I said then, April could prove to be an impactful month, with results from both Boston and London, along with many other races. And April did … Read more
The first two weeks of this racing season have gone well enough. My recovery is on track, and my legs are feeling better. But my workouts are still a little slower than usual, and I can’t quite hit the paces that I was able to hit pre-marathon. I’ve got a little more work to do. … Read more
Feature image by dorestbays on Flickr – CC BY-SA 2.0 Last month, I published an analysis of the impact of downhill marathons on the Boston Marathon qualifying process. As a reminder, here are a few of the conclusions I came to: That analysis was published before the 2025 Boston Marathon. I used the entry list … Read more
It’s been a little over two years since Garmin released the Forerunner 265 and 965. When you put it that way, it doesn’t seem that long ago. But it seems like every week, someone is on r/Garmin asking about rumors on the newest Forerunner – and whether they should wait before making a purchase. Well, … Read more
The London Marathon was about two weeks ago. It’s the last of the Majors for the spring – following the Tokyo and Boston Marathons. Those two races each saw a significant number of new Six Star Finishers. How many new finishers are there after London? As I did after Boston, I collected the raw data … Read more