Lessons from the Chicago Marathon for Boston Qualifying Hopefuls

Last month, I posted a lengthy analysis of the Chicago Marathon results. Part of that analysis was whether runners managed a negative split or not. Subsequently, I’ve done some more thinking about this issue. After some discussions around the data, I came up with a different way to think about the problem. Instead of looking … Read more

Is the Boston Marathon’s Selection Process Fair to Both Men and Women?

Finishers at the 2024 Boston Marathon

Many runners have strong opinions about Boston’s qualifying times and their selection process. People will inevitably complain that it’s unfair for one group or another. I recently saw a post in a Facebook group suggesting that the process was unfair for women – and that the new qualifying times would make things more unfair. This … Read more

Boston Marathon Cutoff Time Announced: Lessons Learned

Spectators at the 2024 Boston Marathon

This week, the Boston Athletic Association officially announced the cutoff time for the 2025 Boston Marathon: 6:51. As they have done in the past, they included with this announcement a collection of data and statistics that tell some of the story of the applicant pool and the field of qualifiers. Absent a full release of … Read more

Boston Cutoff Time: What the Number of Applicants Tells Us About a Prediction

Friday, the registration period for the 2025 Boston Marathon came to a close. Along with many others, I was eagerly waiting to see if they would release the number of qualified applicants. They didn’t. By the end of the weekend, I was beginning to think they might withhold that information until they announce the actual … Read more

2025 Boston Marathon Registration and Cutoff Time: Everything You Need to Know

Runners at the 2024 Boston Marathon

Registration for the 2025 Boston Marathon is drawing to a close, and over the past week I’ve seen a lot of the same questions come up over and over again. It will still be another week or two before acceptances and rejections go out, and it’s likely these same questions will continue to circulate. So … Read more

How Much Will the Results of the 2024 Boston Marathon Impact the Cutoff Time for 2025?

Finishers at the 2024 Boston Marathon

After a record number of qualified applicants applied to run the Boston Marathon in 2024, there has been plenty of talk about what will happen in 2025. I made a prediction about the cut-off time here (7:03), and I added some additional data and context here. With the registration period under way, runners are eager … Read more

Boston Marathon Data Visualizations

In this post, you’ll find a collection of data visualizations related to the Boston Marathon. These data visualizations have all been created with Flourish. It’s a website where you can create and share amazing data visualizations. I’ve included the links to the visualizations below. Feel free to use them in your own work, but please … Read more