Yes, this is about me, Jessica, and how crazy fast I am at running. They call me the speedster! Yeah right, not in this lifetime. Although I am happy with the times I put up as I know I work my hardest, I am not the speedster. In fact I am talking about those that ran the Boston Marathon yesterday. It is pretty much the marathon of all marathons. You have to get a qualifying time in order to be eligible to register. This is sitting at a 3:40:00 for my age group and in 2013 it will be changed to 3:35:00. For me this seems fast as I start preparing for my first marathon. I am hoping to be any where between 4:00:00 and 4:15:00. For all I know, it could take me longer. We will see when I start getting into the longer miles. That could end up being almost an entire hour or close to it. Then there is the little bit about actually getting in as the race closes faster and faster with each passing year, which is one reason that they are increasing the qualification times by 5 minutes.
Now, back to the speedsters. Yesterday a 29 year old man from Kenya, Geoffrey Mutai, plastered the course with a 2:03:02 which would beat the world record! Unfortunately, it will not count for a record. This averages out to a 4:42 min/mi. I can’t even imagine going that fast for one mile let alone 26.2 in a row. Then the American, Ryan Hall, came in 4th at 2:04:58. His personal best and what would be an American record except for a few minor details. Also, Kara Goucher who ran a 2:24:52 almost 7 months after giving birth to her first child. Her personal best as well. Why do these records not count? According to the International Association of Athletics Federations or the United States Track and Field Association, the Boston Marathon does not qualify as a record setting course. (Check out the article from Runner’s World.) It all boils down to an elevation loss of more than 1 meter per kilometer and the tailwinds. This seems a little ridiculous to me but the rules are set in place so that people have a fair shot at the record. If it weren’t for these rules people could run downhill like crazy and be shattering the record, especially with a nice tailwind. I liked what Ryan Hall had to say about it as they asked him if he thought that he was the new record holder, “I don’t know,†he said. “I’ve run 2:04 and I have that next to my name, regardless of what anyone else thinks. I’m a 2:04 marathoner.”
That is a good enough answer for me!
One last final thought. My personal best for my half marathon is 1:59:30. I can’t even think about running a half marathon much faster let alone a full marathon just a few minutes slower than my best half. I am hoping to one day shatter my personal best, but as for now, I will leave the speed to the pros. I do want to mention that if I had a slight downhill course and a tailwind to shatter my personal best, I would take it. It would count in my book just like it counts for Ryan Hall.