PAGE 22 Thursday, October 12, 2023 MERIDIAN SOURCE
Sports Boston Blythe biding his time
Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Craig Blythe who teaches Grade 4 students at Winston Churchill School, pictured as the race director of the recent LPSD cross country run at Bud Miller All Seasons Park, was surprised to learn he will not be let into the 2024 Boston Marathon despite beating the initial time standard that was tightened by 5:29 for all age groups and genders. He will give it another stab next year. GEOFF LEE STAFF WRITER
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Lloydminster runner Craig Blythe finds himself one of 11,039 runners who thought they qualified for the 2024 Boston Marathon, but won’t be let into the race. It turns out runners had to go five minutes and 29 seconds faster than the qualifying time for their age and gender to gain entry into next year’s marathon. The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) announced on Sept. 28, the cutoff is 5:29 quicker due a record number of applications and a race limit of 30,000 entries, the same as the 2022 and 2023 race. The 36 year-old Blythe beat the initial qualifying time of 3:05
in his 35-39 age group by clocking a 3:01:31 at the Edmonton Marathon in the summer. He says it turns out he would have had to run 2:59.31 to officially qualify. “Every other year in the race’s history, except 2021 and 2023, my 3:01:31 time would have qualified, so it’s very disappointing news,” said Blythe who teaches Grade 4 students and coaches runners at Winston Churchill School. He says the news is also motivating. “Next year, I will try to run a 2:58 to make sure I get in,” he affirmed. The qualifying period for the 2024 Boston Marathon opened on Sept. 1, 2022, and ran until Sept. 15, 2023. The BAA states in
part, “achieving one’s qualifying standard does not guarantee entry into the event, but simply the opportunity to submit a registration application.” The previous record for applications was 30,458 in 2018 for the 2019 race. That number of applicants resulted in a cutoff of 4:52. The 2021 race, which was held in October that year, had a cutoff of 7:47, because the field size was much smaller—only 20,000 runners—following the pandemic. The 2020 Boston Marathon was cancelled. The 2024 race will take place on April 15 with Blythe on the sidelines. “I’ll just keep on running and see what happens next year,” he said.
