Post of the day! Great perspectives! I believe the standard was ~2:19:04 for the 1984 trials...
John O'Donnell wrote:
I generally like this gentleman's views. At my competitive apex, such as it was, I was never close to any of these standards, so my views are unaffected by my personal experiences. If I recall correctly, back in the late 70s and early 80s, the standard was set by taking the top 100 times over a particular year, and making the 100th time the cutoff. The athletes then needed to go under that time over a 366 day period that began on Boston Marathon day the year prior to the Olys, and concluded on Boston Marathon day in the given Olympic year.If memory seres, even in that era, the cutoff was around 2:18. Feel free to correct me on any of my recollections: it was thirty years ago.
We could cavil over a minute or two here or there, but I have a couple general thoughts. First, those who say "what's the harm of adding a few more by loosening the standard" have a point, but there is a counterpoint that is more subtle and difficult to express. I trained pretty hard in my day, and qualified to enter the Boston Marathon. That was a certain level of accomplishment, and it felt special to stand on that starting line with others who were similarly qualified. At a far more selective level, the same is true of qualifying for the Olympic Trials. Guys like me didn't belong on that starting line, and it should be a point of pride for anyone who meets that standard. Whether that point is rightly set at 2:18 or 2:20 is debatable, but it should not come too easily.
Second, I fully agree with the idea of a qualifying standard at a shorter distance such as the half marathon, but agree that standard should be very stringent. If an elite distance runner wanted to get in the Trials, but a marathon didn't fit his schedule, a world class performance at the half marathon distance should qualify him or her. Finally, I have long thought that the women's standard for the Trials was far less rigorous than the men's standard, and the time should be lowered.