Popular races which have guaranteed entry based on a qualifying time

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HappyG(rrr) Feb 2013 2:46pm, 28 Feb 2013 19,357 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) Boston famously can only be entered by achieving a qualifying time. A "Boston Qualifier" time is a much respected and sought after bench mark. Obviously these take account of age and gender. baa.org London is mostly ballot and charity entries, but it too has the GFA - Good For Age system that gives guaranteed entry to those who have a good enough time. Saves all the worry and faff entering the ballot!) virginlondonmarathon.com I wondered what other popular races also run a guaranteed entry system based on a qualifying time? So far I have found: California - 8,000 places - pretty popular and does sell out quickly - has a Guaranteed Entry time runcim.org New York - hugely populer, possibly one of the marathon experiences of a lifetime - has a Guaranteed Entry time examiner.com (note - suspended at the moment, due to emerging guaranteed entry policy for the cancelled 2012 NYC Mara) ingnycmarathon.org So, can anyone add to the list? It means that anyone who has a qualifying time will know what races they could use this to get into, possibly for the only few years that they can make use of this time (unless you can keep running and training and stay fast for 20 - 40 years. Which I guess some can and will. Personally, I'm planning on opening a cake shop after I get my next and last marathon qualifying goal time!) :-)G
becca7 Feb 2013 3:11pm, 28 Feb 2013 4,592 posts	0 becca7 Comrades, although that is a little longer than marathon distance.
LorraineS Feb 2013 3:18pm, 28 Feb 2013 32,491 posts	0 LorraineS waits for Happy opening the cayke shop can you make it somewhere convenient to start and finish a run at
HappyG(rrr) Feb 2013 3:49pm, 28 Feb 2013 19,360 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) Of course, a lot of the ultras have lots of quite strict experience criteria, for safety reasons. :-)G
Dave A Feb 2013 3:51pm, 28 Feb 2013 20,198 posts	0 Dave A Some of the big Lakeland fell races have qualifying criteria.
Dave A Feb 2013 3:52pm, 28 Feb 2013 20,199 posts	0 Dave A For example Borrowdale dpfr.org.uk I think Ennerdale has similar criteria. Although these are about experience, not speed. Although there are cut offs at certain checkpoints.
Carlos Fandango Jnr Mar 2013 10:33am, 1 Mar 2013 114 posts	0 Carlos Fandango Jnr Loads of big races do: The BUPA events have a non-guaranteed entry based on qualifying times. If you butter up Peter Riley from Nova then it seems to be possible to get in even if you're just outside the published standards. They call it "elite" entry but it's not overly elite - typically sub-69 for a half marathon, or thereabouts. The London 10000 offers free entry to men who've gone sub-32 and women who've run sub-38 (I think). Bath Half offers guaranteed entry to certain standards, which I now forget, with age-based standards and various tiers of what you pay. London Marathon also has the Championship entry system for runners with sub-2:45 (men) for full and sub 1:15 (men) for a half. Equivalent standards also exist for women. I assume elite entry is free (or you get paid to run if you're really good), but the standard is something like sub 2:16. My local "Wilne 10k" offered free entry to sub-31 and half price to sub-32 (men again, girly equivalent also offered) which wound up the local tightarses no end. Reading and Nottingham halfs offer some sort of entry to sub-70 runners but I'm not sure how guaranteed it is unless you're Kenyan. The message is... always worth a detailed look at the event website!
HappyG(rrr) Mar 2013 10:50am, 1 Mar 2013 19,369 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) Thanks Carlos - you've moved up to another level with championship and elite info there. I like your idea that 69 for a half and 31 for a 10K aren't "that elite"! Dave, that's interesting that fell races do. Or do you only mean the ones that are 20, 30 plus (so effectively ultras too) miles or are particularly mountainous or remote, so that the entry criteria are for safey? I was thinking more about over subscribed road races, where you could get a guaranteed entry based on a previous decent time. But yes, experience and ability as entry criteria to challenging mountain races is another reward for ability, which was sort of what I was getting at. Cool. :-)G
McNewbie Mar 2013 10:52am, 1 Mar 2013 11,804 posts	0 McNewbie joins queue for long-awaited HappyG(rrr)'s Fetchtastic Cayke Shop
Dave A Mar 2013 10:59am, 1 Mar 2013 20,202 posts	0 Dave A I think the entries for the biggies are, up to 25 ish miles for the longest Lakeland Classic, are down to you proving experience, after all it can get dangerous. You have to qualify for the UTMB, and take part in certain qualifying events to get points. The BG being one of the qualifyers.