In episode 149, I spoke with Fiona English who posted an open letter to the Boston Marathon in January 2023 to ask them to review their deferral policy, for women like herself who earned a Boston Qualifying (BQ) entry before becoming pregnant.
The Boston marathon and the qualifying time is held in high regard globally. After running 17 marathons, through hard work and determination, she qualified running a BQ time at Paris Marathon in April 2022 running 3:27:05, after running 5:47 for her first marathon.
When this podcast was recorded, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) policy had a strict no deferral policy. However during the recording of the podcast unbeknownst to Fiona and I, the B.A.A. posted on Instagram noting they changed their policy to allow for entry deferral post pregnancy. This is thanks to everyone that spoke following the post, but more importantly the pioneers before that made this final push possible.
There’s definitely more that needs to be done, one of those things is focused on the remaining three marathon majors, to follow suit in having progressive deferral policies.
Further information on resources to create a level start line for women include:
You can follow Fiona on Instagram at @englishruns
Thank you to everyone that supports this podcast and this episode and thank you to my patreons who support the show. You can support the show by becoming a patreon at www.patreon.com/ARunnersLife
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Chasing the Unicorn - Boston Marathon Live at Main Stage - #188
Marathon Prep & Team Meb Keflezighi 10: Behind the Scenes - #187
Boston Marathon Blueprint: 3 Race Strategies for Your Personal Best with Peter Bromka and Matt Fox - #186
Tokyo Marathon Showdown: Kipchoge vs. CJ - Who Rocked the Jordan’s Better? #185
Boston Marathon Mastery with Peter Bromka and Matt Fox - Hill Training #184
Stress Management & Finding Your Running Why's - Boston Marathoners Round Table #183
Bermuda Triangle Half Marathon: Running Adventures featuring Deena Kastor #182
Boston Marathon: Phil's Last Dance or Sandbagging? Wesley Snipes & Rob's Beauty Secrets, and Unveiling Magic Pills for Masters Runners! #181
Unstuck: Healing Journey Through Grief and Fitness - Eric Van Delden #180
Developing Community Bonds Through Running: Enfield Chasers Run Club #179
Phil's Rules, Rob's Elite Indy Race, CJ's Jordan Quest, and Marcus's Bermuda Bound - Boston Marathoners Round Table #178
Charlotte Purdue #177
Marathons, Super Shoes, and Post-Race Life - Boston Marathoners Round Table #176
Rose Harvey #175
Chasing Olympic Dreams: Hannah Bast's Berlin Marathon Journey - Boston Marathoners Round Table #174
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Does speed define running success? Boston Marathoners Round Table - #172
Balancing Goals and Fun: Boston Marathoners Round Table - #171
#170 - Chasing Olympic Dreams: From Autism to 2:27 Boston Marathon Triumph - Meet Ryan Gehman
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