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
#111 - How to turn your weaknesses into your strengths, with Blair Wilson
#110 - How to Evaluate Marathon Performance with elite coaches Jen Rhines and Terrence Mahon
#109 - How to structure speed into your marathon training with Olympian Steph Davis
#108 - London Marathon - This is our London (Film) - Behind the scenes
#107 - The Boston Marathon episode
#106 - Charlotte Purdue and Hugh Brasher: London Marathon episode
#105 - Dougie Musson on transitioning to the marathon distance as an elite runner
#104 - Tina Muir on walking your talk
#102 - Stephen Gnoza on the quirks and insights from the Serious Runner
#101 - Trail Blazers (Live at Maverick Race)
#100 - Mary Cain on changing the narrative within sport
How to reframe an unhealthy narrative whilst running - a runner’s life unfiltered
#99 - Ron Romano - Running 60 miles on his 60th birthday
#98 - The First Mile Always Lies: What does the future of crew running look like?
#97 - Tommie Runz - From sobriety to a Boston Qualifier marathon runner
#96 - Julia Chase-Brand - The first U.S. woman to officially finish a major road running race
#95 - Alison Staples on the positive influence of running
#94 - How running reveals our strengths with Coach Alli
#93 - How to fuel your marathon training with Tom Hollis (Registered Dietitian)
#92 - Kevin Quinn from heart surgery to 2:22 marathon, coaching, and pacing the Olympic marathon trails
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