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The Czech Locomotive, Emil\nZatopek, 3 time gold medalist in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki once said \u201cIf you want to run, run a\nmile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.\u201dThe qualifying times of the\nBoston Marathon call us to experience a different life.\xa0 It is not so important that we can meet the\nstandards and run a BQ; it\u2019s the whole idea that there is this threshold for\nexcellence out there: a target by which we can measure our own performance.\n\nI stand by the belief that\nanyone who runs and finishes a marathon, no matter what their time, has\ndemonstrated an ability that marks them as athletically gifted within the human\nrace.\xa0 This is not to denigrate the\nimportance or accomplishment of running or walking shorter distances such as a\n5 or 10K road race; but in a world where only point one of one percent of our\nspecies has ever run an organized and official marathon road race to\ncompletion: the accomplishment deserves acknowledgement and admiration.\n\nBut if you\u2019ve qualified to\nrun the Boston Marathon, you are a step above we mere mortals.\xa0 You have proven that you are worthy of\nstanding at a starting line in a town called Hopkinton to run with runners of\nsimilar abilities towards a finish line in downtown Boston marking your name\nfor all time in the official races record book as one who set a BQ, a Boston\nQualifying time: and that is an honor you must cherish for all your life.\n\nShow Links:\n\n\n\n\n\n\xa0\u201cBoston and St. John\u2019s\u201d by Great Big\nSea