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
Ingebrigtsen vs. Kipchoge - Confidence or Trash Talk? - Boston Marathoners Round Table #173
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
#169 - Unlocking Your Fast with Matt Fox & Peter Bromka (Ep. 2)
#168 - Unlocking Your Fast with Peter Bromka
#167 - Mastering the Elite Marathon Mindset: Insider Tips from Pro Runner Phily Bowden
#166 - Capturing the Flow: Unleashing the Power of Running with Photographer Jerry Sun
#165 - Tim Soar, Founder of SOAR Running
#164 - Robert Jackson - Lessons from a 2:42 Boston Marathoner
#163 - Clare Elms - British Masters Title Holder of 20+ World & UK Records
#162 - George Schwiening - 2:26:28 - 7th all-time fastest UK women’s marathoner
#161 - Karl Gloster, 2:34 PB at the London Marathon
#160 - Robert Wilson, SOAR Head of Marketing
#159 - Eliud Kipchoge
#158 - Danny Coyle, Abbott World Marathon Majors Head of Digital & Social Media
#157 - Katja Takala on resilience in business, motherhood and marathon running
#156 - How to train safely during Ramadan with Haroon Mota
#155 - What happens in a running shop with Joe McKeown
#154 - Marathon training essentials, you NEED to know about strength training and managing injury with Physiotherapist Adrian D’Costa
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