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
#153 - Kara Goucher - A marathoners mindset, the fiction, comedy and the truth
#152 - Running from South Africa to London - Deo Kato - Part 1
#151 - Nat Runs - How to keep the joy in your running
#150 - Jonathan Albon - Training insights that will improve the amateur runner
#148 - What to Know About Running and Your Heart with Dr Harkin
#147 - Andy Waterman - Lessons from a sub 2:40 marathoner
#146 - Valencia Marathon Sub 3 - Diary of the weekend
#145 - Ask me anything episode hosted by Matt Chittim
#144 - Corey Joyner - Your best days are ahead
#143 - Which is the best race of the six World Marathon Majors?
#142 - Kate Jayden, world record holder, & endurance athlete tells her story about neurodiversity
#141 - Coaching Simon Fearon to his first Sub 3 hour marathon
#140 - Joan Benoit Samuelson and Liz Yelling - London Marathon 2022
#139 - Running to reclaim the streets and beyond with Alice Light
#138 - Berlin Marathon - The Buildup
#137 - How to fuel your marathon training with Laura Tilt (Registered Dietitian)
#136 - How running can change your life - Shareefa J
#135 - How to run a faster marathon - Matt Fox - Founder Sweat Elite
#134 - How did you become YOU - Conversations in running with Jordan Thomas
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Running with Jake - The PLODcast
Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara
The Strength Running Podcast
Ali on the Run Show
The Running Explained Podcast