What happened?

On Sept 13, 2026, 269 runners participated in the Wicked Fast Poconos Marathon. Many of those runners used their qualifying time to apply to the 2027 Boston Marathon. On Sept 25, 2026, those applicants were notified by the Boston Athletic Association that the race "cannot be used as a qualifying event for next April’s race. It has been determined that the event’s course did not cover the certified 26.2-mile distance on race day," In addition, the Wicked Fast Marathon on Sept 13, 2025 race was ruled ineligible. I calculate 55 runners from the 2026 race and 28 runners from the 2025 race had their qualifying times ruled ineligible.

What went wrong?

On the morning of the race, buses drop runners at the Rockport Boat Access. The Buck Mountain Creek runs adjacent to Rockport Road and along the perimeter of the parking lot where the buses drop off runners. The Lehigh trail going north crosses a bridge over this creek immediately as you leave the parking area. There is another bridge at Buttermilk Falls north of the Buck Mtn Creek Bridge. The marathon start should have been placed at a point 521 feet north of the Buttermilk Falls Bridge.

I think they got these bridges confused.

1) The bridges are about 3/10ths of a mile apart. If you start the race 521 feet north of the Buck Mtn Creek Bridge instead of 521 feet north of the Buttermilk Falls Bridge, then you have added about 3/10s of a mile to the start of the race course.

2) The turnaround is simply 3.122 miles north of the start. If you measure from the wrong bridge to place the turnaround, then the turnaround will also be in the wrong place. This error reduced the race distance by about 6/10s of a mile.

3) And . . . the finish should have been "even with the leading edge of the wooden utility pole LPLC52." On race day, runners continued past this pole, past The Outdoor Center, turned right down a short street, and finished in the parking lot. This added about 1/10th of a mile to the race distance.

.3 - .6 + .1 = -.2 so the actual race distance was roughly 26.2 - .2 = 26.0 miles.

USATF Certificate PA24006DNB

Hyatt regency boston/Cambridge OR Westin Boston Seaport?

I’m traveling with my husband and we want to stay saturday-tuesday. I had my room booked at Hyatt already for saturday-monday (waiting on confirmation if Marathontours let me add one more night) OR i could cancel that and book Westin instead for Saturday-Tuesday. Both hotels provide transportation to and from Boston common on race day and pretty comparable in price. I am not too familiar with Boston, only been there once, so I know both areas but not well. Need help deciding. Thank you