Adjusted Time Accepted by BAA: Runner Granted Entry To 2019 Boston Marathon

Skip Schott has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride since submitting his Boston Marathon entry. With thousands of others, he waited anxiously to find out if his time would be accepted. He was initially informed that he missed the cutoff by less than 3 seconds.

His story was different though. The time that Bayshore submitted to The B.A.A. was Skip’s gun time, since his chip did not register at the start. To add another twist, it is very likely that his time did not register because Skip wore his bib on a bib belt, and his bib was behind him–making it more likely that it would not be picked up by the timing system.

Runner’s Time Adjusted at Bayshore – Boston Application Being Reviewed

As detailed in a previous article, I provided evidence that conclusively proved that Skip started 30 seconds after the gun sounded, meaning that he ran the race in a time that would have been accepted the BAA for entry to The Boston Marathon. The Bayshore Marathon officials and timer agreed, and they adjusted his net time.

After that article, I was sent a photo that provided visual evidence to back up the data.

Skip is on the left side, as indicated by the black arrow. Runner #1278 is on the right. Runner 1278 has a differential of exactly 30 seconds, validating the conclusions reached in the prior article.

Yesterday, Skip shared his letter with me, confirming his entry into The Boston Marathon.

Summary

Skip deserves to be in the marathon. I strongly disagree with those that feel he should be penalized for wearing the bib behind him. Yes, I agree he should have had it facing forward. But, to penalize him for that error would be unreasonable punitive. I am certain I could find hundreds of runners wearing their bibs in similar fashions qualifying for Boston. There are likely hundreds more that had extra layers on at the start of their races (against official rules), but unless the behavior resulted in a missed read at the start, they would go unpunished.

I hope Skip’s story will serve as a tool to educate other runners on the importance of keeping your bib uncovered and forward facing. I am grateful that logic prevailed in this situation, and that Skip was allowed in the race.

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