Boston marathon organizers offer special entry to essay winners

The Boston Athletic Association has issues 467 special race bibs for the 2014 Boston marathon to those most affected by the bombings last spring.

In mid-November the B.A.A. invited those who had been personally affected by the bombings to send in an essay explaining how they had been affected by the attacks and why they wanted to run the 2014 race. They were asked to keep essays to 250 words or less and the most profound answers would be offered a bib number for the race without meeting the difficult qualifying standards usually required for entry. Those who have been selected are still expected to pay the $325 participant fee.

“The B.A.A. understands how deeply people feel about their reactions to what happened last April, and it appreciates the requests and show of support and strength that has been displayed by so many following last spring’s Boston Marathon,” the organizers wrote. “That strength is something that we will continue to honour in the months ahead.”

The organization received over 1,200 essays. From that they narrowed it down to 467 responses.

In 2014 the Boston marathon will be the largest ever. The B.A.A. plans to offer a total of 36,000 race bibs, 9,000 more than last year, and demand is higher than ever for numbers. Most methods of entry are already sold out. Five-thousand of the bibs this spring will be for runners who were unable to finish last year and guaranteed entry in 2014.

The 5K race has also expanded in size and the demand of charity bibs is higher than ever.

The 2014 race will be held on April 21.

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