[kabar]

Just checked the Boston Marathon site and found the following in terms of qualifying standards:

Monday, April 20, 1970

Qualifying standards were introduced. The official B.A.A. entry form stated, "A runner must submit the certification...that he has trained sufficiently to finish the course in less than four hours…"

[dennisw]

Monday, April 20, 1970

Qualifying standards were introduced. The official B.A.A. entry form stated, "A runner must submit the certification...that he has trained sufficiently to finish the course in less than four hours…"

That's for the serious registered runners. The 26 mile course of the Boston Marathon is kept clear of traffic for about 6-7 hours. Some run-walk the marathon in that time. You would be surprised

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

In the mid 1970s, the qualifying time for men (you have to qualify to run in the Boston Marathon in another marathon) was 3 hours--the per-mile pace is slightly less that 7 minutes per mile....for a 26.2 mile race. Around 1980, the BAA, which organizes that race cut that to 2 hours 50 minutes, about 6 minutes and thirty seconds per mile.

Found this in my Boston Marathon book by Tom Derderian.