Boston Marathon Adds Option for Nonbinary Runners In 2023

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Facts

  • On Mon., the Boston Athletic Association announced that nonbinary athletes will be allowed to compete in next year's Boston Marathon without having to register in the men's or women's division.
  • This comes as the race organizers have opened registration for the April 2023 race allowing prospective runners to identify themselves as nonbinary on the application.
  • Nonbinary athletes interested in running the marathon are required to have completed a race between Sept. 1, 2021, to Sept. 16, 2022, as nonbinary participants.
  • While the Boston Athletic Association has no qualifying times specific for nonbinary athletes yet, prospective runners must meet qualifying criteria for the women's division until nonbinary qualifying times have been established.
  • The first road race reportedly to have a nonbinary division was the 2021 Philadelphia Distance Run, with this division also created for the Brooklyn Marathon and Half Marathon in Apr. of this year.
  • Around 30K runners are expected to compete in the 127th running of the Boston Marathon, which will take place on Apr. 17, 2023. Nonbinary runners can also register to run a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon.

Sources: FOX News, New York Times, CNN, CBS, and Independent.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by USA Today. While there's still a lot to do to help nonbinary runners and the entire nonbinary community as a whole, this decision made by the Boston Athletic Association is an important step to grant social acknowledgment to nonbinary athletes as well as to promote inclusion in sports. This was the correct decision as proven by the high participation in the 2022 Brooklyn Marathon and Half Marathon.
  • Right narrative, as provided by MRC TV. The Boston Athletic Association is the latest race organizer to cave to pressure from the "woke" left, following the examples of the Philadelphia Distance Run and the Brooklyn Marathon. This new category is unnecessary as nonbinary long-distance runners comprise a tiny minority of race participants. The creation of different categories is almost reaching absurdity.