The BQ Divide

Seems that selling out in eight hours alerted the fine people at BAA about a new marketing opportunity. And the folks over at Adidas lost no time in taking advantage of this new opportunity. Last week I noticed Adidas is not only selling Boston Marathon merchandise, including the standard 2011 Boston Marathon gear, but a new version of the Boston line…the Boston Marathon Qualifier.

Yep, if you were one of the unfortunate who were jammed out of an opportunity to run Boston 2011 (and not one of the lucky fall BQers who can try again in 2012 using their fall 2010 time), then you can at least let the world know you are a BQer, even if you didn’t actually run the race.

see: Boston Marathon Qualifier

Now, this brings up a few interesting questions that get at the heart of runner's superstition. The Redhead is a firm believer that a runner should never wear the 'race shirt' before the race. Therefore, any of you who wear the 'race shirt' during the actual race are offensive to the Redhead. Hay, it's her belief system.

So, does this new line run afoul of such running lore? Are the running gods to be offended?

I'll admit I carry some runner superstition. I don't wear the running shirt before I run the race, but I'm fine with wearing a 'race shirt' even if I didn't run it that year. This is proven by my purchase of the 2010 Capital City River Run race shirt. Didn't run it this year, but I loved the new shirt and got it on sale. Score. The Redhead thinks doing so is bad runner mojo.

I'm sure several runners would never dream of buying Boston Marathon apparel if they didn't run the actual race, but those same runners may be willing to wear the BM Qualifier gear. At least, that is what Adidas is banking on.

And, given the prestige of the race, and the likely notion that all future Boston Marathons will be equally difficult to obtain a spot in, this new line will cover the gap of BQers who are too scared to buy actual BM merchandise. Even though this is a clear attempt by Adidas to exploit—for a profit—those runners screwed out of the chance to run the race they worked so hard to qualify for, it keeps those runners from possibly feeling like posers while recognizing their accomplishment.

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