Tuesday, December 21, 2010

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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8 comments:

KovasP said...

Not BQing or caring much about race gear, this does smack of opportunism. Being a fan of making bucks, go Adidas!

Running and living said...

So next up is the shirt with 3:39 Boston Qualifier, aka I am better than you 3:40 qualifier. You get the point. Not a fan!

Georgia Snail said...

How about a "I ran a BQ and all I got was a chance to spend $70 on this stupid T-Shirt" T-Shirt?

Sun Runner said...

Let us not forget our pre-Boston get-together when THIS happened. As I recall you were so put out by my brazen breach of runner etiquette you even mentioned my faux pas to the hostess and the waitress at Old Chicago.

Before I ran the NYC Marathon in '09 I wore my "NYC Training 2009" shirt all summer. Was that OK? I think so.

I think whoever came up with this idea is a marketing genius. Someone is going to make a shit-ton of money.

Jen Feeny said...

I love GeorgiaSnail's comment! Bahahaha!!!

As for Sun Runner, I am still appalled at you both!!!

You know how I feel about the matter, I won't do it. I could maybe get a "Training For" shirt but that's about it. I won't buy a Boston shirt til I've earned it and by earned it I mean, ran it.

The Boring Runner said...

Yeah, as much as I hate to take the 'other' side.....I'm w/ Redhead. Bad mojo.

BUT, the captialist in me said good for adidas on creating something that a LOT of people will buy.

Jessie said...

So Miss Morgan.... Does this go for me too as I bought you and Jen the 13.1 Christmas bulb? Ooopps!

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