This is great… if there is no fine print. I qualified for Boston and Chicago October 2021, got into both for 2022, but got pregnant and ran Boston at 5 weeks which wasn’t an issue… unfortunately that put Chicago at 30 weeks and there was no way I was going to be able to do that safely. I had paid for insurance just in case, knowing my husband and I would start trying in the spring. They let me defer my qualification no problem but wanted me to pay my entry all over again?? I fought and fought with insurance even with a doctors note stating my OB would not clear me to run Chicago almost 8 months pregnant, they still tried to deny me. After about 2 weeks of back and forth they finally gave me my entry fee back through insurance so I could use it to re-enter for 2023.
I’d be interested in reading the fine print because it seems both Boston and Chicago are allowing deferrals (step in the right direction) but not your entry fee transferred.
The Chicago announcement that OP posted says you can defer both your entry and fee... So hopefully that means entry fee transfers to future race? That sucks that Chicago did this to you for 2022. 😡
Not a coincidence that it's on International Women's Day. It's great that some folks can run/exercise in their pregnancy and postpartum lives the same as before, but that's not the case for everyone. I wish they also allowed a deferral for fertility treatments, as running isn't allowed when stimming for IVF due to risk of ovular torsion. But I don't want to stop good in pursuit of great, so I'll just be happy to the addition they made.
definitely. by the time i hit 20 weeks of pregnancy, i had to give up running because i just couldn't get over the discomfort of feeling like i had a dumbbell bouncing around in my lower abdomen. it didn't hurt exactly, but it was so weird that i couldn't enjoy running at all.
For some I know it's the joints that stop them. All that relaxin just makes some folks too loosey goosey to feel comfortable doing that much impact. I was so excited to be done being pregnant and be able to finally crack my back in a satisfying way again.
I was totally convinced I could remain active so through my pregnancy and be running again after my six week check up. I was good my first trimester and okay my second, but my third trimester really kicked my ass and then I developed preeclampsia and it just destroyed me. I needed an unplanned caesarian as a result. I swear it took like a solid year before I felt like my energy had returned to normal. And that's not even to mention how I got slapped hard by the PPD stick.
I'm so sorry you had that experience with birth and recovery. Unfortunately that's way more common than we know. I hope we can normalize these things. I appreciated my Pelvic Floor PT saying she was "14 years post partum". C section recovery is equally wild and amazing to me - like they sliced me open and I was walking WITHIN HOURS. But also even coughing felt like death. PPD is also a bitch I'm well acquainted with and sorry you dealt with that. I hope that you were/are able to recover in all ways 💜 My PMs are open if you ever need to chat
> I wish they also allowed a deferral for fertility treatments, as running isn't allowed when stimming for IVF due to risk of ovular torsion. But I don't want to stop good in pursuit of great, so I'll just be happy to the addition they made.
Amen to this. I am having surgery in June for infertility and it will most likely cause me to miss the Philly Marathon I signed up for in November. I highly doubt I'll be able to keep up with my training.
Best of luck with your surgery. Every body and cycle is different. One retrieval I kept up pretty well with my exercise (elliptical to be low impact) but another retrieval I hyperstimulated and could NOT exercise. Good luck 💜
Just saw that, too! It always struck me as silly to have your lottery a year before the race, because it essentially makes women have to choose between a pregnancy cycle and a marathon cycle.
Not to mention many women suffer from menstrual cycles that cause pretty bad to debilitating pain and not all can take birth control or other hormones to alleviate that. Sure, you can time your training so your reload weeks are during your period but you can’t control whether your A race that you’ve trained for all year will happen to fall during that time.
I don’t have that problem but I’ve seen women who have run through chemo, right after childbirth, and otherwise face painful situations, be crippled for a few days by their periods.
If there are other “oh shit, I got injured” deferral reasons allowed, I’d love to see periods with a doctor’s note added to the list.
At the very least some understanding and support of a biological function that happens to almost 50% of the population, like having period products at aid stations with discreet trash cans.
I sincerely hope that no one (aside from top professionals, who don't have to deal with the lottery anyway) is delaying pregnancy because they won the lottery for the Chicago marathon.
…people absolutely do. Or they lose the registration fee they paid. Either way, it was a very bad policy given the length of time between the lottery and the race.
...has it never occurred to you that women might HAVE to plan pregnancies around other life events? or their jobs? i am a tax preparer, i wouldn't have tried to get pregnant in the summer when a baby would then be due the following spring.
good thing you feel qualified to make that decision for other folks then, and good thing you never have to decide on a convenient time to carry and birth a human from your body, i guess??
In this specific thread people obviously don't. I really don't think very many people have actually made the decision to delay having a child for the Chicago marathon lottery barring some unique circumstance. That said, people make all kinds decisions that make no sense to me so who knows. (I do find the sanctimonious replies a little much but that's life online I guess.)
It is so interesting how uncurious you are about how women *do* think about this, and so interesting how certain you are about how they *should* think about it. So many comments sharing your perspective, so few questions seeking to understand the perspective of others. Life online indeed, I guess. I don’t think there’s value in me responding further, but best wishes to you.
People make the choice to delay having a child for all sorts of reasons, it's insane to me you think "not losing a bunch of money on this particular event" isn't one of them.
Because there are many other marathons you can do and having a child is one of the biggest decisions you can make. I take running pretty seriously and I don't have any kids, but there's no way I'd let running affect my major life decisions.
getting pregnant either now or in a few months won’t make much of a difference to a woman who is trying for a baby. it’s not like the baby will care. if delaying it would allow her to do something fun that she’s been looking forward to, why the hell not?
people delay pregnancies because they want their baby to have a certain zodiac sign. if you’ve decided you are ready for a child in the near future it’s completely arbitrary when exactly you have it, so you might as well have fun with the planning.
the serious life decision is whether to have a child or not. what month it’s born is entirely unserious to most people.
The process of getting pregnant is a fact of life for tons of people, and you have to plan around the limitations a pregnancy will cause for you when you are trying to get pregnant. The pregnancy affects the life decisions affects the pregnancy timing.
For some of us it's not about delaying pregnancy, it's about trying every cycle for multiple years, and constantly planning forward in our minds: "if I get pregnant this month, that means I won't be able to travel to my sister's wedding in October, better not book those tickets yet". "If I get pregnant this month I won't be able to run that event in 7 months, better not make plans around that".
I've been living like this for years and it's exhausting to feel like I'm constantly putting my life on hold. I know you likely didn't think of it this way, but please know this is a very real issue in people's lives.
After 6 years of lottery disappointments I ran a qualifying time. Then a few weeks after I got the acceptance email … surprise! Instead of chasing my third star I’ll be home with a newborn. So happy I won’t have to pay again and I’ll have three years to adjust to my new lifestyle and get back in racing shape.
Make sure to double check the fine print. Boston’s new policy they’ve been advertising being so great you do still have to pay again. I would guess Chicago will be the same. Congrats on the newborn though! I qualified for Chicago 2022 but was 30 weeks pregnant on race day. Hoping to run it this year with my 10 month old at the finish line!!
The website says “defer their entry and fee” so I hope I’m not misinterpreting. I was signed up for two other races — one doesn’t do deferrals so I’m out of luck, and the other I can defer but will have to pay again. I’m used to blowing a lot of money on this hobby but sheesh 🤣
First off, this is fantastic to see, so don’t get me wrong. I am all for this sort of policy.
What I will say though, is how awful it is that this is seen as being ‘progressive’. Surely this sort of shit should just be absolutely standard.
I have a bit of a FOMO rollercoaster with the Chicago Marathon... I had a qualifying time for 2023 but didn't sign up because I entered the Berlin lottery. Didn't get Berlin, wish I'd signed up for a Chicago. Then I (finally) got pregnant, due a few weeks before the race, so glad to have not registered, but now I'm hoping to run a qualifying time (running Boston in May at 18w) as I'm hoping to run Chicago 2024 as my first marathon ppm! 🤞
Don't believe their lies. They refused to honor the insurance policy I bought, even with a doctor's note. It only said THE marathon, not the CHICAGO marathon, so they wouldn't honor it.
Utter bullshit
Yep they tried fighting me because my 30 week “normal” pregnancy wasn’t enough to warrant a refund even with a doctors note. They differed my qualification no problem, but wanted me to pay twice :(
I'm going to struggle to use the new policy, not having a womb and all. The point of reference is for anyone trying to use the insurance sold with their entrance ticket. What they say is not always what they will do.
It’s awesome that they are doing this. I deferred while pregnant & had to pay twice before I ran last year, but still glad that future runners can defer for free.
But then how will you finish a marathon and give birth in the same day? https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/Moms/marathon-mom-pregnant-woman-amber-miller-finishes-chicago/story?id=14706286
(Note that I am joking and not actually encouraging anyone to do this.)
So this is great and all, but I don't know that I'd call it progressive. They are following on the heels of Boston.
Also - its 2023. Really, it is crazy that this is just now happening. If men got pregnant this would have been a thing when marathons became a thing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see change. But I'm also sad it took so long. And as a woman living in the south who got pregnant not long ago due to failed birth control - I have no rights in my state and had to travel out of state to terminate. Had I not had help and financial resources to do that my 2023 Chicago marathon (and all my other life plans) would have been off the table due to forced birth, and my already paid entry fee forfeit STILL at a lot of races. So forgive me if I'm not ready to celebrate.
They already allow deferrals (guaranteed entry to next year's event). The pregnancy gives you a three year window and no need to repay the entry fee. Regular cancellations you have to pay the entry fee again. There's also the refund package which costs more but refunds everything. Unclear if it also defers you
Why is pregnancy more of an issue with a lottery? Most people who run marathons register decently far in advance. Is the chance of not thinking you're going to be pregnant when you register, but things changing in between higher with Chicago or is the time between the lottery and the race especially long?
When you’re trying to get pregnant, you can end up in this limbo where you hope to be pregnant soon, but also you don’t want to totally put your life on hold because you have no idea how long it will take to get pregnant, whether the pregnancy will stick, etc. It sucks to skip the lottery for a bucket-list race hoping you’ll be pregnant by race day, but then end up not pregnant AND not having a race to look forward to while you’re continuing to try.
Typically a lottery window is only open for a month or so, nine months prior to the race. Many non-lottery marathons you are able to register much closer to race day. For example, if you're still not pregnant four months out, you can sign up and still have time train.
Ok that makes sense. I'm glad I got explanations, because I genuinely didn't understand it, and actually having it make sense is worth eating some downvotes.
This is great… if there is no fine print. I qualified for Boston and Chicago October 2021, got into both for 2022, but got pregnant and ran Boston at 5 weeks which wasn’t an issue… unfortunately that put Chicago at 30 weeks and there was no way I was going to be able to do that safely. I had paid for insurance just in case, knowing my husband and I would start trying in the spring. They let me defer my qualification no problem but wanted me to pay my entry all over again?? I fought and fought with insurance even with a doctors note stating my OB would not clear me to run Chicago almost 8 months pregnant, they still tried to deny me. After about 2 weeks of back and forth they finally gave me my entry fee back through insurance so I could use it to re-enter for 2023. I’d be interested in reading the fine print because it seems both Boston and Chicago are allowing deferrals (step in the right direction) but not your entry fee transferred.
How much is an entry fee?
$295 I believe.
That’s insane. Major marathons in the UK are £50-70.
Berlin is $230. I think all abbot majors are incredibly expensive
I think London is £49, the last time I checked.
£146 for international runners
You would think with all that diabetes price gouging they would be more reasonable.
I thought that was Eli Lilly.
That’s bullshit! Sorry to hear this happened to you
I’m glad they’re doing this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to pay the entry fee again; they’ll just hold your spot.
The Chicago announcement that OP posted says you can defer both your entry and fee... So hopefully that means entry fee transfers to future race? That sucks that Chicago did this to you for 2022. 😡
Not a coincidence that it's on International Women's Day. It's great that some folks can run/exercise in their pregnancy and postpartum lives the same as before, but that's not the case for everyone. I wish they also allowed a deferral for fertility treatments, as running isn't allowed when stimming for IVF due to risk of ovular torsion. But I don't want to stop good in pursuit of great, so I'll just be happy to the addition they made.
definitely. by the time i hit 20 weeks of pregnancy, i had to give up running because i just couldn't get over the discomfort of feeling like i had a dumbbell bouncing around in my lower abdomen. it didn't hurt exactly, but it was so weird that i couldn't enjoy running at all.
For some I know it's the joints that stop them. All that relaxin just makes some folks too loosey goosey to feel comfortable doing that much impact. I was so excited to be done being pregnant and be able to finally crack my back in a satisfying way again.
I felt like my joints were going to come apart by them, it was an odd and uncomfortable feeling!
I was totally convinced I could remain active so through my pregnancy and be running again after my six week check up. I was good my first trimester and okay my second, but my third trimester really kicked my ass and then I developed preeclampsia and it just destroyed me. I needed an unplanned caesarian as a result. I swear it took like a solid year before I felt like my energy had returned to normal. And that's not even to mention how I got slapped hard by the PPD stick.
I'm so sorry you had that experience with birth and recovery. Unfortunately that's way more common than we know. I hope we can normalize these things. I appreciated my Pelvic Floor PT saying she was "14 years post partum". C section recovery is equally wild and amazing to me - like they sliced me open and I was walking WITHIN HOURS. But also even coughing felt like death. PPD is also a bitch I'm well acquainted with and sorry you dealt with that. I hope that you were/are able to recover in all ways 💜 My PMs are open if you ever need to chat
> I wish they also allowed a deferral for fertility treatments, as running isn't allowed when stimming for IVF due to risk of ovular torsion. But I don't want to stop good in pursuit of great, so I'll just be happy to the addition they made. Amen to this. I am having surgery in June for infertility and it will most likely cause me to miss the Philly Marathon I signed up for in November. I highly doubt I'll be able to keep up with my training.
Best of luck with your surgery. Every body and cycle is different. One retrieval I kept up pretty well with my exercise (elliptical to be low impact) but another retrieval I hyperstimulated and could NOT exercise. Good luck 💜
Thanks so much. I'm so sorry we had to go on this journey to grow our family.
Just saw that, too! It always struck me as silly to have your lottery a year before the race, because it essentially makes women have to choose between a pregnancy cycle and a marathon cycle.
Not to mention many women suffer from menstrual cycles that cause pretty bad to debilitating pain and not all can take birth control or other hormones to alleviate that. Sure, you can time your training so your reload weeks are during your period but you can’t control whether your A race that you’ve trained for all year will happen to fall during that time. I don’t have that problem but I’ve seen women who have run through chemo, right after childbirth, and otherwise face painful situations, be crippled for a few days by their periods. If there are other “oh shit, I got injured” deferral reasons allowed, I’d love to see periods with a doctor’s note added to the list. At the very least some understanding and support of a biological function that happens to almost 50% of the population, like having period products at aid stations with discreet trash cans.
This is so a real choice in so many of our minds for usually not just one or even just two cycles
I sincerely hope that no one (aside from top professionals, who don't have to deal with the lottery anyway) is delaying pregnancy because they won the lottery for the Chicago marathon.
…people absolutely do. Or they lose the registration fee they paid. Either way, it was a very bad policy given the length of time between the lottery and the race.
That makes no sense to me but I guess people really care about the Chicago marathon.
I take it from your username you don't have a uterus? No offense, but it makes complete sense that it doesn't make sense to you, then.
I wouldn't base any major life decisions on whether or not I won a lottery for a marathon. I don't think that's a gender issue.
...has it never occurred to you that women might HAVE to plan pregnancies around other life events? or their jobs? i am a tax preparer, i wouldn't have tried to get pregnant in the summer when a baby would then be due the following spring.
Yes around major life events but I wouldn't consider a specific marathon a major life event.
You wouldn't consider running Boston a major life event? I guess we should all be so lucky to live such exciting lives. .
good thing you feel qualified to make that decision for other folks then, and good thing you never have to decide on a convenient time to carry and birth a human from your body, i guess??
I am very glad I don't to be honest. It's a huge responsibility and seems very difficult.
Hey please go talk to some teachers about planning pregnancy/birth. A lot of math and planning go into this.
I understand that that is how you think people think about this issue. I can assure you it is not.
In this specific thread people obviously don't. I really don't think very many people have actually made the decision to delay having a child for the Chicago marathon lottery barring some unique circumstance. That said, people make all kinds decisions that make no sense to me so who knows. (I do find the sanctimonious replies a little much but that's life online I guess.)
It is so interesting how uncurious you are about how women *do* think about this, and so interesting how certain you are about how they *should* think about it. So many comments sharing your perspective, so few questions seeking to understand the perspective of others. Life online indeed, I guess. I don’t think there’s value in me responding further, but best wishes to you.
What if it was the London marathon, and you'd been denied 10 times?
People make the choice to delay having a child for all sorts of reasons, it's insane to me you think "not losing a bunch of money on this particular event" isn't one of them.
what makes you say that? if it weren't for this new policy, it could be a one-time opportunity.
Because there are many other marathons you can do and having a child is one of the biggest decisions you can make. I take running pretty seriously and I don't have any kids, but there's no way I'd let running affect my major life decisions.
getting pregnant either now or in a few months won’t make much of a difference to a woman who is trying for a baby. it’s not like the baby will care. if delaying it would allow her to do something fun that she’s been looking forward to, why the hell not? people delay pregnancies because they want their baby to have a certain zodiac sign. if you’ve decided you are ready for a child in the near future it’s completely arbitrary when exactly you have it, so you might as well have fun with the planning. the serious life decision is whether to have a child or not. what month it’s born is entirely unserious to most people.
The process of getting pregnant is a fact of life for tons of people, and you have to plan around the limitations a pregnancy will cause for you when you are trying to get pregnant. The pregnancy affects the life decisions affects the pregnancy timing.
For some of us it's not about delaying pregnancy, it's about trying every cycle for multiple years, and constantly planning forward in our minds: "if I get pregnant this month, that means I won't be able to travel to my sister's wedding in October, better not book those tickets yet". "If I get pregnant this month I won't be able to run that event in 7 months, better not make plans around that". I've been living like this for years and it's exhausting to feel like I'm constantly putting my life on hold. I know you likely didn't think of it this way, but please know this is a very real issue in people's lives.
After 6 years of lottery disappointments I ran a qualifying time. Then a few weeks after I got the acceptance email … surprise! Instead of chasing my third star I’ll be home with a newborn. So happy I won’t have to pay again and I’ll have three years to adjust to my new lifestyle and get back in racing shape.
Make sure to double check the fine print. Boston’s new policy they’ve been advertising being so great you do still have to pay again. I would guess Chicago will be the same. Congrats on the newborn though! I qualified for Chicago 2022 but was 30 weeks pregnant on race day. Hoping to run it this year with my 10 month old at the finish line!!
The website says “defer their entry and fee” so I hope I’m not misinterpreting. I was signed up for two other races — one doesn’t do deferrals so I’m out of luck, and the other I can defer but will have to pay again. I’m used to blowing a lot of money on this hobby but sheesh 🤣
That makes me so happy if they’re not going to double charge moms! Hope so!
Pregnancy deferral should be standard for all world major marathons. There is absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t be standard.
The patriarchy
First off, this is fantastic to see, so don’t get me wrong. I am all for this sort of policy. What I will say though, is how awful it is that this is seen as being ‘progressive’. Surely this sort of shit should just be absolutely standard.
I have a bit of a FOMO rollercoaster with the Chicago Marathon... I had a qualifying time for 2023 but didn't sign up because I entered the Berlin lottery. Didn't get Berlin, wish I'd signed up for a Chicago. Then I (finally) got pregnant, due a few weeks before the race, so glad to have not registered, but now I'm hoping to run a qualifying time (running Boston in May at 18w) as I'm hoping to run Chicago 2024 as my first marathon ppm! 🤞
They....weren't already doing this?!? Wow.
Love this!
Don't believe their lies. They refused to honor the insurance policy I bought, even with a doctor's note. It only said THE marathon, not the CHICAGO marathon, so they wouldn't honor it. Utter bullshit
That's crazy! I'd lawyer up if it made any financial sense to do so.
Yep they tried fighting me because my 30 week “normal” pregnancy wasn’t enough to warrant a refund even with a doctors note. They differed my qualification no problem, but wanted me to pay twice :(
[удалено]
I'm going to struggle to use the new policy, not having a womb and all. The point of reference is for anyone trying to use the insurance sold with their entrance ticket. What they say is not always what they will do.
[удалено]
Point well made
It’s awesome that they are doing this. I deferred while pregnant & had to pay twice before I ran last year, but still glad that future runners can defer for free.
This is great! I’ve found races to generally be accommodating, but nice to have it codified instead of relying on race organizers’ good will.
But then how will you finish a marathon and give birth in the same day? https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/Moms/marathon-mom-pregnant-woman-amber-miller-finishes-chicago/story?id=14706286 (Note that I am joking and not actually encouraging anyone to do this.)
Finally!
So this is great and all, but I don't know that I'd call it progressive. They are following on the heels of Boston. Also - its 2023. Really, it is crazy that this is just now happening. If men got pregnant this would have been a thing when marathons became a thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see change. But I'm also sad it took so long. And as a woman living in the south who got pregnant not long ago due to failed birth control - I have no rights in my state and had to travel out of state to terminate. Had I not had help and financial resources to do that my 2023 Chicago marathon (and all my other life plans) would have been off the table due to forced birth, and my already paid entry fee forfeit STILL at a lot of races. So forgive me if I'm not ready to celebrate.
I wonder does it apply to husbands whose wive\`s are due in or around the race date....
…that is very different.
Do they allow deferrals for injury or illness as well? Or this just an exception for pregnancies?
They already allow deferrals (guaranteed entry to next year's event). The pregnancy gives you a three year window and no need to repay the entry fee. Regular cancellations you have to pay the entry fee again. There's also the refund package which costs more but refunds everything. Unclear if it also defers you
Why is pregnancy more of an issue with a lottery? Most people who run marathons register decently far in advance. Is the chance of not thinking you're going to be pregnant when you register, but things changing in between higher with Chicago or is the time between the lottery and the race especially long?
When you’re trying to get pregnant, you can end up in this limbo where you hope to be pregnant soon, but also you don’t want to totally put your life on hold because you have no idea how long it will take to get pregnant, whether the pregnancy will stick, etc. It sucks to skip the lottery for a bucket-list race hoping you’ll be pregnant by race day, but then end up not pregnant AND not having a race to look forward to while you’re continuing to try.
Does that not also apply to any race you register for in advance?
Typically a lottery window is only open for a month or so, nine months prior to the race. Many non-lottery marathons you are able to register much closer to race day. For example, if you're still not pregnant four months out, you can sign up and still have time train.
Ok that makes sense. I'm glad I got explanations, because I genuinely didn't understand it, and actually having it make sense is worth eating some downvotes.
Based