Blythe Boston bound by 34 seconds

This time it’s official. Lloydminster runner Craig Blythe will toe the start line of the 129th Boston Marathon on April 21, 2025.

The 37-year-old athlete and vice principal of Winston Churchill School found out on Wednesday his time of 2:57:35 in the Edmonton Marathon on Aug. 18 made the Boston cutoff by just 34 seconds.

“It was close,” said Blythe. “My wife and I get to take a trip down there and see what I can do in the big city.”

Runners had to be 6:51 faster than the qualifying time for their age group and gender to secure their spot for the race. This is due to the race limit of 30,000 entrants.

The qualifying period for the 2025 marathon run is Sept. 1-15 with a record 36,393 applicants.

Only 24,069 qualifiers were accepted.

In Boston, achieving an age group qualifying standard doesn’t guarantee entry in the event. It’s simply an opportunity to submit a registration application.

Blythe missed the boat last year when the Boston Athletic Association tightened the qualifying cutoff by five minutes and 29 seconds.

He gave it another crack at the Calgary Marathon this spring with a qualifying time of 2:59:25.

“If I had stuck with that time I would have been cut for Boston because of that 6:51 cutoff,” said Blythe

“It was a rainy windy day, so it was good to get under 3 hours, which was great. I’m happy I did Edmonton to make sure.”

Bythe says Edmonton is a nice flat course so lot’s of people go there to get a fast time.

His quest to qualify is also a message about perseverance that he talked about as the race director of the newly named Teira Thomson Cross-country Classic at Bud Miller park Wednesday (Sept. 25).

“If you keep working when you get older you get faster and faster and achieve your dreams and your goals.”

“Now that I have that extra motivation and have my ticket booked, I’ll be running as many times as I can this winter.”