BQ or KQ once you get older?

Nice PR.  Why do you think you could not drop 10 mins?

If you live to be 90 and can still do the distance in either race, you will likely qualify.  

Does it get easier?  That's a measure for each person to take.  Up until about 50-54 (my AG) you will see quite a few guys who can still play.  

Then look at the 55-59 AG....that's where it starts to slide off....probably due to injury and age. What you are left with is playing the odds.  Can you last without injury?  If you can, you'll make it by attrition in alot of cases.....but that's the deal...can you outlast the normalcy of your age?  

To me, all you can do is keep going.........you'll find out soon enough if your efforts are good enough.

For Boston, one thing to consider is the qualifying period for the race.  Your BQ time is based on your age on race day.  The Qualifying period begins 18 months before the race.  

So if you pick a fall marathon to run when you are 39, your BQ time will be the 40-44 time.

I BQ'd at age 39 in November 2011, but will be doing Boston this spring at age 41 (birthday in January) 

Only way I'm gonna qualify for either is if there's no-one else in the age group!  My best friend is in my age group and she is WAY faster so unless she stops it ain't gonna happen.  She's on IM no. 12....every year she says no more....

x2. When they changed the qualifying times I had to drop my time by almost 10 minutes to ensure a BQ. I'm 51 next week. Getting faster doesn't seem any easier as I get older. It's still all about training hard, smart, and staying healthy. More so at 50+ since it does take longer to recover, like it or not.

Assuming that your time-frame is less than 20 years, so Left Brain's solution is too long to wait. KQ is going to be really tough for the next few AGs, as its a far harder bar to cross than a BQ, and the number of competitors goes up as you hit the 35-45 AGs, as more guys with time or income or mid-life crises come into the sport.

I agree with the other posters who say that you shouldn't rule out a BQ in your current AG. Run lots of miles, and be as lean as possible, and you might surprise yourself. But BQ probably does get a bunch easier as you get older (in my opinion). And if you can avoid injury (a big if -- that gets harder as you age), then you won't slow as much as you might think. I ran a BQ with 2 minutes to spare when I was 27, and recently ran a BQ with 25 minutes to spare, based on the 45-49 standards. I don't have the high-end speed that I had in my 20s, and I have to be more careful about injury avoidance, but I feel that my endurance is little different than it was when I was younger.

I did this when I was 39 as well. BQ'd for AG 40-44. That was the next to the last marathon I ran. Now I am getting ready to turn 59 and plan on running a marathon this year to BQ for next years race in the 60-64 AG. Looking for the fastest flattest course to squeak in there.

I have pretty much given up on my IM goals but hoping to qualify for AG Championships in the HIM in 2014 as well. I will look for a HIM that historically has a low number of women age 60-64 for my qualifier. (Hey, whatever works)