Soldiers & Boston Marathon

there are 100s or 1000s of marathons now every year – boston should remain traditional, competitive & without stunts, charity runners or anything else besides runners who ran their qualifying times and are running their best race on that day

the marine corps marathon in DC or any number of others be more appropriate for other displays and such

The Boston already has special sections such as one for heart attack survivors. I don't see that soldiers in full field gear are too much different if they have some qualifying requirement. Moreover, recalling the combat load that I used to carry when I was in the army, I think that running a marathon with that would be a real accomplishment.

and no stunts, charity or other stuff

not saying there's anything wrong with any of that, just that Boston isn't the right place for it, and there are 1000s of other events already suitable for the other stuff

i like the rock & roll marathons & etc. and when i ran my first marathon, i ran as a charity runner for team in training, raising money for leukemia & lymphoma research & treatment

i just think some things, like the boston marathon, should be kept pure & simple

Here are the qualifying times:

AGE GROUP MEN WOMEN
18-34 3hrs 10min 3hrs 40min
35-39 3hrs 15min 3hrs 45min
40-44 3hrs 20min 3hrs 50min
45-49 3hrs 30min 4hrs 00min
50-54 3hrs 35min 4hrs 05min
55-59 3hrs 45min 4hrs 15min
60-64 4hrs 00min 4hrs 30min
65-69 4hrs 15min 4hrs 45min
70-74 4hrs 30min 5hrs 00min
75-79 4hrs 45min 5hrs 15min
80 and over 5hrs 00min 5hrs 30min

I say run it in whatever you want if you can qualify- these times are pretty tough.
In the case of the soldiers, if you're running the Boston in full dress/boots, I think you should have to qualify in full dress/boots. Did they do that or did they qualify in running gear and put the fatigues on just for the Boston?

Wanna run it in a gorilla suit? Awesome! Try and qualify in a gorilla suit.
I think this would be a reasonable enough policy.