How John Kitchen Qualified for Boston

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Name: John Kitchen

Sex: Male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 48

Height (at the time of first BQ):  6’1″

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 175

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? RnR DC

Tell us a little about the race. Sprained ankle 2 weeks before race. Had one week of peak mileage of 42 miles. Unsure of capable pace, I used HR as metric. Went out to fast and crashed and burned last 6 miles. Took me approx 60 minutes to walk/ jog last 10k

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? 3 years

Did you run in college or high school? Yes

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? Uknown

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? Unkown

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 2

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was? no

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach? Yes

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? Yes, could run less and simulate feelings of running on tired legs. Helped build cumulative fatigue without the pounding

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? Tempo work yes
Speed work not so much

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? You have to put in the time and effort either with straight running or cross training

Boston Qualifier Questionnaire Art

How Eric Wheeler Qualified for Boston

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Name: Eric Wheeler

Sex: Male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 39

Height (at the time of first BQ):  5’8″

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 152 lbs

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? Providence

Tell us a little about the race. Spring Marathon in New England, cool, rolling terrain, little wind

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? 5 years

Did you run in college or high school? Yes

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? 4,000

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? 1,000

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 5

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was? No, triathlon training with emphasis on run; 1 recovery run per week, 1 speed workout or tempo run, 1 easy run and long run with 2 tempo intervals; 3 bike rides per week & 2 swims per week

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach? No

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? see above regarding swim/bike

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? yes, increased top end speed

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? go and get it.

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Lorde’s Coal

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Coal
Audre Lorde

Audre Lord would go on to be one of the cornerstones of the contemporary poetry, a woman referenced by anyone who cares about the art form. An activist who taught a generation that “”Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference – those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older – know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master’s house as their only source of support.”

But when she wrote Coal, she wasn’t famous yet. She was already a powerful writer, shaping language to address the political through the lens of the human, writing about social justice, yes, but also love. This is a slim volume by a relatively young woman finding her voice and better scholars than I might say the work is not yet mature, but I found it deeply compelling, human, and real. A strong introduction to a powerful voice.

Recommended.

Melissa’s Story of Qualifying for the Boston Marathon

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Name: Melissa

Sex: Female

Age (at the time of first BQ):  26

Height (at the time of first BQ):  5’2″

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 103

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? Glass City

Tell us a little about the race. Prior to Glass City, I had only competed in fall marathons. After a couple of lazy months last fall, I decided to sign up for a spring race to get myself moving over the winter. Glass City appealed to me based on location and it’s timing in late April.

I trained injury and illness free until about 2 weeks before the race, when I strained my calf. My doctor gave me the “okay” to run but that it would probably be unpleasant. My strategy for the race was to go out fast and hang on for the last few miles, hoping that I could hobble in on one leg if necessary. The weather was perfect (around 40 degrees at the start, warming to about 55 during the race) with very little wind. There were only a few thousand marathoners so not a lot of weaving around people, although also a bit lonely in the later miles. The course was pretty flat with no steep inclines or descents.

I went out at a faster-than-qualifying pace, hitting mile 16 in just over 2 hours. I slowed considerably in the last 6 miles, due to calf pain, tired quads, and mental fatigue. I starting running from mile marker to mile marker and giving myself a short walk break at each (a strategy I used at Ironman to break the run into shorter, manageable chunks). While it didn’t feel or look pretty, I made it to the finish in 3:27 for my first BQ.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? 6 years

Did you run in college or high school?        No

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? I don’t closely track mileage unless I am training to an event, but I would estimate lifetime mileage at around 5000.

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? Not many. In the year leading up to the race I was focused on training for Ironman Wisconsin, and for me that meant cutting way back on running in order to become a stronger swimmer and biker. During Ironman training, my weekly mileage was around 20 miles per week. Then after Ironman I took several months off from running before getting back into things to train for Glass City, at which point I was following a plan that had me running around 35 miles per week.

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 1 running race and 2 long course triathlons

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was? Yes, Run Less Run Faster. I think the Run Less method has lots of critics who feel that mileage isn’t high enough to lead to a successful marathon. I really liked the plan because it allowed me to continue with hard bike and swim workouts on the days I wasn’t running. Since every workout in the plan is “hard,” I approached each one ready to work and didn’t allow myself to give less than my all.

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach? No

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? I followed the Run Less Run Faster plan which requires 2 to 3 days of hard cross training workouts (either swimming, biking, or rowing) on days where there is no run workout. As a triathlete I found this to be the perfect way to blend marathon training with the other sports I was accustomed to doing. My cross training workouts were high intensity and generally lasted 45 minutes to an hour. I would swim once or twice a week and bike twice a week.

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? In the Run Less Run Faster plan, there are two workouts a week dedicated to speed. The first is traditional track workouts with a mix of 400s, 800s, 1200s, and 1600s. The second are tempo runs ran at race pace or faster. I attribute the speed workouts to my significant gains during this training cycle.

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? Find a plan that works for your schedule and lifestyle and stick to it!

Boston Qualifier Questionnaire Art

Hanh’s the Miracle of Mindfulness

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The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
Thich Nhat Hanh

A beautiful and practical book on starting and sustaining a meditation practice by Thich Nhat Hanh. If you’re reading this review you probably know Hanh is one of the most important Buddhist practitioners alive today. His writings, courses, and political activism are legion, and the community that surrounds him broad and incredibly active. I’ve been an admirer from afar from many years (indeed, I have done legal work for his organization) but I haven’t really delved into his work until now.

This is a great place to start, accessible, clear, and gorgeous in its simplicity, it’s a perfect introduction to Hanh. Generally, I find myself drawn to the more scientific end of writings on mindfulness, but the sincerity and pureness of intention here drew me in and captivated me. I read the whole thing in two days.

If you’re looking to dip you toes into a mindfulness practice, you could do worse than starting here.

Recommended for the enthusiast.

How Luis Qualified for Boston After 10 Tries

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Thanks to Luis (and his coach) for sharing the story of a long, but ultimately successful road to a BQ! Congrats Luis.

Name: Luis Fajardo (@LuisFajardoCR)

Sex: Male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 43

Height (at the time of first BQ):  5’7″

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 148lb

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? Spring Chance BQ.2 Marathon

Tell us a little about the race. After several attempts, I selected this race because is designed for BQ. This is a 5K loop (8 times) race and you can bring your own hydration. I needed all the variables in my favor and this race delivered. I was also fortunate enough to have good weather on race day ~43F at the start.

At my age (43), I needed 3:15 to qualify but I was aiming for 3:10 to guarantee (I hope so) and spot on 2019 Boston Race. I finished in 3:09:42.

Everything went smooth, besides a couple of wrinkles (had to stop to get a rock off my shoe, lost about 1min here and a bathroom break another minute here), but the most difficult part came at mile 25 with a light cramp on my right calve, I ran the last mile very conservative and playing in my head with the time I had left so was able to hit the time I wanted even with those difficulties. Last mile was the longest in my life.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? ~8 years

Did you run in college or high school? No

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? 10,000

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? 1800

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 3 half marathons one each month prior race

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? No

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach? Yes

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? Yes, I did 3 days of strength training, I did it on hard days so easy days were easy

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? Yes, I did once a week of track workouts

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? I want to share with you all what my coach sent to me after my qualification, this explains so much what I went thru for this race. I’m now working even harder as I want to do sub 3hrs in Boston next year (2019), but the main thing I can say to anybody working hard to archive a BQ is to BELIEVE, and enjoy the ride, seriously, after so many defeats I learn to appreciate every workout and focusing on doing my best every day. You can’t control the outcome, all you can do is do your best every day and the results will come, BELIEVE and HAVE FUN!

“THE DREAM: TO QUALIFY FOR BOSTON
The character: A specimen that defines a RUNNER. Somebody that was born loving running, mono-conversational RUNNING, sleeps RUNNING, wakes up RUNNING, eats RUNNING, reads RUNNING, listens RUNNING.
The challenge: Some runners have the physical “gift”, the ability to engage in running motion and feel like the wind, like you are on wheels, you flow, you feel fast, smooth, EFFORTLESS, you keep changing gears, going faster and faster and the machine responds, everything clicks. You train for a few weeks and you can already outrun everybody in your hood, and in school.
In addition to the physical “gift” you also have the mental “gift”. The ability to direct the voices in your head that tell you to slow down when suffering strikes, they have the ovarian or testicular fortitude to override the message and actually either keep the pace or even run faster. You are tough SOB, INDESTRUCTIBLE mentally.
Our character did not come from the assembly line with those engine options or computer software. The tools to work with were your average legs, 2-cylinder heart, outdated cooling system and software. However, the operating system had a glitch, the persistence software was hacked at one point and was the only director running the machine. Gradually, HE HAD TO COMPLETELY REBUILT BOTH THE ENGINE AND THE SOFTWARE to become BOSTON BOUND.
PERSISTANCE: firm, or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
Marathon 1- FAILED
Marathon 2- FAILED
Marathon 3- FAILED
Marathon 4- FAILED
Marathon 5- FAILED
Marathon 6- FAILED
Marathon 7- FAILED
Marathon 8- FAILED
Marathon 9- FAILED
Marathon 10- FAILED

BOSTON QUALIFIER TIME : 3:15

Marathon 11 – TODAY – TIME RAN: 3:09

SUCCESS IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FAILURE; IT IS THE PERSISTENCE THROUGH FAILURE

The SPECIMEN’S name is LUIS FAJARDO. After the 10th FAILED Marathon, his son asked him, “are you going to run another one after 10 FAILURES in your Boston qualifying quest?”. He replied, I DID NOT FAIL, I just discovered another WAY OF HOW NOT TO RUN THE MARATHON.
They can because they think they can ~ Luis Fajardo
Good Timber DOES NOT grow with ease, the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees ~ Luis Fajardo
The mind is its own place, and in itself CAN make a Heaven of Hell, or a Hell of Heaven, YOUR CALL ~ Luis Fajardo
DO NOT find FAULT, FIND remedy ~ Luis Fajardo”

Coach: Omarto Fumero, Miami, Florida

Boston Qualifier Questionnaire Art

Karen’s Story of Qualifying for Boston Marathon

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Name: Karen

Sex: Female

Age (at the time of first BQ): 32

Height (at the time of first BQ):  5’10”

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 133

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? DesMoines

Tell us a little about the race.

Nice course around town. Some rolling hills, but nothing crazy. Well-organized

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? ~15 years

Did you run in college or high school? Yes

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? No idea

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ?       1100

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 3

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was? no

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach? No

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? No

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? I did some random track workouts with friends. Mostly intervals of 400-1000m once/week

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ?Boston Qualifier Questionnaire Art