Name: Paul (PaulyGram @ runningahead) and facshus.blogspot.com

Sex: M

Age (at the time of first BQ): I was 44 when I qualified and when I
ran my Boston

Height :  5’9″

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 160

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Tell us a little about the race.  I qualified for Boston at the Chicagoland Spring Marathon, but there’s more to the story (http://facshus.blogspot.com/2011/05/couch-to-bq-in-75-months.html). My first marathon was April 28, 2011. I went out too hard and it was hot so I blew up. So naturally I decided to do it again 2 weeks later.  It worked. May 5, 2011.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? Did you run in college or high school?
I was a competitive runner in HS and College. I was a middle distance guy and hated doing as much as 10 miles. I quit running after college and in 2010 decided to start running again to get back in shape. So 7.5 months after restarting my running, I qualified

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

Maybe 10,000 miles if you include 4 years of high school track 12 years earlier.  Lifetime is tough to guess. Let’s try 1000 miles a year for high school and college so 8000? then another 1000 in the months leading up to Boston.

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ?
I did about 900-1000 miles.

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

I ran 3 that year. The Country Music Marathon, Chicagoland Spring Marathon and later that year I ran a trail marathon Tecumseh.
Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was?
I followed my own version of the Higdon. But I ran speed work and tempo runs more to beat myself into shape.  Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach?  I do run with a club and think everyone should. It really makes you commit to getting to the start line each day.

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how?
I did core work 3/wk and cardio weights 2/wk

Did speed work play a role or specific workouts play a role in your training? If so, how?
I firmly believe that the best way to run faster is to run faster so I was serious about getting speed work in.

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ?
It was a great goal it was fun to chase it down and once you get to Boston, it’s a great experience, cherish it all