Anyone who says big dudes can’t get a BQ hasn’t met Tim. At 6’5” 209, he got it done. What is your excuse? Thank you Tim for filling this out!

Name: Timothy E

Sex: male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 41 qualified / 42 age running at Boston

Height: 6’5”

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 209

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? Tell us a little about the race.

Wineglass, Corning, NY — for me [being a Clydesdale], temps are the most important factor.  I can easily lose more than 10lbs of sweat during a long run in the summer … Corning weather was just about perfect — started in the high 30’s and probably was 58 and sunny at the finish.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? Did you run in college or high school?

I ran XC in HS but it was really a way to kill time for basketball as opposed to someone who considered themselves a serious runner.  [I was a mid-pack runner at best — I feel like I train so much more intelligently now.]  Anyway — I didn’t run at all for about 20 years … got fat and lazy.  Started running again about 4-yrs ago.  I would say that I had been running consistently for 2.5 years before I qualified.

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

Really no clue

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

In the 12 months prior to Wineglass I certainly ran more than 2000 … from January to January  I ran about 1800 and ran about 2400 the year of the BQ for the same period

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

I signed up for 2 marathons — the Spring marathon I DNF — temps hit 80 and I just pulled the ripcord.  I also ran 3 halfs; 1 10miler; 2 8k’s; 1 5miler and 2 5k’s [so I guess that’s 11 races]

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was?

Nope

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

I used to train with the North Jersey Masters [Tuesday nite speed] but I really like running early in the AM … I have a “coach” who sends me workouts [even to this day] … I tend to follow them, but frankly, at this point, I know the drill and could do it myself however I really like the idea of feeling like you are letting someone down if you don’t do the work.  It simplifies my life and allows me to wake up and say — I got 10 miles this AM including a 4 @ tempo pace.  I also have read extensively — books; blogs and, of course the posts here on RA.

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how?

nope — none

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

I feel pretty lucky that I have 3-4 guys that I do the majority of my running with … if I do 60m in a week I bet 40+ of those miles are with buddies.  We bullshit for hours and it makes the running something that I really look forward to b/c we spend hours busting each others chops.  My point in mentioning this is that having others to train with is a true motivating factor for races and tough workouts.  2 of my training partners are right on the cusp of sub 3hr marathoners but I can kick both of their asses in a 5k — so we have fun with some good competition mixed into it.