Thanks to Pam for taking the time to fill this out even though she is getting ready for major surgery.  Recover well, Pam!

Name: Pam (rocketmamaof5)

Sex: Female

Age (at the time of first BQ): 39 (9 days from turning 40)

Height :  5’6

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 123

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

Run for the Red  It’s a rolling hills type of course located up in the Pocono’s. I needed a  3:50:59 and I ran a 3:47:17 Very small race with very little crowd support but a beautiful course. I actually ran the race with even splits, something I am very proud of.  In the second half of race I passed 71 people while only 1 person passed me.

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

I didn’t get into running until “later in life so I had only been running a couple months short of 4 years when I BQ’D

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

Well not sure how much I ran from the time I started running in July of 2005 until before first marathon in Nov of 2005 however I do have the mileage I’ve ran from my very first marathon until the day before my BQ and it was 7598.6 mi

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

3088.8

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?  

Well I had ran my first 50 mile race the summer of 2008 and then my next race was the marathon where I BQ’D.

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 which was just LOTS of miles.

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 or specific workouts play a role in your training? If so, how?

Just lots of miles

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

Have a good solid base, a mid long run each week and make sure you put the miles in. There are no short cuts!