Rob gets to the heart of it in his answer to the final question. Keep at it! Thanks, Rob, for taking part.

Name

Rob

Sex:

Male

Age (at the time of first BQ):

44

Height:

5’8″

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

145

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Santa Rosa

What was your finishing time?

Santa Rosa was my second attempt to BQ for the 2016 Marathon, which I had been hoping to get for a couple of years. I figured it was my best chance, since it’s the first year I could qualify at the 45-49 pace. My first attempt was the NYC marathon in 2014, but the lousy weather and some stomach troubles in the days before the race meant I missed the mark by nearly fifteen minutes.

But after some struggles with IT band problems in the first part of the year, I was in good shape to get in a lot of miles over the summer to prepare for the late August Santa Rosa Marathon. It was my first summer marathon, so the first time I raced starting before the sun came up. The course is gentle, and I hung on with the 3:23 pacer for the first few miles before speeding up a little bit for the next twelves miles or so. I slowed down a bit for the last miles but still managed a 3:19:30 – good enough to register on Friday!

I felt bad for the folks who stayed with the pacer, since it turned out that two minutes over BQ wasn’t enough this year.

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

5 years of taking it halfway seriously

Did you run in college or high school?

No

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

5K miles, maybe?

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

1K miles plus.

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

5 or 6

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

Run when you feel like it!

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

No

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

Not much. I hit the gym occasionally.

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

No

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

Keep at it!