One year after open heart surgery Kevin completes both Ironman Wisconsin and qualifies for Boston in 4 weeks! Amazing story, thanks for sharing Brian!

Name

Kevin Young

Sex:

Male

Age (at the time of first BQ):

38

Height:

5’7”

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

160

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Twin Cities

Tell us a little about the race.

I ran the race 4 weeks after completing IM Wisconsin. So I wasn’t sure going in what kind of pace I could hold. I had lost some conditioning after the IM from resting week after the race. My wife had BQ’d earlier in the year so I was motivated to go for it. I ran Very even 5k splits and believe that was the key to qualifying. cut it very close but hit my qualifying time with less then a minute to spare.

My main race that year was IM Wisconsin so my running was 30-35 miles a week. Long run was 18 miles, done 6 times. Speed work on track early in the year but stopped in June (once I was done with my short course tri events). I biked a lot 225-250 miles a week and believe this cross training was a big benefit.

BTW, I had open heart surgery year before to replace my aortic valve.

 

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

12 years. ran in high school. but stopped running for about 7 years

Did you run in college or high school?

Yes

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

No real idea. Didn’t ever follow an exact plan or write it down

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

 

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

7

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 training program.

 

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

No

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

Yes, I biked a lot that year and believe biking is great cross training for running

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

Did speed work in spring and early summer but stopped as volume of swim bike and run was the priority for my IM.

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

Run a couple of your long, 16-18 mile, runs at your goal pace.

Race day, run even splits

Good luck