Great response from Mike on his first BQ, as always with these, consistency is key!

Name

Mike Voth

Sex:

Male

Age (at the time of first BQ):

30

Height:

6 feet

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

145

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Grand Rapids Marathon

Tell us a little about the race.

Aimed for 3:00:00, finished with a 3:04:05, 55 seconds under BQ. Went out too fast and had trouble maintaining pace after mile 20. Also, temperature during the race was between 35-40F, quite cold for me since I was used to training in 90F+.

Full race report here: https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/3qdn38/race_report_grand_rapids_marathon_1st_bq_and/

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

20 years

Did you run in college or high school?

Yes

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

4000 miles? Really tough to calculate.

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

1500

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

4

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, Club program was similar to Pfitzinger with 5 periodization cycles

 

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

Yes

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

I did yoga and MMA for strength training each once a week

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

Yes, one speed workout per week that included hill repeats or some type of interval work. Also did long run workouts every 4-6 weeks.

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

I think the consistency in training is what played the largest role in getting my BQ. The training group supported consistency by sending out weekly workout plans, offering supported long runs, and expected me to show up for workouts.