Diane in legally blind. She first qualified for Boston in 1995 before she lost her vision, but she has since qualified again as a blind runner. She’s an incredible inspiration. Check out her story below and be sure to follow her on social media! Thanks Diane for taking the time to share your story.  

Name

Diane Berberian (www.dianeberberian.org or @dianeberberian or irondiane on instagram

Sex:

Female

Age (at the time of first BQ):

38

Height:

5’2″

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

120

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Jacksonville Bank in Jacksonville. FL

 

Tell us a little about the race.

Small event in numbers. FLAT. January.

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

5 Years

Did you run in college or high school?

No

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

Not sure? I have always been a low mileage/week due to injury prevention

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

~37 miles per week

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

30 or more of varied distances but only 1 marathon

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, I had a coach. Speed work was weekly, tempo runs and long runs. Although he tried to get me to do more miles my body kept breaking down. That was the year I became a triathlete. LOL

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

Yes

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

Absolutely. I could not and still do not tolerate high mileage so I did lots of swim and bike. Actually did so much that I did an Iron man triathlon that year.

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

Absolutely. I was a very strong runner both mentally and physically.

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

I need to add that the first year that I qualified was 1995 and chose not to go to Boston since I loved triathlon more. I did not even try again until 2012 when I was legally blind and qualified with the qualifying time being slower. I am no         where near the 3:42 that I was in 1995.