Name

Norman W.

Sex:

Male

Age (at the time of first BQ):

34

Height:

6′ 0″

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

158

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Richmond, VA

Tell us a little about the race.

Fairly flat, easy course, decent support and a nice downhill at the very end. The year I ran it there were just over 5000 participants.

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

4 years

Did you run in college or high school?

No

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

3000

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

~1000

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

5

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, loosely based on the Hal Higdon Advanced 1 schedule, but I shuffled days and details around to coincide with local running clubs and a training meetup group.

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

Yes

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

Some cross-fit style workouts and strength training.

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

Yes, at least one regular weekly speed/track interval workout with a training group.

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

I hit mine on apparently relatively low mileage, but I did a lot of quality workouts and strength training; it likely resembled more of a 5k/10k training plan but with some extra longer runs mixed in. Capped out around 50mpw on my longest couple weeks.