Love this story from Lee who’d be running for 37 years and 25,000 miles before he qualified!

Name

Lee Stubblefield

Sex:

Male

Age (at the time of first BQ):

49

Height:

6-3

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

165

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Tulsa Marathon

Tell us a little about the race.

It was on a city park trail by the river in October, and was a double out-and-back loop. Sounded crazy at first but worked really well.

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

37 years

Did you run in college or high school?

Yes

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

25,000+

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

2500

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

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?

No, did 4 days on, 1 day off. every week did one interval workout, and one hard 5 or 6 mile run. everything else was long, including hills.

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

No

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

Some light weights, nothing extreme, no real definition developing work.

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

Yes. by running interval 400s and 800s, my race pace of 7:17 felt pretty easy until the last few miles.

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

Respect the distance. pick a course that is reasonably easy. effort wise, halfway of a marathon is around mile 18.