Name

Kris Depew

Sex:

Male

Age (at the time of first BQ):

45

Height:

5’10”

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

147 pounds

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Vermont City Marathon May, 2015

Tell us a little about the race.

Finished in 3:09:43 or so. I was on 3:05 pace through mile 22 (7 min pace), but lost about 4-5 min in the last 4.2 miles. I had hit the wall at that point and just wanted to be done at mile 22.

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

8 years

Did you run in college or high school?

Yes

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

30-40 mpw

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

About 1700

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

10

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 ran this marathon on a lark, really. The training I had been doing (always a mix of road, trails, speedwork, hills was preparing me for other ever longer races. I just hadn’t done really long runs (16-20 miles). My typical longest was 14-15 miles.

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

No

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

No.

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

Yes. I routinely hit the track for intervals (every other week) or interject tempo runs or fartleks (ad hoc basis) into my normal training runs.

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

Based on my training and half marathon PR (1:23:20), unless I had a really bad day, I knew I would get a BQ on my first marathon (and I did by 15 min). After the race and experiencing the wall at mile 22 (where I lost 4-5 min in the final 4.2 miles), I realized I needed to fuel more throughout the race (I only had 3 gels). So, in my second one, I ran my some long runs with fuel (fed) and some without (fasted). The fed runs give me an idea which ones I like and which ones I didn’t like. The fasted runs trained my body to burn fats rather than just carbs. In general, I run my long runs in a fasted state. For my second marathon, I consumed 6-7 gels and never hit the wall. I run intervals regularly (since I’m in my mid-40s, I do these about every other week (to allow my body time to recover). The other big thing is finding light shoes (7-8 ounces) that will hold up for a marathon. I train in shoes that weigh 14-15 ounces as I wear an orthotic insert. I searched high and low for a shoe that was as light as a racing flat that wouldn’t kill my feet during the marathon. I finally found it in the Nike Lunartempo. I bought a half size larger shoe than my normal training size to allow my feet to expand during the event. I can run about 15-20 seconds/mile faster in lighter shoes with the same effort than in my trainers.