Name: Matt Davies

Sex: Male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 28

Height (at the time of first BQ):  6’6″

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 179 Lbs

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? Calgary Marathon

Tell us a little about the race. I came in to the race with three goals
A sub-3
B hit the BQ standard
C PR (3:10:40).

The race weekend doubled as the Canadian half marathon championships, in addition to hosting a 50km road Ultra there was a special Canada 150km road race so the start line was packed.

Overall the race went according to plan, I ran basically the first 40 minutes in a big group of marathoners and 50km people and stuck around the 90 minute half marathoners until we branched off.

The pace felt comfortable all the way up to about km 36 when we were out and exposed on a little out and back. The heat and fatigue finally caught up to me.

Not panicking though I dropped my pace ever so slightly and knew I could get into the finish under my B goal time. Passed about a dozen people in the last two km’s which felt good.

Chip 3:02:53
Gun 3:03:03
How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? About two and a half years

Did you run in college or high school? No

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? About 4500 miles

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? 1003 miles

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 3 (two half’s and a 5km)

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, hard days hard, easy days easy

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach? No

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? Not really, I tried to get to the gym a couple times a week but nothing serious or committed.

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? Yes.

A lot of work at Marathon pace and a lot of short intervals @ 5km/10km pace.

This really made marathon pace feel comfortable on race day.

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? Put in the work. You won’t see results from one good workout but put together 12-18 weeks of solid work with proper recovery and you will really surprise yourself.