Name: Dave Huntzinger

Sex: Male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 31

Height (at the time of first BQ):  5’9″

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 155

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? Chicago

Tell us a little about the race. I had run the race once before–two years earlier–and was just trying to finish. I used the Hansons-Brooks training method both times. Lucked out on the weather both times as well, Chicago can be unpredictable in October. The first time I ran a 3:17, the second was a 2:58.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? 15 years

Did you run in college or high school? Yes

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? No idea. Thousands?

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? I’d say I averaged about 40 miles a week.

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 2

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was? yes

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach? Hansons-Brooks

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? No. Although I played a good bit of full court basketball in the months leading up to full training.

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? Not really, my training program started off with 16x400m workouts with 400m jog recovery. The distance of these workouts (both in intervals and total volume) steadily increased until the two weeks prior to the race. Examples of the later workouts were 2 mile warmup, 3 miles at 1 min faster than race pace, mile off, 3 miles at 1 min faster than race pace, 3-4 mile cooldown. These were usually done Tuesdays, followed by a tempo run at just under goal race pace on Thursdays.

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? I’d highly recommend doing a smaller marathon before you’re trying to BQ. Maybe one with less logistical challenges, smaller entry fees, etc. Use a similar, if not identical training plan for both races and give yourself at least 3-4 months in between marathons. If you must do some races keep them to 5-10ks.