Name: Josh Falk

Sex: Male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 27

Height (at the time of first BQ): 6′

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 162

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

Tell us a little about the race. Didn’t feel too much until mile 23 – everything went pretty much according to plan. Had originally planned on hitting 6:40 pace but 6:45s were feeling really good and so I just went with it, knowing that that pace still gave me some wiggle room to BQ.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? 13

Did you run in college or high school? Yes

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? 20,000

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? 2500

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 4

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, 1 long run a week, 1 speed session a week. Rest recovery/run how I felt miles.

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

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

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

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? Uninterrupted/injury free training is the key to improvement. It is much smarter to slowly build up volume and intensity to let your body adjust – marathon training will expose your weaknesses.