Name: Dave M

Sex: Male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 28

Height (at the time of first BQ):  6’0″

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 170

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? Colorado Marathon (Fort Collins, CO)

Tell us a little about the race. Great course: point to point with a large net downhill. It is at altitude though, so if you’re not from the mountains could be a struggle. Really pretty course though, with most along the Cache la Poudre river. Race went exactly to plan, going out faster the first half and then hanging on for the flatter last 6-7 miles.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? 14 years

Did you run in college or high school? Yes

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? 16,000

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? 0

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, up to 90 mile weeks. Some speed work thrown in. Long runs up to 24 miles. Just lots of consistency. Strength is the key to the marathon.

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

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? Only when hurt. I would ride my bike

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? Yes, lots of tempos and some intervals. My key workout was a 10 mile tempo straight into 6 x 800m on the track at slightly below goal marathon pace. That was a killer workout.

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? I signed up for Boston after my first qualifying, but didn’t get to run due to injury. 10 years later and I just qualified again last year (at the Lake Place Marathon). So I’m signed up for Boston 2020, and trying to stay healthy this time. More recently I’ve been doing very little speed work (mostly just occasional tempo runs). Just trying to get good base and hitting my long runs pretty hard.