Name: George

Sex: Male

Age (at the time of first BQ): 23

Height (at the time of first BQ): 5’10”

Weight (at the time of first BQ): 165

At which marathon did you get your first BQ? Rock n’ Roll Raleigh (2017)

Tell us a little about the race. It was my marathon debut – was getting back into running after taking a short break. I was running in college before but was very out of shape and had no idea what it would be like to race beyond 10 miles. So basically your usual first marathon story – first half was 77, hit 20 miles in 2 hours, and finished in 2:45 aka blew up. In retrospect the course was very hilly too.

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? 20,000?

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? At most 1500

Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 1

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

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

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

Did speed work play a role in your training? If so, how? No? But then again I didn’t do long workouts – the volume hovered around 60 and the toughest workout was 4 x 1 mile, which was probably at faster than 5k pace if I’m being honest

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? All these answers just show my stupidity/arrogance in leading up to my first marathon, and I wouldn’t advise following the training I just outlined. Build the volume, get an accountability partner/coach, and do longer/slower workouts