For many runners, myself included, a Boston Qualifying time is the pinnacle of achievement in the sport. I think it is safe to say I am obsessed with getting a BQ. One day on the roads I thought it might be interesting to start asking other runners I “know” either in real life or on the internet about their experience getting into the race. Hence was born the BQ Questionnaire or the BQ(Q) as I have started calling it.
On this page I organize the responses I have gotten by sex and age grouping so you can see people similarly situated to you who have made the cut. Some of the runners interviewed here are gifted and BQed on their first marathon. Others tried for years. We can learn from all of them.
Below the responses is a blank form of the BQ(Q). If you have run a BQ, please fill it out and email it to me at dearjtd at gmail dot com
Thanks!
Women 18-34
Men 18 – 34
Men 35-40
Women 40-44
Men 40-44
Men 50-54
Men 55- 60
The BQ Questionnaire
Thank you for agreeing to fill out the BQ Questionnaire. Please answer the questions in as much detail as you can and email your response to dearjtd at gmail com. I and other runners working towards a BQ could learn from your experience. Thanks again for taking part!
- Give us the vitals:
- Name (and website/blog/twitter if applicable):
- Sex:
- Age (at the time of first BQ):
- Height:
- Weight (at the time of first BQ):
- At which marathon did you get your first BQ? What was your finishing time? Tell us a little about the race.
- How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? Did you run in college or high school?
- What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ?
- How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ?
- Approximately how many races did you run in that year?
- Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was?
- Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach?
- Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how?
- Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ?
1.Give us the vitals:
1.Name (and website/blog/twitter if applicable): Mike
2.Sex: M
3.Age (at the time of first BQ):44
4.Height: 5’10″
5.Weight (at the time of first BQ):183 lbs.
2.At which marathon did you get your first BQ? What was your finishing time? Tell us a little about the race. California International Marathon, 3:20:46. Would have made it at 3:30, since my age was going to be 45 for 2008, but I wanted to qualify at the time that was my current age. Beat it by 13 seconds!
3.How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ? 6 years . Did you run in college or high school? No.
4.What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ? 6000
5.How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ? 1500
6.Approximately how many races did you run in that year? 1 other marathon
7.Did you follow a canned program? My version of FIRST. Not as intense workouts, but ran only 3 days and crosstrained for 3 days. If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was?
8.Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach? No.
9.Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how? I guess it did.
10.Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ? Stay away from injuries, if possible. Ok to be fatigued and run, but not injured to the point where your stride is altered.
Thanks for this, Mike. I am going to move your comment to a post on the main page of the website tomorrow!
Hi, I am visiting from Lindsay’s blog and it looks like you don’t have any masters women filling this out so here I am!!
Meg from http://www.megrunsalot.blogspot.com
45(almost 46 years old)
120 lbs.
5’3″
female
2. I’ve been to Boston three times. My first qualifying race was the Rock and Roll Arizona Marathon. It was flat, my time was 3:40. Then, I did Boston and qualified both times at 3:34 and 3:31. I used my NYC Marathon time of 3:27 for this year.
3. I didn’t start running until I turned 39 and my kids started jr. high.
4. My mileage NEVER went over 40 miles until I ran NYC last fall. Then it went up to 65.
5. I ran about 6 years before qualifying for Boston.
6. I run more or less three marathons a year, two half marathons and two 10k’s, often just one 5k.
7. I trained with a Less is More plan AND with a group that did Pfitz’s Advanced Plan. I meshed the two and did WAY less mileage. For NYC, I ran for 6 months with a coach.
8. I run track with one running club, train for Boston with another club and ran with a coach for NYC but not for this Boston, just the group.
9. After NYC, I was injured so I took off 7 weeks from running and just ran in the pool. Then, I did a 12 week training plan for Boston with just running, strength training and yoga.
10. Stretch, stretch, stretch and do yoga. It has kept me injury free for the first time in a few years. Enjoy your training and do your LONG RUNS SLOWLY!!!
Thanks Meghan!
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