Tag Archives: Boston Marathon

Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon | BQ Attempt #1

bigcottonwood (7)The Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon in Salt Lake City was my first attempt to run a Boston qualifying race and my sixth marathon. I spent 13 weeks training for this race and had months of previous training and races under my belt. The big thing I was never sure I could properly train for was the significant amount of downhills at this race…18-20 miles of downhill to be exact with the final miles on a relatively flat grade. I also had never traveled this far for a race before so there were some additional prep and logistics to take into account. There were a lot of lessons learned at this race and while there are some things I would do differently, I think one sign of a good race is knowing that I would do it again. To quote a phrase of my old boss, “last line first.” I was running this race with the hopes of qualifying for the 30-34 age group 2014 Boston Marathon. I came in 42 seconds shy of a BQ and finished in 3:35:42. Now for the details! Continue reading

My BQ Quest

bos_a_starting_line_d1_576I started this post called “My BQ Quest” back in March of 2011 and did nothing other than enter the title in my drafts folder. Now, September 2013, I’m finally filling in the story.

In March 2011 I ran my third and fastest marathon finishing in 3:45. Weeks after that race I watched the Boston Marathon and started to think about training for a BQ race. I was 10 minutes off from the 30-34 age group qualifying time and the goosebumps I’ve always gotten watching the Boston Marathon started to sync up with an obsession that one day perhaps I could run the race. But I never told anyone that’s what I wanted to do. I hadn’t made the obsession real because I hadn’t said it out loud. And I hadn’t said it out loud because I lacked the confidence that I could actually run a qualifying time. Continue reading

Boston Marathon Bombings: One Runner’s Reaction

I did not run the Boston Marathon this year. I did not qualify for the Boston Marathon this year. I did not even try to qualify for Boston this year. However, two years ago, I started a blog post (it’s still in drafts) called “My BQ Quest” which I never finished and never posted out of fear that I may never be able to actually qualify for Boston. The bombing of the 2013 marathon has given me new resolve. I am no longer afraid to share my goal. I am no longer scared to try to train for the time I would need to qualify. I am no longer intimidated by the challenge of qualifying for Boston. I am no longer embarrassed about the possibility of publicly failing. I am simply determined. Continue reading