Long Distance Runners

Join

BQ at the Napa Valley Marathon

Options
jturnerx
jturnerx Posts: 325 Member
in Social Groups
After two failed attempts in 2010 I thought this was out of reach. I'd gotten within 10 minutes and 5 minutes. I knew I was going to end up hating running if I kept at it so I turned my back on achieving a BQ time and pursued other running goals.

Five years later, I gave it another shot at Napa Valley last Sunday and did it.

tgfoksgumdec.jpg

I couldn't be happier. My chip time was 3:58 on the dot. A full two minutes under my BQ time. I hope I did enough. I know the cut off for this year was -1:02 and the year before -1:38. Crossing my fingers for 2016.

I negative split the race. Felt super strong the whole way. Had zero issues. The only thing that nearly derailed everything was me not taking into consideration that courses run long. That's an extra 2-3 minutes. Lesson learned.

58b6kyhnaznm.jpg

Replies

  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    Options
    *claps* yay!
  • bannericks
    bannericks Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    Congratulations on your run! I need to learn to pace myself and not crash and burn. Sounds like you had a good plan.I ran the Myrtle Beach Marathon and finally qualified for Boston a couple of weeks ago.
  • Cooriander
    Cooriander Posts: 2,848 Member
    edited March 2015
    Options
    Congrats!!!! I would think that is a good margin, there is a BQ cutoff predictor using times from large 'already' run marathons that feed into Boston. Currently they predict the cutoff to be 48 seconds. http://boston-qualifier-stats.blogspot.com/
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
    Options
    Congratulations! Amazing race!!
  • jturnerx
    jturnerx Posts: 325 Member
    Options
    Cooriander, thanks for the link! Something I can stalk neurotically until the fall. LOL
  • arussell134
    arussell134 Posts: 463 Member
    Options
    WOW!!! Amazing! :)
  • Wendy98
    Wendy98 Posts: 72 Member
    Options
    Congratulations! I did my first Boston last year and it was one of the highlights of my life!
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    Options
    Congratulations
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    Options
    That's great. Plus, it is Napa so....there was wine and great food at the end!
  • TomZot
    TomZot Posts: 165 Member
    Options
    Awesome. Congratulations.

    FYI...if it was a certified course, chances are it was not long. Courses are measured on the tangents...the shortest distance you can run and still be on the course. Unless you're the leader, you're probably not running the tangents...hence the longer distance.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    edited March 2015
    Options
    Fantastic job. Loved seeing your times drop towards the end. That's just perfection right there. Congratulations.

    My marathon in December showed 26.55 miles on my Garmin. I just figured I zig zagged too much. It happens.
  • jturnerx
    jturnerx Posts: 325 Member
    Options
    I'm totally aware of 1) the inaccuracy of commercial grade gps and 2) my inability to always run the perfect tangent even when I'm trying my best to do so. I just need to remember these two things the next time minutes and seconds matter so much. I'm unlikely to ever produce a BQ time where I'm not concerned about the cut off. lol
  • valentine4
    valentine4 Posts: 233 Member
    Options
    ah congratulations delighted for you!
  • KateRunsColorado
    KateRunsColorado Posts: 407 Member
    Options
    Congratulations! I'm going for a BQ this year as well!
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Options
    Awesome. I am also hoping for a BQ this fall. I need to shave 7.5 minutes.
  • kia_runs
    kia_runs Posts: 77 Member
    Options
    That's fantastic! Congrats

Categories