I’ve had a long term running goal in my head for awhile now and I decided it was high time to put it down on paper (metaphorically speaking, of course). I have a long term goal of qualifying for the Boston marathon. Honestly, it seems crazy to me that qualifying for the Boston marathon is even on my radar. But, it is and I’m excited about it.
When I ran my first marathon in 2013, I never thought that qualifying for the Boston Marathon would be possible. It seriously was not even in the realm of possibility for me in my mind. I was inspired to sign up for the Richmond marathon after learning of the bombings, but the idea that I’d someday run Boston never crossed my mind. As I learned more and more about marathons, I began thinking that maybe one day, I’d try and qualify for Boston. And then I ran the Chicago marathon and decided that I wanted to run all the World Majors. Once I decided that, it was just natural that I’d want to qualify for Boston, since I would need to run it to run all the majors.
This is a big goal and I know it’ll be a big challenge. The current qualifying time for my age group is 3:40 (I’ll be 35 in October – your qualifying time is determined by the age you will be when running the race). 3:40 is an 8:23 marathon pace – that’s my half marathon PR pace! The first step in my quest to get there is run a sub-4 marathon. I’m planning on doing that this fall in Berlin (read about my goal here) and then continue to race and improve on speed. I’m currently planning on Boston being my last World Major because that would just be awesome. I have signed up for the London marathon lottery for 2018, but we don’t know if we are in until October (!!!), so unsure of what my next major will be after Berlin. Anyway, I figure that I have a few years to get faster so that getting a BQ is an actual possibility. To be frank, I can barely believe I’m typing these words but I am confident in my ability to get faster and work hard. Especially since I’m giving myself years to do it!
Who else has a long term plan of qualifying for the Boston marathon?
Since I love my shorter distances I don’t currently have a goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon but I do have a goal of spectating the marathon in person! Excited for you and this goal-you got this girl!
Omg spectating Boston is amazing!!! A must do! And do the BAA 5k The Saturday prior!
I remember many a conversation starting with “I’ll never qualify for Boston…or at least not till I’m 50” so totally get how daunting this long term goal is for you. You have made huge strides in the last few years, this goal is within reach now. Proud of you.
Hahaha I remember those conversations as well. Miss our morning runs. 🙂
I love this goal Courtney. You have really focused on becoming a better runner and with hard work and determination, you will earn that BQ. Boston is the pinnacle for many distance runners, and will always be my favorite race. There will be lots of encouragement and cheers for you coming from here. And I am also hoping to qualify again and this time not run with a case of food poisoning. 🙁
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Thank you Pam! You definitely need another go at Boston 🙂 maybe I’ll be there with you!
I think this is a very realistic and achievable goal for you! You continue to improve and I’m sure you are going to hit that pace very soon!
I had hoped that this would be my year to BQ–but I’ve had to put that on the back burner! I’m not giving up yet!
You will absolutely get there! And I hope I can be there by your side!
Awesome goal!! My first marathon was almost 4:30, and after years of progressively running more and getting faster I finally qualified. I ran Boston this past year after qualifying with a 3:37:xx. 45 minutes faster than my first!
That is awesome Terry!!
Great inspiration – Boston Marathon is a great goal and i have no doubt you will get there … putting this in writing like you said and letting the whole world in on it, give weight to the goal and satisfaction when completed … Phil 3:14 — PRESS ON
Thank you Bob!
Yes! I am right there with you. Never thought BQ would be a possibility but now I dream of it. Looking fwd to following your journey on what is every runner’s dream.
Awesome – it’s a great goal and I’m really excited for this journey!
Oh you totally got this girl! Look at all the progress you’ve made just in the past 1-2 years – you’re a PR machine!!
I also signed up for the London lottery and I cannot believe it will take them until October to notify us!!
Can you believe how long we have to wait?! Cray! 🙂
Girl, YES! I have so much faith in your ability to do this. The progression in your running that I’ve seen just from following you on Twitter for the last few years has been amazing, which is why I’m SO happy to see you setting an ambitious and ATTAINABLE goal like this!
It took me about six years from when I said I wanted to qualify until I finally did, but the most important thing was always believing it was realistic and attainable.
Thank you so much! This comment is really appreciated and means a lot – I value your opinion 🙂
I have no doubt that you’ll be able to qualify for Boston in the next couple of years. You are so committed to your training, and have gotten so much faster over the past couple of years. I’m confident that there are great things ahead for you!
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Thanks Kathryn!
Such an exciting goal–I think it’s absolutely within reach!!
Thank you!!
I am chasing sub 4, too. Fortunately I am old enough that my BQ time is slower – but it is still a tall order. I look forward to following your training and cheering you on along the way!!!
Thank you – we can do this!
I ran my first full in 2012 and like you Boston wasn’t even s possibility in my brain. Fast forward with tons of hard work and I’ve qualified three times since 2016!! YOU can do this! It’s such an exciting and rewarding goal. Looking forward to following your training.
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Thank you so much. 3x since 2016 – that’s amazing! Kudos!
Me! 🙂 Sub-4 is next up for me as well (I ran 4:02 and change in 2016…so close!) and then I’ll keep chipping away at that too. You got this!
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We’ve got this! What’s next for you?
A BQ was never on my radar as something I thought I could do or was interested in trying to do until I ran a sub-4. That was a huge breakthrough for me, and I realized my PR now is actually much closer to a BQ than it is to my first marathon time. I was still riding the high when all the Boston hoopla was going on this year, and that was the first time I started to think it might be something I do want to go for. I’m not 100% sold on it (and I’m not going to try unless I really want it in my heart), but I do have some thoughts on when and where I’d like to go for it, provided I can mentally handle anther big training cycle after this one!
OOOh, I’d be interested in your thoughts. I like having this as a LONG term goal – I think I can get there in the next 3-5 years – as tough as I know it’ll be. 🙂
I can’t say for sure, obviously, since I haven’t done it, but given the progress you’ve made recently, I think 3-5 years is more than reasonable! I have no doubt at all you can BQ by then, if not sooner. I’m not making any plans for even a 5k until this Ironman is over, but my tentative thought is Richmond 2018 or 2019? I’m in this age bracket until 2021, which seemed so far away until I realized how big a chunk of time Ironman eats up, and I’m trying to figure out if/when to have kids, and suddenly it doesn’t feel like I have as much time as I thought!
YES!! You can totally do this! Get after that unicorn!
Thank you! Hopefully it’ll be in the cards in the future!
Yeah, yeah, in my wildest dreams I would love to qualify for Boston… but that would be a long, long ways away!!
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OMG, YES! You can do this!
You totally will do it. I have to admit that I have put it on the horizon of running as well. I too am aiming at running all 6 of the world majors. My plan is to qualify in 2020 and run in 2021, i’ll move up one age group and need to run 3:45. I never thought it would be something I could remotely do, but watching you chip away and get faster with each training cycle shows me that it can totally be done.
Thanks! It sounds like you have a great plan to get there! What is your next major?
This post made me smile!!! It also makes me happy. Girl, I am with you as I’ve written about my goal too. I have no doubt you will get there as you’ve made so much progress and improvement these past couple of years. You inspire me!
Thank you! I loved reading your similar post and I love how you reference it each week!
I cannot wait to follow your journey to BQ.
We will all be cheering you on.
Thanks, friend! It’ll be a bit of a long journey, but I think I can get there!
Looking forward to “seeing” you progress and reach that goal. I know you will! I also want to qualify for Boston. I am running Chicago this year and hope to do it there but if not,I will keep trying. This is definitely something I want to do.
Chicago is a great BQ course! Good luck!!
Yay!!! It’s out there for the world to see!! Isn’t it crazy we’re doing this?!? I also want to do the world majors and have Chicago and NYC Down. I want to get the states out of the way and I also want to qualify in the age group I am in now for some reason. Can’t wait to follow your BQ journey!!! <3
I have no doubt that you will run a BQ soon with the paces you’re running! I wish I’d set the goal to run the Marathon Majors back in the day. I definitely should have run Chicago and New York back when I could just signed up and not have to worry about getting in through a lottery.
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Thanks Debbie for your kind words – it has been TOOOOOO long! 🙂
I think this is a great goal and definitely an achievable one. You’ve completed the first step by setting the goal and writing it down and you just need to keep working towards it.
I would love to run Boston in a few years too. Its in my long term goals and I am working on my first step by running regularly and getting stronger to start doing marathons soon.
We can do it!