Road to Boston Qualifier at MCM

I have completed another race - my sixth since picking up running in Summer 2008. Since my body has transformed from my 6'4" 211 lbs frame to 185 lbs over nearly 2 years and I've covered more than 1,640 miles in that time. I feel my potential to become pretty good at this running thing so I am assessing my goals. The only goal I have that is somewhat long term is to "Boston Qualify." I turn 35 this year, which requires that I cover the 26.2 mile distance in a certified race in 3 hours 15 minutes. Where do I stand with regard to this goal? Well I decided to look at the age graded score for this race time compared to my current race times.

Race #1 - Baltimore Half Marathon 1:51:57 - Age Graded Percentile 33 (52.98%)

Race #2 - Jug Bay 10K 00:46:21- Age Graded Percentile 33 (58.6%)

Race #3 - Frederick Running Festival Marathon 4:03:27 - Age Graded Percentile 33 (51.31%)

Race #4 - Baltimore Running Festival Marathon 3:58:19 - Age Graded Percentile 34 (52.42%)

Race #5 - Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run 1:12:57 - Age Graded Percentile 34 (61.33%)

Race #6 - Armed Forces 5K 21:07 - Age Graded Percentile 34 (62.08%)

I have definitely gotten better with more training and base mileage. It may appear that I do better in the shorter races, but since I have been perfecting my training regimen and getting more base mileage in I should be able to do better in all race lengths.

So, the age graded percentile for a male of 35 years running a 3:15:59 marathon is 63.74%, which is an entirely feasible goal if I train hard through the Summer. I will set up some benchmark races this Summer to see if I can really do it at MCM this year. I think that I'll need to get the following:

• Race A - 10K - 42:00:00
• Race B - Half-Marathon - 1:33:00
• Race C - 5K - 00:20:00

I've got the training plan to do it (see here) now for the work. Progress will be logged.