Last year, 896 Illinoisan runners represented at the 2018 Boston Marathon, so this year, we wanted to talk to a few of them heading out there in 2019. Each week, we’ll highlight a new athlete; from first timers to veterans, learn about their goals and training plans, and cheer for them on April 15
1. How did your running career begin?
I started running in eighth grade cross country. The first day of practice we ran through the school halls, which I thought was amazing since we were breaking the rules in school to walk. I ran all four years of cross country and track in high school, and at Wisconsin-Whitewater. Then, I ran a half marathon where I placed in the top 50. Eventually, I did a full marathon.
2. Tell us about your journey qualifying for Boston.
Running Boston is everything that everybody says; everybody should run it once. I’ve been fortunate to run it five times since 2010. This year qualifying for Boston has been the most challenging and rewarding. I qualified in 2016, 2017 and 2018, but was denied because of the cutoffs. It is very heartbreaking to do all the work and to come up a bit short. So for 2019, I knew I had to get faster, and qualify under three hours. I joined a running group in the Milwaukee area, and started doing speed workouts to get faster. At the Oshkosh Marathon in April, on my birthday, I qualified with a 2:59.
3. What does your training plan look like?
My training plan is simple: Build an endurance base, then add some speed to it. Usually I’d like to run about 90-100 Miles a week, 15 a day. It’s hard to do that all at once so I break it apart by day and how much time I have. The older I’m getting though, the more I know I need to listen to my body.
4. What are your goals for the 2019 race?
I’ve spent most of 2018 being so invested to get into Boston and running so many marathons (six), this year I would like to focus on having fun, especially in Boston. Sometimes we get so set on a goal that we forget to look at the big picture which is to do the best you can, enjoy the scenery, and have fun. I would like to try and do a triathlon or two just to change it up. And I’d also like to try and get into another major marathon.
