Frances – in my 30’s I ran just a little bit – 1-2 miles, 3 times a week, but when I was approaching 40 I began running more – 20-25 miles/week, sort of as a way to help me cope with that milestone. 

I ran my first HM at 41, my first marathon at 42, but the course for my first marathon was changed at the last minute due to flooding, and ended up being measured short.  Drat!  Now I was going to have to do another one!  So I ran another marathon that fall and qualified for Boston at that one.  That was in 2007.  I’ve now run 8 marathons and one ultra (50K), with marathon times ranging from 3:48 to 4:36, qualifying for Boston at 3 of the 8 that I’ve run.

And I am by no means a fast runner, never was fast when I was younger, never ran track.  I am fairly graceless, a galumpher if there ever was one.  But I am a hard worker, and very persistent.  And stubborn.

Frances - I was 38 years old the first time I qualified and had been running for about 2 years prior. I had one previous marathon and two 15ks but didn't race a 1/2 until after I had run my 3rd marathon. 

I qualified again at 40, 41 and 42. It's a lot easier for us to qualify now than when Spareribs first did it!

I started running in 2003 at the age of 48 and ran my first marathon at age 50.  It took me a few attempts but I finally got my first BQ at the Maine Marathon in October of 2006 at age 51 - 3:32:40.  I ran my PR at Maine as well in October of 2008 at age 53 - 3:19:28.

This will be my 6th consectutive Boston and my 18th Marathon overall, at least my BQ time this year is only a 3:45 so it's getting a little bit easier to achieve, although I haven't gotten a BQ at Boston yet, that is one of my biggest goals this year if my hamstrings behave, only time will tell.

And yeah that Ribs certainly had it much tougher back in the "good old days" didn't he!   Boy a 2:59 at Boston is nothing to sneeze at either, only in my dreams.

Hi Frances, and welcome

My first couple of marathons i was in high school and not old enough to run Boston. The BQ times back then were faster: I think I needed 3:20, which I ran my second marathon but was not yet 18 or 19 ( I cannot remember the age requirement  ). I had been running a couple of years.  A year later, around  1979,  I ran a 3:06 and ran Boston the following year. Like Spareribs, I remember fondly the days when you could qualify and decide at the last minute- took advantage of that in 1988, qualified in March with a 3:02 and ran 3:08 at Boston a month later.

I am considerably slower now and also could not handle marathons a month apart!

I think your plan is wise; build up some base before trying a marathon. Some people try to jump in to marathoning  too fast.  Age is not necessarily an impediment if you train smart; at least your legs don't have the mileage on them that some of use have.

Good luck; have fun!

I was a 48 year old couch potato.  My doctor told me to get more exercise and lose weight or he would start treating me for diabetes.  I googled diabetes and decided I didn't want to do that.  I lost some weight, started running and eventually learned I enjoyed running distance.  I ran the 2003 Seattle marathon just before I turned 50,  I had no more dreams of running Boston than of running the Olympics.  that wasn't something normal people could do.

As I trained for my 2nd Marathon (2004 Seattle) I was surprised at how much faster I was getting and I began to think Boston was possible.  I over trained and suffered a stress fracture a couple weeks before the Seattle marathon.  I started anyway and DNF'ed in the first mile.

8 months on the elliptical trying to stay in boston shape.  4 months after I was cleared to run I got my BQ on the 2nd marathon I finished.  My plan in those days was to race one marathon a year.  Plans change.

2007  12 marathons

2008 0 marathons while foot healed and I adjusted to orthotics.

 2009  8 pain free marathons

I haven't gotten my speed back after that year off,  If I ramp my miles back up and do some speed work I know I could get a lot of my speed back and probably BQ again if I don't get injured.

for me,  speed work hurts and increases the chance of injuries.  I might give it a shot later in the year,  haven't decided yet.  for now I am enjoying going the distance.

Dave

Great stories the last several posts too.

Congrats to everyone!  

Anyone else? 

Please do chime in!

Thanks!

For our baby shower before we adopted our daughter, a friend gave us a jogging stroller.  I thought "Man, that's ridiculously generous."   So, I guess the guilt started me running after our daughter was home for about a year.  I guess that makes it 4 years since I started...I must have been 41.

Last fall, I decided to shoehorn in a fall marathon into my plan, and since it was my first, everyone told me to just plan to finish.  I thought that was fine advice for the beginner I was, but as a seasoned athlete in other sports, I wasn't about to throw away a BQ possibility by being too scared to try for it.  Plus, with my mentality, I wouldn't be disappointed if it all fell apart while I was out there!

Soooo, I went out with a plan to barely qualify, and I executed that plan.  Yep, qualified at 45 for Boston with a few seconds to spare. It doesn't seem real yet because it happened in November and Boston was already closed for 2010, so until I actually can register, it won't seem like I've done it.  

In the meantime, I've run 2 more, two Sundays in a row, and that proved to me that I really do like the distance.  Why?  Because there's so much in play....  My half-marathon times vary by only 23 seconds over the last several.  Different courses, different race day strategies, different training leading up to race day.  Crap. I might as well phone in my results!   But with the 3 marathons I've run, the spread is 44 minutes!  Now there's something that can consume my brain for some time -- figuring what exactly works for me and what doesn't.  I'm hooked!

You can do this.  Maybe not when you plan, but you will do it!