Qualifying for the Boston Marathon
As I lined up at the start of the Royal Victoria Marathon in October, I had a big goal: to qualify for the Boston Marathon. The Boston Marathon is a prestigious annual marathon held on Patriot’s Day in April in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest marathon in the world and is known for its challenging course, which features hilly terrain and narrow roads. To qualify for the Boston Marathon, runners must meet specific time standards based on age and gender. I needed to come in under 3:10 to qualify.
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Date: Sunday, October 9, 2022
Bib: 1300
This was not my first time running the Royal Victoria Marathon, as I had also run it in 2009, which was my first marathon. Back then, I finished in a time of 3:59:33, which was a huge accomplishment for me. Since then, I have run this marathon four times (2016–2019) under the Goodlife banner. Goodlife has since dropped off as the primary sponsor, and it’s now back to the Royal Victoria Marathon. Yet, this time, I was hoping for a BQ, and I was determined to give it my all.
I had trained hard and was feeling confident, but I knew it would be a challenging race. I had a new strategy for this race, with A, B, and C timing goals. My A goal was to finish in 3:10, my B goal was 3:20, and my C goal was 3:30. I usually go out trying to achieve my B goal, and if things are going well, I change course and go after my A goal. If things are going poorly, I may switch to my C goal.
The day started with its mental challenges, however. After a tough run in August during Ironman Canada, I had to overcome mental barriers to stay focused and motivated.
The weather on race day was perfect, which helped me stay comfortable and focused. I also had extra motivation, as my brother-in-law Chris was running his first half marathon. It was great to have someone to share the experience with, and it was especially meaningful to know he crossed the finish line and achieved his own goal.
I had a well-planned race, with good nutrition and pacing. I started the morning with a scoop of F2C 5:1 and fuelled up with Gu Roctane gels throughout the race, alternating between caffeinated and non-caffeinated options. I also had a good warm-up with Kylie before the start of the race, which helped me mentally and physically prepare for what was to come.
The beginning of the race went quite smoothly, I was surprised with my pace, and my nutrition felt dialled in. I did experience some confusion with my pacing at about 15km. I thought I was pacing faster than I actually was, due to some math I was doing in my head, which was inaccurate.
As the race progressed, I encountered some physical difficulties. From the 26km mark, my left quad started to give me feedback; by 32km, both quads were feeling the strain. The downhills were particularly challenging, as they put a lot of strain on the quad muscles. The uphills became a relief.
Despite these challenges, I persevered and pushed through to the finish line. I received a boost of support from Jasper Blake during the later stages of the race, who found me on his bike and motivated me for the last ~7 km. Although I was initially frustrated with him, his encouragement helped me keep running, and I may have opted to walk and missed my target altogether if he was not there. He even pitted a few of us against each other in the last few km’s to keep going.
Ultimately, I met my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. My average pace was 4:27 per km. Official chip time was 3:08:21; I also placed 14th in my division, 75/1185 overall.
Registration details for the 2024 race will be announced after the Boston Marathon takes place in May 2023. To apply, runners who qualified must submit an application during a 5-day registration window.
While I qualified for the 2024 Boston Marathon, I am unsure if I will meet the standards needed to be accepted. In the past, only those who were the fastest among the pool of applicants in their age and gender group were accepted, even if they had achieved the qualifying standards. This was not been the case for the 2023 race, where all qualified athletes who submitted applications during the registration window were accepted. However, in 2020, the cut-off time was reduced by 7:47 from the posted standard and 9,215 applicants were not accepted.
“Due to field size limitations, achieving one’s qualifying standard does not guarantee entry into the event, but simply the opportunity to submit a registration application.”
Overall, the 2022 Royal Victoria Marathon was a successful and memorable experience for me, as it was my first BQ. I stayed healthy and injury-free leading up to the race and could execute my race plan effectively. I also overcame some mental and physical challenges and pushed through to the finish line.
Stay tuned for updates on my journey as I prepare to take on the Ironman Switzerland in July 2023! Follow along on Twitter to see my training and progress leading up.
About Dan: I’m an entrepreneur with experience in various industries, including fintech, real estate, and performance marketing. Most recently, Co-Founder and COO at Billi Labs (exit), and VP Operations at Pretio Interactive (exit).
I am passionate about endurance sport and exploring the intersection between technology, health, and performance.
