My Course to the 131st Boston. (#1)
Persistent and Consistent Choices of Action.
It is my goal to qualify for the 131st running of the Boston Marathon taking place on April 19th, 2027. Yes, I know it’s almost three years away as I write this but there is a strategy to my madness. That strategy is to gain an additional 10-minutes of qualifying time! Your qualifying time is based on your age at the time of the actual race. Unfortunately me for me, my birthday falls just a few weeks AFTER Boston, so I wont’ gain that additional 10 minutes until the 2027 race.
Running Boston isn’t the big hurdle, it’s qualifying for Boston that poses the biggest challenge.
The qualification window for the 2027 race opens September 1st, 2025 and runs until September 15th, 2026. This means I need to run a Boston Qualifying time as soon as NEXT YEAR. The window opens in 15-months.
My qualifying time is 3hrs 20min, but that won’t make the cut. I will need to run at least a 3:15 or faster to be accepted into the race. So many people qualify for Boston that they take only the fastest in each age category, so often to be granted a race entry requires your qualifying time to be 5-minutes faster than the posted qualifying time.
Qualifying Time: 3hrs 20min | Entry Time: 3hrs 15min (estimated)
Timeline of Events:
June 2024 - November 2024: Marathon Build for City of Oaks. (20 weeks)
December 2024 - February 2025: Strength and Speed Training (12 weeks)
March 2025 - May 2025: Half Marathon Build (12 weeks)
June 2025 - August 2025: Building the Base with Long Easy Runs. (12 weeks)
September 2025 - January 2026: Mesa Marathon Build (22 weeks)
FEBRUARY 2026: MESA MARATHON - BQ ATTEMPT #1 (Feb 7th, 2026)
MARCH 2026: TOBACCO ROAD MARATHON - BQ ATTEMPT #2 ( Mar 15th)
Metamorphosis is Mandatory.
I’ve had multiple doctors tell me that my life over 200lbs is unsustainable. If I don’t make serious changes I will have a heart attack or stroke. It’s also clear that qualifying for Boston over 200lbs is all but impossible and not a task I wish take on. I’ve written about this topic many times over the past two years, yet here I am, still hovering around 220lbs and still struggling.
For my Marathon build in 2023 I attempted to lose weight, to be in a caloric deficit while doing my marathon build. That was a serious mistake! When you’re running 30-60 miles a week, being in a caloric deficit is extremely tough. I did lose weight and ran the Richmond Marathon at 216lbs, the lightest I’ve been in a long time. However, after that build I made the determination never to make a concerted effort of weight loss during a build.
Going forth into this 2024 build my intent is to eat to enhance athletic performance but not increased bodyfat. This includes but is not limited to increasing vegetables, fruits and lean meats and decreasing carbohydrates and sugar.
In order to have a chance of qualifying for Boston, I need to be at “fighting” weight. For me that will be roughly 165lbs (+/-) 5lbs with a bodyfat percentage at 14% or less. This would be an incredible metamorphosis, especially for a man in his 40’s, but I really believe anything is possible given proper alignment and fusion of discipline, desire, consistency and accountability.
Pre-Season Training.
My next Marathon build on this course to Boston begins on July 14th, when I will start a 16-week build to the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, North Carolina. My coach has given me instruction to work on building my base over the next 35 days until we start the formal training plan.
My pre-season training includes more swimming, more H.I.I.T and long-slow runs that build miles and put time on my feet.
Swimming
The goal here is to swim 3-5x a week for at least 30-minutes nonstop.
High Intensity Interval Training. (H.I.I.T)
My format here is for a 1-hour workout.
10-15minutes warmup
30-40 minute Workout.
5-10 minute cooldown.
Running
Longer runs at low intensity. Keeping my Heart Rate within the Aerobic Endurance Zone (130-146bpm) for distances up to 10 miles.
The Time is Now.
No time is better than now to start doing what you want. To start doing what you must to accomplish your goals. The time to act is now! Don’t wait until Monday or the beginning of a New Month or New Year. Talk is cheap. Writing is cheap. Action is all that matters.
Passion without action is pointless.
Follow along on my journey. Join me on this journey. Sign up for a race that will challenge you, that will require a dedication to training and discipline. Join me at the Mesa Marathon in February 2026.
My Marathon build for Mesa begins in a short 15 months, but the start is now.