Boston Qualified! 2014 – "By pushing ourselves to our limits, we truly discover we’re limitless."

Kyle Durham

Sometimes getting into the field of the Boston Marathon is more than half the story. Here is an account for a first time entrant in 2014. Look for an update next April!

When my running hit a plateau in 2007, I decided that I needed a change. It was time to master a new distance. The mystical concept of "the Wall" is what first drew me to the marathon. I had never experienced that kind of pain. I wanted to face the challenge and see how I stacked up.

Whether or not to try for the Boston Marathon was never a question. My competitive nature immediately kicked in. Boston was in my sights.

My first marathon attempt in 2007 was disastrous. It was literally the most humiliated I’ve ever felt. A few years passed before I fully recovered. But in 2011 I was ready to go again! My training was more well-rounded, more challenging, and several weeks longer. Additionally, the course I had chosen was flat with crisp October weather. My 3:10:59 was in the bag. And it was! Unfortunately for me, October 2011 marked the drop of the Boston qualifying time for my age group to 3:05:00.

That was it for me. I put everything I had into the 2011 training. I dropped my finishing time by six minutes. I didn’t have another four minutes to give.

But funny things happen when a boy meets the right girl. My girlfriend (now fiancée) believed in me more than anyone had before. She listened to the horror stories from my marathons, and she told me, "… but I know you could qualify if you wanted to try again."

The rest is history. I don’t know if it was solely her belief in me or what – but I never had a problem qualifying for Boston again. Truth be told, I couldn’t admit to this unbelievable girl that the marathon beast had beaten me. I needed to prove to her I had the drive to achieve everything I ever wished to achieve.

BQ with 10:44 to spare (5/05/2013) at Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon,
eight days after running Louisville's Kentucky Derby Marathon in 2:56:23

Sunburst Marathon 6/1/13
Third sub-three hour race within six weeks

The marathon is big, it’s scary, and it requires an unreasonable amount of preparation and dedication… every single time. There are no shortcuts or cheats. You have to be willing to sacrifice every bit of yourself with no guarantee of success. But we have to keep trying. By pushing ourselves to our limits, we truly discover that we’re limitless.

Kyle Durham
Florence, Kentucky


All our most recently posted stories can be found on the BOSTONLOG homepage.