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2024 Boston Beard week 2 — my self sabotage

July 1, 2024 by Brent

self sabotage

Full stomach (of candy and Red Bull). Heat of the day. Not enough sleep the night before. I made so many choices leading up to last Thursday’s tempo run. And almost all of them set me up for a miserable run. During both 2-mile repeats of my workout all I thought about was my history […]

Filed Under: 2024 Boston Beard Tagged With: 2024 Boston Beard, 2025 Boston Marathon, BQ, fitness, goals, marathon, marathon training, motivation, race, run, runner, running, track and field, training, US Olympic Trials

2024 Boston Beard: week 1

June 24, 2024 by Brent

Boston Beard 2024 week 1

I don’t like the scratchy feeling of growing a beard, especially in the summer. Which is why it made complete sense to grow one as motivation back in 2013. I wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and I wanted a daily reminder of my lofty goal. A hot, itchy, food mess gathering reminder. Eleven […]

Filed Under: 2024 Boston Beard Tagged With: 2024 Boston Beard, Boston Beard, Boston Marathon, Boston qualifier, BQ, BQ 25, fitness, goals, marathon, marathon training, motivation, race, run, runner, running, training

Enjoying every moment of the 2022 Boston Marathon

May 2, 2022 by Brent

2022 Boston Marathon

I worried for most of the hours leading up to the 2022 Boston Marathon. This year was my fifth in-person Boston, but my it was my first time starting the race without having already run a qualifier for the next year. My brain focused on not having a 2023 BQ. With only one other race […]

Filed Under: Race reports Tagged With: 2022 Boston Marathon, Boston 2022, Boston Marathon, BQ, fitness, goals, marathon, marathon training, motivation, race, race report, run, runner, running, training

2021 Boston Marathon — familiar and not so familiar sights and sounds

October 16, 2021 by Brent

2021 Boston Marathon

I could see something was wrong. Runners were parting uphill ahead of me, with a 2021 Boston Marathon volunteer waving her arms to direct traffic. A runner was down in the middle of the road in mile 8. As I ran past on the right, I realized the runner wasn’t conscious or breathing. Her face […]

Filed Under: Race reports Tagged With: 2021 Boston Marathon, Boston, Boston Marathon, BQ, motivation, race, run, training

Mesa Marathon — Feels like the first (BQ) time

February 14, 2020 by Brent

Mesa Marathon

The 2020 Mesa Marathon medal next to the five-year series finisher medal. Something happens to brain function late in a marathon or a long workout. Names and stories get harder to remember. Facts get fuzzy. And math becomes impossible. I’ve always called the phenomenon “runner brain.” The point where so much effort is going into […]

Filed Under: Race reports Tagged With: Boston, Boston Marathon, BQ, fitness, marathon, Mesa, Mesa Marathon, Mesa Marathon review, motivation, race report, run, running

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About me

Brent Shirley My name is Brent Shirley, and I'm a stay-at-home dad with experience writing and selling running shoes. Married to a surgeon (she's much smarter than me). Certified RRCA running coach and 11 time Boston Marathon qualifier (2015-25, although I missed the cut in 2015-16). 50 sub 4 finisher.

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