Member-only story
Qualifier Queasiness
I’d never understood the emotional journey of The BQ till the OTQ punched me in the gut.
After running 3:08 for my first marathon I was qualified for Patriot’s Day and didn’t look back. Sub-3 came next, and while I encouraged my friends to chase their qualifier, I had no real idea what it meant.
After all I thought, running is simply about aiming to better your best, right? Breaking 4 hours to some is similar to breaking 2:30 to others, a milestone of meaning that signifies commitment and progress. A process of picking the next threshold beyond your current best and dedicating to incremental improvement.
Which works, until you aim for a qualifier.
Thresholds are inclusive, we each get to pick our own echelon of meaning. Qualifiers discriminate, we’re all shoved into boxes designated by others without forgiveness. Endeavoring for a threshold defined outside yourself is foolish, reckless, and terribly seductive.
Which is what made me so sick.
“No. Don’t worry. I’m not gonna aim for an OTQ.” I reassured my wife, shortly after running a PR of 2:23. I’d just accomplished so much, and yet before I could appreciate the milestone it began slipping through my fingers, my eyes casting upwards toward an even higher goal.
