First Time at Boston Marathon with Scott Mattingly

Scott Mattingly – Boston Marathon

For many of us, the Boston Marathon is not just a Bucket List race, but a Bucket List goal altogether. While we’re excited to see what the elite field can do in one of the most famous running events, thousands of non-elite runners will also be putting their bodies and their minds to the test next Monday.

Scott Mattingly, 60, is one such runner. Born and raised in Catonsville, Maryland, Scott will be competing in his first ever Boston Marathon. Having only run for about 13 years, he made the switch from 5k’s and 10k’s to longer distances. His excitement is evident in the way he describes to us his training leading up to qualifying, applying and ultimately, being accepted into this year’s starting field.

First marathon DNF

It has not been easy. Scott shares with us the details of his first qualifying attempt which resulted in a DNF and a hospital stay. But he came up with a new qualification strategy and secured his bib.

There is much about Scott that we can all relate to: balancing a career and family with training for a prestigious race, struggling through injuries, setbacks, and the challenge of mental endurance. Scott gives a name and a voice to the Everyman Boston Marathoner and we will certainly be following him closely as he toes the line Monday morning in Hopkinton, MA.

Good luck Scott!

Questions Scott is asked:

2:29 First Four:

  1. How old are you?
  2. Where were you born?
  3. Where do you live now?
  4. What is your favorite race distance or type of race?

2:53 Did turning 60 play into your qualifying strategy at all?

3:29 What is your background?

5:10 How supportive was your family?

6:42 What kinds of activity did you do before running?

7:34 What got you started running?

10:01 What motivated you to qualify for Boston?

11:08 What was your fist BQ attempt like?

15:03 How did that affect your next attempt?

15:56 What do you expect for weather in Boston?

16:34 How did you train for qualifying and what time did you need?

17:59 Were you training in a group or alone?

19:05 What types of workouts were you doing for training?

21:24 What was your finishing time?

22:21 What was the registration and acceptance process once you BQ’d?

23:46 Will you be running Boston with a group?

25:23 What will your running kit include given the variability of weather conditions?

28:30 What is your shoe strategy?

31:45 Have you ever run any part of the Boston course?

35:52 Is your family excited for you?

37:27 What else do you have to share with us, especially what will your nutrition strategy be?

41:54 Final Kick Round:

  1. What is your favorite local training run or outing (location, starting point, parking, distance, terrain and safety issues)?
  2. Favorite running book(s), video or resource?
  3. Who or what would you like to have featured on the Run To The Top podcast?

Quotes by Scott:

“Running is a little bit different for everybody that does it; it means something different for everybody.”

“I had two 20-mile runs that absolutely built my confidence. Those confidence building runs are important and they’re more important when they’re closer to race day.”

“The mental game is probably one of my Achilles’ Heels, so those two runs, I knew I could do it at that point and I held onto that feeling all the way waiting for race day.”

“I wanted to come in at 3:50 and give myself a 5-minute buffer to have enough time to qualify. And they actually changed the qualifying time to 3:50, so it was good that I came in under it.”

“Lay your kit out ahead of time, have every scenario taken care of, because you don’t know what you’re going to hit up there. Even weather can change overnight, so be prepared for everything.”

“I don’t think any race I’ve been in can match the excitement of just qualifying, and getting your acceptance, and being able to go.”

Take a Listen on Your Next Run

 

Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel

 

Mentioned in this podcast:

Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community

RunnersConnect Facebook page

NuNee

Hoka One One

Brooks Glycerin

Brooks Ghost

Generation UCAN

Patapsco Valley State Park

Book: Brain Training For Runners by Matt Fitzgerald

Book: Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor

Follow Scott on:

Strava

Facebook

 

We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.

The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.

If more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, it means I can reach out to and get through to the top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting Run to the Top

Runners-Connect-Podcast-Ad-300x250

Don’t let knee pain keep you from completing your long runs, or worse, sideline you altogether.

An innovative new product called NuNee can help. NuNee is designed specifically to relieve that dreaded Runner’s Knee pain. Let NuNee help you get back to running without knee pain.

Available today at NuNeeShop.com.  Use  code  RC20  for  a  20%  discount. 

 

Get the Latest Updates & Special Perks

Ask your questions to our guests, give your input for what you want more of, and get special perks via email

You May Also Enjoy...

Podchaser - Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running