Worland's Bishop qualifies for Boston Marathon

Wanting to run before going on his LDS mission to Argentina, recent Worland High School graduate Jack Bishop tried his hand at a marathon and ended up running a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.

Running at the Governor's Cup in Helena, Montana, on June 10, Bishop ran the 26.2 miles in 2:57.47, qualifying him for the Boston Marathon.

The qualifying time for the Boston Marathon in the men's 18-35 age group is 3:00.00.

Not expecting to run as much while on mission in Argentina, Bishop saw the marathon in Helena as the perfect opportunity to get one last run in and check off a goal.

Once he wrapped up his final track season for WHS at the 3A State, meet in Casper on May 18-20, Bishop got to work on training for the Governor's Cup

"I was thinking about how I wouldn't be able to run a lot once I got to Argentina for my mission," said Bishop. "I decided a marathon was something I wanted to do before I left. I ran a little throughout the year, but once track was over, I really started buckling down and getting more miles in."

An all-state runner for the WHS cross-country program and state medalist in track and field, Bishop is used to training for distance running. However, training for a marathon in a short amount of time was taxing.

Leaning on his determination, Bishop went from training for the 1600 meters to putting in 50 miles a week for the marathon.

"The hardest part was going from doing short mileage to running half marathons and getting up to 50 miles per week," said Bishop. "I listened to a lot of podcasts about training and your diet for a marathon. A lot of people around me told me I wouldn't have enough time to prep for it. But I felt like I had set my mind to it and I was going to do it."

Heading into the Governor's Cup, Bishop wanted to run a sub-three-hour marathon. He felt good about the goal and knew he could accomplish it. That was until he read the course description that listed the hills throughout the course, one of which was called Cardiac Hill.

After reading that course description, there were understandably some nerves for Bishop. Yet, a few hills wouldn't stop him from aiming for that sub-three-hour goal.

Bishop started the race strong, and at the halfway point, he checked his watch and saw he was on pace for Boston.

"My goal going in was to break 3 hours, but I hadn't read the course description. When I saw it, it said demanding hills and, in the end, Cardiac Hill. I was a little bit nervous after reading that. Halfway through, I looked at my pace. I saw my pace and decided to go for that Boston qualifying time.

"Then as the miles started to get into the 20s, 22 range, I looked at my watch and said, 'Oh my goodness, I'm slowing down at the end,'" said Bishop.

Even though his pace slowed, Bishop powered through those final miles and Cardiac Hill to accomplish his goal of running a sub-three-hour marathon.

Bishop will be in Argentina and won't be able to run in next year's Boston Marathon but having qualified once, he knows when he returns from his mission. He'll be able to hit that qualifying time again.

"I'd like to run in the Boston Marathon. I'm sure I'll have to qualify again when I get back," said Bishop. "That's a pretty cool goal. My grandpa ran in the Boston Marathon, and that'd be pretty cool to do the same."