Andrea Bradshaw has been with Central Park Track Club – New Balance since 2009. Originally focusing on short and middle distance events, Andrea only ran her first marathon in 2019. In her second attempt at the distance, at the Philadelphia Marathon, Andrea qualified for the Olympic Trials with a personal best 2:44:15.
Where did you qualify for the trials? What was your time?
Philadelphia Marathon 2019. 2:44:12 or 2:44:15 (depending on gun or chip time)
What is your best, clearest memory of your qualifying race?
The most fun moment was running (mile 5?) through downtown Philly, with spectators on the road cheering for you from both sides. From mile 16 on it was a bit of a blur as I was in the pain cave.
How many marathons have you done?
2
Is this the greatest of your accomplishments in running? If not, what was? If yes, what was your previous greatest running accomplishment?
I’ve had a lot of really exciting accomplishments throughout the years, both as an individual and as a member of a team. I remember the first time the MIT women’s track team won the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference championship, the first time we qualified for XC nationals, and the first time we won the NE D3 track championships. One year in college I finished second in the 800m in the NE D3 indoor championship by 1 thousandth of a second. I think the winner was even in a different heat. It was heartbreaking. Then the next year I finally won that race!
As a member of CPTC, I think I was most excited when I finally, 4 years post-college, broke 2:12 for the 800m. Breaking 1:20 in the half was a bit of a breakthrough for my potential career as a distance runner. It was also really exciting when the women won the road championships by a very slim margin in one of the recent years.
As an individual, I got to stand on top of the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge podium once, and have had an ongoing friendly rivalry at one of the summer 5 milers I run fairly regularly. I’m not sure if any of these count as a great accomplishment, or top qualifying for trials, but they’re moments that I treasure.
How long has the trials been a goal? Did you set out last year to get there?
While I was training for my first marathon (New Jersey) this spring, I was aware of my friends and teammates who had qualified, but it seemed quite intimidating. I wasn’t sure it was a realistic goal until I survived that first one.
Favorite NB shoe and why.
NB1400 because they’re so versatile. I’ve done a lot of run-commuting and only have room for 1 pair of shoes; on workout days you can wear them for the warm up, workout, and cool down.
How long have you been on the team?
I joined the team in 2009, immediately after moving to NYC from doing my undergrad in Boston. After college I wanted to continue to train for the 800m, and I had seen folks from the team competing at the indoor BU meets. I was glad I didn’t have to become a road runner or marathoner (ha!) to continue training seriously.
At what age did you first race? At what age did you start training?
In elementary school (4th grade I think) I ran a charity 5k my school hosted. I trained by waking up early to join my dad on his pre-work runs, which were also about 5k distance.
How has CPTC helped you as an athlete?
CPTC is great because there’s something for you, no matter where you are in your running career. I’ve had teammates push me through sprint workouts and pull me to PRs, I’ve also made friends who I meet up with for early morning runs when work and life are crazy and I just need some stress relief and venting sessions.
What is your favorite marathon workout and why?
None of them! I love 200m repeats!
Do you have a running role model/hero? If so, who and why?
Not necessarily runners, but growing up I really admired the work ethics of the national team soccer players Michele Akers and Mia Hamm. They put in the hard work in training and then gave everything they had on game day. I really admire the people who plug away, day after day, even though it’s almost never glamorous.