First Marathon Stories

Ryan Trask tells his first marathon story. A lifelong Texan, Ryan ran the Houston Marathon after years of finding his way back to running, and training through Zone 2 frustrations, fatherhood, and doubts.

Ilana Dunn tells her first marathon story at the NYC Marathon, battling injury, panic attacks, and doubt to the finish line.

Cass played sports a lot as a kid, but unexplained joint instability issues (which she now knows is from Ehlers-Danlos syndromes) prevented her from continuing movement long-term. She grew up thinking pain was normal. Cass gained a lot of weight, she had chronic dislocation and pain and she started to dislike herself. She moved to Texas in 2008 and went to a weight loss camp, where she started running.

Krissy found running through a "couch to 5K" program, and fell in love with the sport. She ran a 10K mostly by accident to avoid socializing, and crossed her first marathon finish line at Richmond.

Maya trained for her first marathon when she was struggling, and found the joy in something hard that she could control.

Holly never thought she'd run a marathon. As a cheerleader for her husband's Six Star journey, she realized there was no reason she couldn't run a marathon - and joined the 1%.

Kristine started dancing at age three, While she was dancing, running was not expressly forbidden, but it was discouraged - the injury risk just wasn't worth it. At 19, after struggling with her body image and extreme diet culture, she left ballet and started rebelling against every rule she had to follow as a dancer. She cut her hair, she got more piercings, and she started running.

Annie always knew she was meant to run a marathon. She never expected the community she met along the way.

Norah overcomes a difficult diagnosis to run her first marathon.

In this episode, Nancy walks through her path from seven half marathons to the start line of her first full marathon at Richmond, training as a busy mom, navigating doubt, leaning on community, and learning to let go of pace goals in favor of gratitude. It’s a story about starting later, doing the work anyway, and proving to yourself that you’re capable of more than you ever imagined.

In this episode, Rose walks through training for her first marathon at the Every Woman’s Marathon in Scottsdale, including self-doubt, fueling mistakes, rough long runs, unexpected heat, and the mental battle that defined her race. We talk about trusting training when your confidence wavers, leaning on community when things fall apart late in the race, and what it means to cross the finish line carrying proof that you’re capable of more than you ever thought. This is a story

In this episode, Lena shares how she slowly found her way back through walking, 5Ks, trail races, half marathons, and eventually the marathon start line. We talk about learning how to fuel without fear, distance dysmorphia, bad long runs, trusting your body again, and why being tired from something you love can feel like a privilege instead of a punishment.

In this episode, Gabby walks us through what it looked like to relearn running on her own terms. From seeing running as punishment growing up, to signing up for a half marathon on a whim, to slowly building confidence through consistency, community, and letting go of pace expectations.

Rebecca Simonic never imagined herself as a marathoner. After the birth of her second child, she found herself in a dark place, scrolling...

Asher didn’t grow up with sports, organized teams, or even a background in running. His story began in Brooklyn, where movement wasn’t...

Keira D’Amato’s journey in running isn’t a straight line. In fact, for almost a decade, she stepped away from the sport completely. When...

Molly’s journey into running wasn’t planned. She never thought of herself as athletic and avoided running whenever possible growing up....

Rachel O’Brien didn’t grow up loving running. In high school, she played lacrosse and even committed to play in college before health...

Katelyn grew up in the pool, not pounding pavement. After nearly two decades as a swimmer, she carried the classic mindset that running...

Brandon Hicks didn’t head into his first marathon cold. Years before, he had run a couple half marathons, training solo in regular gym...