First Marathon Stories

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...

Paige Foote didn’t expect to run her first marathon on a half-mile loop at an Air Force base, but like a lot of runners in 2020, she made...

Paige didn’t grow up dreaming about becoming a marathon runner. She started running in high school and kept it up on and off through the...

Emily Bailey never considered herself an athlete. She stayed active, played sports growing up, even ran a few 5Ks for fun. But the word...

John Calabrese didn’t expect running to become a core part of his identity. For years, it was just something he did when he had to—mostly...

Sarah Yankello never thought she'd run a marathon. She definitely never thought she’d become someone who carefully compared 15 training...