First Marathon Stories

Two years ago, Laren didn't even know what a marathon was. Now, she just completed her first marathon.

Chris fell in love with running during a weight loss journey, and after running six half marathons, decided to tackle his first marathon in 2026.

Morgan was always an athlete, but it wasn't till she watched her husband go through a Boston-qualifying journey that she thought, "Why not?" and trained for her first marathon.

Jess found running during the pandemic when the gyms shut down. Seven marathons later, Jess has run races in the scorching heat, pouring ran, and raised $16,000 to run the Boston Marathon - and most recently won an entry into the Sydney Marathon.

Casey fell in love with running in middle school when she was trying to be faster than the boys. Over the years, she has run dozens of marathons and joined the ultrarunning community.

Dom joined the First Marathon Buddy Community to share his experience training for his first marathon. He ran the Sydney Marathon earlier this year, joining the marathoner club.

When Sandy moved to Australia, she found a passion for movement she never had before. A community of fitness enthusiasts encouraged her to sign up for her first races, and ultimately tackle her first marathon.

Although Steve says he has never been "naturally good" at sports, he has always loved playing sports and working out. From track in high school, to lifting throughout his young adult years into his 50s, Steve loved movement. But when COVID hit, the gyms closed, and he had to reevaluate. He started hiking, kayaking, and eventually agreed to do a 5K with his wife. While they never ended up running the race, Steve had decided to start running, and fell in love with it.

Aimee started her running journey running half marathons before deciding she wanted to challenge herself to her first marathon to coincide with her 40th birthday.

From a young age, Martin saw his father running to get in shape. When Frank Shorter won the 1972 Olympic marathon, at the age of 11, Martin was so moved that he went outside in his blue jeans and went for a four-mile run. From there, he was hooked.

Jay was always active but actively avoided running in her youth. After college, a 5K led to a half marathon, which led to the NYC marathon. She struggled early on, but pushed herself through across the finish line of her first marathon.

Hunter has always been into running for the fun of it and for the community. He kept that mindset as he crossed the finish line of his first marathon.

Sierra had an on-off relationship with running for years before signing up for her first 26.2.

Barry started running to get healthy, but along the way found a way to prove himself wrong and push through a less-than-ideal first marathon experience to cross the finish line.

Abia was so inspired by an incredible runner who beat breast cancer at the New York City Marathon that she entered the lottery the next year and won a spot. What followed was a first marathon experience fueled by community and ignoring the imposter syndrome in her own mind to become a marathoner.

Sara signed up for her first marathon almost by accident and found herself fundraising and training for her first 26.2 unexpectedly. Through life disruptions and an imperfect training plan, Sara made it through her first marathon.

Julie ran her first marathon in Philadelphia, healing trauma from school sports and learning to make it through the hardest moments to cross the finish line.

Rachel didn't grow up running. She remembers the first time she enjoyed running was a class in her senior year of high school, which required her to complete a mile. The competitive side of her kicked in, and she trained super hard to run that mile. She was the fastest in the class, and it inspired a future competitor.

Gina never thought she'd be a runner. In 2016, she got it in her mind that she wanted to run a half marathon, and she was truly hooked. After two kids and a long return to running, Gina signed up to run her first marathon at the Eugene Marathon.

Jude described herself as a "late bloomer" who got into running at 38. Through injury and an almost accidental registration, she ran her first marathon in Melbourne, Australia.