First Marathon Stories

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.

Mikaela found ultrrunning while healing in some of the darkest times of her life. Along the way she found peace, strength, and the confidence to keep going.

Maggie always had a competitive spirit. Originally a gynmast and sprinter, Maggie decided to run the 2025 Chicago Marathon to celebrate her 30th birthday.

Alyssa came to running after college. After running a half marathon, she signed up to run the Space Coast marathon. While the day didn't go the way she hoped, she saw it through a few weeks later, and crossed the finish line of her first marathon.

Keneshia found a love for running on the hot roads of Arizona. She finished her first marathon at the Every Woman's Marathon, supported by a community of runners behind her.

Jon found the marathon much more intimidating than the Spartan Races he had been doing. There was no pace pressure on the trails. Everyone was sharing snacks and making friends. But he signed up for the San Francisco Marathon anyway. He wanted to prove he was capable of it.

Ashley was never a runner, but fell in love with the sport during a stressful divorce. She set off on the country roads with $10 shoes and a Fitbit, and her running journey began.

Always a runner, Carly struggled with unexplained illness and surgeries before finding her way to her first marathon on the anniversary of a major surgery.

Jose describes running as a pal he's always had, that he's always come back to throughout his life. He wasn't hugely interested in running or sports, but he found running was a good time. Growing up with 80s movies, he saw running as a way to make himself better (cue the "Rocky" montage). Around 2000, he started training for a 10K entirely on a treadmill. He was in school at the time, and trying to keep himself "out of too much trouble." The 10K wasn't that bad at all, and he

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.