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Coaching Tips: How Your First Marathon Changes You

  • Writer: Taylor Sayles
    Taylor Sayles
  • Mar 4
  • 2 min read

Everyone’s first marathon experience is different, but one of the themes I see again and again is that runners almost always feel like a different person on the other side of the finish line. Why is that?


Anyone can commit to doing something hard and uncomfortable. Anyone can show up for themselves every day and show up for themselves. If you are willing to put in the work, the results will come.


And as we like to say on this show, anyone can run a marathon.

When you commit to doing something hard over a long period of time (months, if not years), whether you like it or not, you teach yourself discipline. You teach yourself that obstacles aren’t roadblocks, they’re just a bump in the road. You learn to make adjustments in the face of adversity, and you learn how to fail - and use that failure as a tool.


Over time, that mindset becomes, “I can do anything.” All of a sudden, everyday activities that once felt impossible feel much simpler.


Running a marathon taught me that I could accomplish something that wasn’t tied to financial gain, and that was really powerful. It helped me separate from my work stress and allowed me to show up differently in everyday life. 


Whether you’re training for your first marathon now or you’ve already run your first marathon and can attest to this, you become a different person when you run a marathon. Maybe not all at once, but you’ll start to notice that it’s not selfish to do something for yourself that makes you show up better for the people in your life. 


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👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays

🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod

📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast


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