First Marathon Story: Watching Someone Else's Finish Line: How a Stranger's Marathon Story Became Her Own w/ Abia Mallick

Taylor Sayles
Aug 3
4 min read

Split-screen of two smiling women on video call, one with earbuds and glasses, with ABIA MALLICK text over framed art and chair.

Inspired to Run

Abia wasn't too athletic growing up. She loved to play in the park with friends, but she didn't play sports in school. Abia eventually entered movement when she found weight lifting in college, and then found a yoga practice. She became a certified yoga instructor, and then gradually found running.

One of Abia's friends volunteered at the New York City Marathon in 2023, and she was determined to volunteer at next year's race. She was never a runner, she'd never run the marathon, but she was going to watch it. Abia was lucky enough to get a slot volunteering just past the finish line with a friend. She remembers a woman who stopped to catch her breath past the finish line, told Abia that she had beaten breast cancer and gotten through chemo, and was determined to run the marathon as lifelong New Yorker. Abia looked at her, and couldn't believe she had been through all of that. And she decided at that moment that she wanted to give the marathon a shot. She entered the lottery (in February) after that. And Abia got a bib.

Imposter Syndrome

Abia was overwhelmed at first. She had never run more than four miles in her life. It was the month of Ramadan, so she was fasting (not a great time to start training). She immediately started researching, looking for training plans and gear to get her to the finish line.

She signed up for a few races in between, trying to find her footing and decide whether or not she wanted to train solo or with other people. Would she run too slow? Would she be a burden on others? She had incredible imposter syndrome starting out. But the running community turned out to be more supportive than she ever imagined.

Her first race was a 12-mile race put on by New York City. The encouragement from others in the corrals did so much to calm her nerves and make her feel like she was getting prepared to tackle 26.2.

The next weekend, Abia ran her first half marathon with her best friends. They yapped the whole time, but by the end, they were both feeling it. It wasn't about pace, it wasn't about how fast they were going, it was about crossing that finish line together.

The Low Points Were Low, the High Points Were High

Once she got through the half marathon, she was in uncharted territory. The miles kept increasing, the humidity and the heat were suffocating. In October, she finally felt relief with cooler temperatures, but then the nerves set in. Was she going to be able to do it?

After her 18-mile run (three loops around Central Park), her foot was killing her. She had to miss a few training runs, and was terrified that this would impact her ability to finish. But she trusted the process, saw her physical therapist, and allowed herself the rest she needed. Abia also found there were certain yoga poses that helped her running also.

But the imposter syndrome continued, all the way up until race day. She started to feel sick a few days before the race, making it even worse. She started thinking that maybe it was going to be better to defer. Her cycle started just a few days before. But others' confidence and energy in her helped get her to the start line.

Her sister surprised her, coming from four hours away to see her run the marathon, and that solidified her resolve to at least try to finish the race.

As a born and bred New Yorker, Abia saw her community at every mile of the race. The weather was PERFECT. She did a full face of makeup, with the perfect setting spray that kept her makeup in place the whole race.

The first half of the race was just a party. Her community showed up and she was able to lean on them for support and supplies. As she approached the Queensboro Bridge (the largest bridge), she knew she was approaching more of her people, who were all stationed in Manhattan. Abia walked the incline of the bridge, and then ran the decline, knowing she had ten miles still to go.

The last ten miles made her question her entire life. She saw her parents as soon as she got off the bridge, then saw her best friends at Mile 18. But she knew there wouldn't be as many people along the course from Mile 19 to 24. From Manhattan to the Bronx, and then Bronx into Manhattan, was the worst part of the race for her. The last two bridges. She just wanted to reach the finish line. She turned on her playlist (titled Mile 20 - 26.2), and was committed to reaching the end. She saw the finish line, ran through it, and it all hit her at once. Abia's legs were jelly, she could barely walk, but she got her medal, smiling from ear-to-ear.

Lessons Learned