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First Marathon Story: I Still Ran a Marathon: Redefining a Tough First 26.2 at Shamrock w/ Chris Field

Writer: Taylor Sayles
Taylor Sayles
Nov 2
3 min read
Split-screen video call with a smiling woman at a microphone and a smiling man; text reads Chris Field.

Building a Love for Running

Chris played football in high school, and running was an unfortunate part of that. In 2024, Chris went through a weight loss journey. He had already lost 50 or 55 pounds when a friend asked if he wanted to join him for a 5K. He had always wanted to run a 5K, and after he was able to run two miles without stopping, he decided he could do it.


On the course, his friend passed him with words of encouragement, but as he went up a hill, he started to get into the groove and passed his friend on the way up. He felt incredible when he crossed the finish line, and his wife immediately knew it wouldn't be his last race.


A couple of 5Ks, an 8K and a 10-miler later, it clicked in his head: if he could run 10 miles, he could run 13.1. So within six months of starting to run, he had worked his way up from a 5K to a half marathon.


Building a Training Plan

At this point, Chris was running four days per week. He knew he could do the distance, with a practice 13.1-mile long run on the calendar, and he just kept his easy runs easy. No speedwork, nothing complicated, just consistency.


Race morning was cold, he eased into the miles, and found that the miles flew by. He finished in just under 2 hours and 20 minutes, and he couldn't have felt more proud of himself.


In 2025, he decided to run a half marathon in the mountains of North Carolina. Later in the year, he ran three half marathons. At this point, with six half marathons under his belt, he thought it might be time to tackle a full.


Running His First Marathon

Chris signed up for the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach in 2026. He expected a flat course and a cooler race day. He jumped right in.


Chris used his Garmin for his training and learned quickly that he didn't know what he didn't know. He learned quickly he was going to be up early, alone, and it was going to suck. But that's how you get to the finish line.


He did a two-week taper; the first week was fine, but the Monday leading up to the marathon, Chris started feeling sick. It turned into a sinus infection, but he knew he wasn't backing out now. He was going to get to that start line no matter what.


He showed up Friday before the race, picked up his bib at the expo, and then ended up getting 25,000 steps the day before. He drove the course so he could picture the landmarks and the elevation profile.


He woke up on race morning, the nerves starting to hit. And then they were off.


The wind was blowing head on, the sun is picking up, it was getting hotter — and he felt pretty spent by the time he hit halfway. By the time he hit mile 15, he knew it was going to be a struggle, and he started doing run-walk intervals. At mile 16, he had to go up and over a bridge; he felt terrible with ten miles to go. He walked up the bridge, and called his wife for words of encouragement. She told him to just keep moving, and that's what he did.


With 5K left, he met two guys also running their first marathon, and they embraced the last few miles together. He walked, but he kept going. With .2 miles to go, they encouraged each other to run, however slowly, towards the finish line. As soon as he crossed the finish line, he felt like he had truly survived something.


Lessons Learned

  • Don't judge a book by its cover.

  • Don't focus just on one day. Everything you do leading up to race day matters.

  • You can do hard things.

  • Make sure you're properly fueling.


Want to hear Chris tell the story himself? Listen to the full episode now: I Still Ran a Marathon: Redefining a Tough First 26.2 at Shamrock w/ Chris Field— available wherever you get your podcasts.


Listen to my most recent mini episode: Survival Guide To Running Your First Marathon



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Follow along with the show:

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

🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod

📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast


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