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First Marathon Story: I Can Do Hard Things: Running New York in Her Uncle's Honor w/ Jay Wood

Writer: Taylor Sayles
Taylor Sayles
Sep 7
4 min read

Split-screen video call with two smiling women, one at a microphone and one in headphones, with Jay Wood text over a warm background

From Avoiding to Loving Running

Movement started for Jay at an early age. She played soccer growing up, dabbling in volleyball and track, and while she loved being active, she would take any excuse not to run during practice. She never felt "good" at running.


In college and after, she played intramural and club sports, but in the off season, was looking for other forms of movement, so she gradually started running. She wanted to challenge herself. She could sprint, but couldn't maintain long distances. Jay wanted to push herself, so she signed up for a 5K to motivate herself to run for longer periods.


Jay was super emotional crossing the finish line. She ended up second in her age group (out of six, but who cares!). After that, she dove right in. Could she do a half marathon? Maybe even more?

Conquering Distance

Jay started training for a half marathon using the Nike Run Club app. She was intimidated by the increasing distance, but found it was amazing to get through those distances that once seemed so impossible. Jay started gaining confidence, but never really felt like a "real runner." She'd finish a run, super proud of herself, and then compare herself to those on social media running faster times or longer distances. But she stuck with it.


Her first half marathon was in Washington, D.C. The crowd support was incredible, and she felt herself getting emotional. She ran with her husband, who helped keep her motivated through the harder miles. Jay crossed the finish line and immediately thought: "I think I could push myself through a full marathon."


Running NYC in Honor of Her Uncle

Jay had always wanted to run the New York City Marathon. She watched Brittany Runs a Marathon, and sobbed the whole time. So she knew she had to look into running it.


Jay had missed the lottery but she started looking at charity spots. During this time, her uncle passed away from ALS, and so she applied to run for a local ALS United charity in his honor. Her uncle had been very active before his diagnosis, and she felt like it would be the best way to honor him. She didn't expect to get in, but was accepted at the end of March, with the race in November.


She had a lot of anxiety at first. She didn't want to tell anyone, at first. She wasn't sure if she could do it. But she had committed, and she knew she had to try. Jay went in with a super lax mindset, knowing there would be hiccups and knowing she should trust the process.


There were some runs where Jay questioned whether or not she could make it through. She felt a mental block to get through certain mileage, but she gradually proved herself wrong: she could do these things. At her last long run, she finally felt like could finish this thing.


She trained through terrible humidity in the Maryland summer, but she found any little cool pocket of temperature to try and run. Despite the struggles, she made it through to the taper, and prepared for the final weeks leading into the marathon.


She was stressed out by all the logistics on race weekend, but luckily her charity had its own bus transportation to the start line. Jay was starting in the last wave, waiting and waiting for the day to start.


The first two miles of the race were incredible. Jay went in with a time goal, but mostly just wanted to experience the race and take it in. There were crowds everywhere, and she felt like a celebrity. Jay ended up running the whole marathon with a fellow charity runner, taking walk breaks when needed.


Around Mile 9, Jay started feeling super nauseous, unable to take in fuel. But it was around this time that she saw her family for the first time, which was the boost she needed. Unfortunately, the nausea didn't go away for the rest of the race, but Jay was able to make it enjoyable because she had someone running alongside her. She was still moving forward, and she gave herself grace.


Getting closer to the finish line was a surreal experience. The last mile, there were people and lights everywhere. Her husband surprised her by getting a ticket to the seats by the finish line, cheering her on as she sprinted towards the finish line.


Lessons Learned

  • Give yourself grace.

  • Have fun with it.


Want to hear Jay tell the story herself? Listen to the full episode now: I Can Do Hard Things: Running New York in Her Uncle's Honor w/ Jay Wood— 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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