First Marathon Story: Go Stupid Slow: Finding Running, Community, and Her People in the Ultra World w/ Keneshia Raymond

Taylor Sayles
5 days ago
4 min read

Keneshia Raymond speaks with podcast host Taylor Sayles about her first marathon experience. The text "Keneshia Raymond" appears across the photo.

Keneshia was a dancer growing up and a professional roller skater. She lost those sports as she got older, but needed something to get out of her head. That's when she found running and CrossFit.

Getting into running came as she was battling depression. She had just adopted two teenagers, and she needed that mental relief. Keneshia signed up for a local Mother's Day 5K, and that was the gateway into the running world. She started running mailbox to mailbox (hyperventilating, she's severely asthmatic), and then realized running around the block was a mile. In July, she started doing a mile per day.

All For a Flavor Flav Clock

Keneshia's second 5K was part of a race series that had a medal at the end that looked like a Flavor Flav Clock. She knew she wanted that medal - she was less sure if she could complete the distances. She signed up for all three races, two 5Ks and a 4 mile, and decided she'd walk if she had to.

She started looking for a running program to join. Keneshia knew she might not "fit in" but she showed up to a 5K build-up group. The group helped her through the process, providing her with guidance on run-walk intervals, giving her the motivation to build her distance each time, and the confidence she needed. And yes, she got the Flavor Flav medal!

Building Up With Community

Keneshia loved the program so much, she wanted to stick with them. The next race on the training calendar was a half marathon, so she signed up. She loved having the community to help motivate her through the training runs. And she found an outlet in a group with other moms, other people having hard weeks, who could relate to what she was going through. It gave her the peace that she needed.

Keneshia went into her first half marathon with no time goal, but a determination to make it to the end. Her coach ran alongside her, and pushed her through the race. When she got to the finish line, she bawled. It showed her she could do longer distances, and she felt at home in her own skin.

At this point, Keneshia already knew she was going to run a full marathon. She was ready to get a charity spot in the New York City Marathon, preparing to train by herself since her group was not having a marathon training program. She ended up signing up instead for the Every Woman's Marathon, inspired by the supportive environment and the number of women running the race. Once she had put in her credit card, she knew she was doing it.

Keneshia's friend, who she met through the running group, did every single long run with her, early in the morning before the Arizona heat got too bad. Training was hard. She had to mentally train herself to "sit in the suck" and keep going.

For her 20-mile run, Keneshia was supposed to be pacing a friend running Javelina Jundred, but her friend ultimately dropped out. So now, Keneshia was doing her 20 miles on a treadmill.

That was her longest run...until she signed up for an ultramarathon before the marathon even happened.

From Ultra to Her First Marathon

Keneshia signed up with a few friends to run an ultramarathon. They were signed up to run 12 hours, starting at 7 p.m. She just kept moving, and at 6:59 a.m., she had made it 29 miles.

Training went well, and before she knew it, she was at the taper. The nerves really kicked in when she went to packet pickup. Luckily, a friend signed up to run with her at the last minute. It meant so to Keneshia, for her friend to run with her.

Once they reached the corral, it poured ran for nine (exactly nine!) minutes. The music started playing, and she started crying. It was a great kickoff to the 26.2.

Spoiler alert: Keneshia's marathon did NOT go well. The first 8 miles were great. But the race, which was advertised as net downhill, was really more rolling hills. It started to get warm at mile 9, and she started to cramp. She made it mile 13, and that's when she knew, this was going to be awful. At mile 19 and 20, the wall hit hard. She felt liek her foot was broken, the cramping was terrible, and the heat was awful. A massive hill hit at mile 21, and she started questioning why she had ever even signed up for this.

No part of her enjoyed the last few miles of the race. But she finished, overcoming the hardest challenge she had ever experienced.

Lessons Learned