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My First Marathon Rundown
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From 90 Seconds to American Record: The Reinvention of Keira D’Amato
Keira D’Amato’s journey in running isn’t a straight line. In fact, for almost a decade, she stepped away from the sport completely. When...
Taylor Sayles
11 hours ago2 min read


The Great Turkey Detour: How Molly Survived Her First Marathon
Molly’s journey into running wasn’t planned. She never thought of herself as athletic and avoided running whenever possible growing up....
Taylor Sayles
17 hours ago2 min read


Why Rachel Focuses on Finishing Happy, Finishing Healthy, and Finishing Strong
Rachel O’Brien didn’t grow up loving running. In high school, she played lacrosse and even committed to play in college before health...
Taylor Sayles
18 hours ago2 min read


How Katlynn Uses Mantras like "Forward is a Pace" To Keep Moving
Katelyn grew up in the pool, not pounding pavement. After nearly two decades as a swimmer, she carried the classic mindset that running...
Taylor Sayles
18 hours ago2 min read


Why Brandon Hicks Says Setting Big Goals Matters More Than Hitting Them
Brandon Hicks didn’t head into his first marathon cold. Years before, he had run a couple half marathons, training solo in regular gym...
Taylor Sayles
Aug 202 min read


Sour Candy and Solo Miles: How Paige Foote Ran Her First Marathon and Founded Noogs
Paige Foote didn’t expect to run her first marathon on a half-mile loop at an Air Force base, but like a lot of runners in 2020, she made...
Taylor Sayles
Aug 72 min read


5 Marathon Mistakes That Made My Injury Worse (And What I'd Do Differently)
Marathon training is supposed to be challenging, but it’s not supposed to break you. Unfortunately, my last training block didn’t go as...
Taylor Sayles
Jul 313 min read


Paige Spangler Cried Five Times During Her First Marathon. Then Signed Up Again.
Paige didn’t grow up dreaming about becoming a marathon runner. She started running in high school and kept it up on and off through the...
Taylor Sayles
Jul 292 min read


“I’m Not Athletic, But I Ran a Marathon”: How Emily Bailey Rewrote Her Identity One Mile at a Time
Emily Bailey never considered herself an athlete. She stayed active, played sports growing up, even ran a few 5Ks for fun. But the word...
Taylor Sayles
Jul 233 min read


Top 10 FAQs for First-Time Marathoners
Training for your first marathon is exciting, but also kind of overwhelming. As the host of My First Marathon and a runner myself, I’ve...
Taylor Sayles
Jul 174 min read


Marathon Therapy and Ultra Weirdos: What Running Gave John Calabrese When Life Got Hard
John Calabrese didn’t expect running to become a core part of his identity. For years, it was just something he did when he had to—mostly...
Taylor Sayles
Jul 172 min read


A Marathon Built on Grit (and Google Sheets): How Sarah Yankello Rewired Her Life Through Running
Sarah Yankello never thought she'd run a marathon. She definitely never thought she’d become someone who carefully compared 15 training...
Taylor Sayles
Jul 92 min read


Half Marathons and Tofu Aid Stations: Running Charlotte without a traditional training block
Ten years ago, Theresa Dornburg hated exercise. The thought of movement for fun—or worse, for sport—was foreign until she found herself...
Taylor Sayles
Jul 72 min read
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