What started as a love for reading first marathon race recaps turned into two years of collecting runner stories, and eventually into seeing the first marathon experience from the other side through coaching and helping my mom train for her first. Somewhere in all of that, a pattern became impossible to ignore.

I share the thinking behind the First Marathon Buddy Program, why it’s meant to walk alongside your training rather than replace it, and why community has always been at the center of My First Marathon. If you’re training for your first marathon and want support that feels steady, approachable, and built with beginners in mind, this episode explains where that idea came from and where it’s headed.

Follow along with the show:
 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

Join the community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon

In this week’s Wednesday mini episode, I’m walking through Phase One of the First Marathon Buddy program and breaking down what actually matters during the first five weeks of a 20 week marathon training plan. This phase isn’t about crushing workouts or proving anything. It’s about setting expectations, learning how to read your plan without panicking, building a routine that fits your life, and dialing in effort early so training doesn’t fight back later.

This episode is especially helpful if you’re training for your first marathon, but experienced runners will probably recognize a few familiar traps too. We talk through patience, consistency, easy effort, and how to tell the difference between normal soreness and something that needs attention. Phase One is where trust in the process is built, and where the tone for the entire training block gets set. 

The First Marathon Buddy course officially launches on 2/9! Join the waitlist below. 

Follow along with the show:
 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

Join the waitlist for the First Marathon Buddy Program:
 https://forms.gle/9CtXZF1Ygxr92TjM8

Nancy never thought of herself as a runner. She was the kid who hated playing outside, grew up believing only “people chased by bears” ran, and spent most of her adult life focused on raising six kids. Running didn’t enter her life until her late 30s, when life got heavy and she started running down the country roads near her home just to clear her head. What began as a mental reset slowly turned into half marathons, lessons learned the hard way about fueling and hydration, and a growing belief that maybe the full marathon wasn’t as impossible as she once thought.

In this episode, Nancy walks through her path from seven half marathons to the start line of her first full marathon at Richmond, training as a busy mom, navigating doubt, leaning on community, and learning to let go of pace goals in favor of gratitude. It’s a story about starting later, doing the work anyway, and proving to yourself that you’re capable of more than you ever imagined.

Follow along with Nancy at @pauleyontherun on Instagram! 

Follow along with the show:
 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

Book a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! -> https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440

This Wednesday mini episode kicks off a new short series built around something I’ve been quietly working on for the last few months: the First Marathon Buddy Program. It’s a 20-week companion meant to sit alongside your training plan and make marathon training feel less overwhelming, less isolating, and a lot more doable. In this episode, I walk through what the program is, why it exists, and how it’s structured to give you the right information at the right time instead of all at once.

Over the next few weeks, these Wednesday minis will pull tips directly from the First Marathon Buddy Program framework, but if you’re not training for your first marathon, don’t worry. I’ll be adapting each topic to include broader running advice and takeaways for runners who’ve been around the block a few times too. The goal is to make these episodes useful no matter where you’re at, while still keeping things approachable and human for newer runners. 

Follow along with the show:
 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

Join the waitlist for the First Marathon Buddy Program:
 https://forms.gle/9CtXZF1Ygxr92TjM8

Rose never saw herself as a marathon runner. Growing up, movement felt punitive, something she was forced into rather than chose for herself. In her twenties, that complicated relationship with exercise and food followed her, until consistency, Peloton, and a shift toward body-positive movement slowly changed the way she saw fitness. What started as cycling turned into running, then a half marathon she wasn’t fully prepared for, and eventually the realization that when 13.1 stopped feeling scary, maybe 26.2 was possible too.

In this episode, Rose walks through training for her first marathon at the Every Woman’s Marathon in Scottsdale, including self-doubt, fueling mistakes, rough long runs, unexpected heat, and the mental battle that defined her race. We talk about trusting training when your confidence wavers, leaning on community when things fall apart late in the race, and what it means to cross the finish line carrying proof that you’re capable of more than you ever thought. This is a story about rewriting your relationship with movement and learning, mile by mile, that your mind might be your strongest muscle.

Follow along with Rose on Instagram at @rosecmeadows!

Follow along with the show:
 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

Book a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! -> https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440

Lena Milligan’s first marathon came after years of rebuilding her relationship with movement. After a childhood spent as a competitive swimmer, Lena moved through seasons of overexercising, underfueling, injury, and anorexia recovery that forced her to step away from running entirely.

In this episode, Lena shares how she slowly found her way back through walking, 5Ks, trail races, half marathons, and eventually the marathon start line. We talk about learning how to fuel without fear, distance dysmorphia, bad long runs, trusting your body again, and why being tired from something you love can feel like a privilege instead of a punishment.

Follow along with the show:
 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

This week’s Wednesday mini episode is one I really wish someone had told me back when I was first trying to get into running: You're going to hate running until the day you don't. 

In this episode, I talk through my own start and stop relationship with running, why I hated it for years, and what finally changed when I stopped trying to prove something on every run. We get into the glamorization of running on social media, the importance of patience and consistency, and why falling in love with running has way more to do with who it slowly turns you into than how good any single run feels. If you’re early in your journey and waiting for running to click, this one’s for you!

Follow along with the show:
 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

Book a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! -> https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440

Gabby’s running journey didn’t start with a finish line goal or a desire to be fast. It started after stepping away from Division I college sports, when the structure she’d built her identity around suddenly disappeared and movement no longer had a clear purpose.

In this episode, Gabby walks us through what it looked like to relearn running on her own terms. From seeing running as punishment growing up, to signing up for a half marathon on a whim, to slowly building confidence through consistency, community, and letting go of pace expectations. Over the course of a few years, that approach led her to her first marathon at the Every Woman’s Marathon in Arizona, where she focused on fueling well, smiling often, and finishing strong without a time goal attached.

We talk about pace inclusivity, why slow and steady actually works, how community shaped her training and race day, and what it meant for her to cross the finish line feeling proud without tying her identity to one result. This is a conversation about rewriting what success in running can look like, especially for former athletes learning how to move without a coach or a clock.

Follow along with the show:
 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

Book a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me!
 https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440

It’s a New Year mini episode and we’re talking marathon goal setting! In this episode, I break down why time goals are not the only goals that matter and how relying on a single goal can set yourself up for failure.

We walk through a simple three-layer approach to marathon goals: outcome goals, process goals, and the personal why that actually carries you through the long runs and hard weeks. If you’re feeling motivated one minute and overwhelmed the next after signing up for a marathon, this episode is for you.

Follow along with the show:
 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays
 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod
 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast
 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources

Book a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me!
 https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440