My First Marathon

Today we speak to a runner who's been able to use walking and running as a tool for sobriety. We talk about how after being in and out of rehabilitation centers for a few years, there was one consistent bright spot in her life, moving. It was time for processing, for routine and time to do something for herself. 

Eventually in her fifth year anniversary of being sober, she was able to pull lottery for Chicago and at that point now had the plan to run her first marathon. Her experience was one of resilience, strength and community. There's so much that I got out of this episode and I hope that you all feel inspired as well. 

Follow along with Helen-Hanson on Instagram at @helonhansonsmith!

Today's runner is normally on the other side of the mic telling inspiring stories of the everyday runner. So I was very fortunate to turn the tables and ask him some questions today!

We dive into how he went from training for a half marathon on a whim and initially hating running to running his first marathon and falling in love with endurance sports. After training for Boston and not having the race experience he hoped for, he turned to the triathlon sport where he found himself completely immersed and ended up competing in 8 Ironmans. 

He's built a business around finding inspiration from the everyday runner, and he's still out here proving to himself and his community that he can do hard things. 

To follow along with Jason and his community, you can find them on all social media platforms at @runtrimag! 
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Today's runner has 110 marathons under his belt with a little under half of those being at the Boston Marathon. You may have seen him on TikTok, #slaying the day or passing on all the tips and tricks for running a marathon and how to find longevity in the sport. I love the running community for bringing runners like this to the show because he was truly such a joy to listen to.

To follow along with Mike, you can find him at @runboston47 on Instagram and @bman363 on TikTok! 

On today's episode we've got another runner whose marathon and training are fresh on her mind because she ran her first marathon just a few months ago in September of 2024. We go into a lot of detail of reframing her relationship with running, training for her first two halves and eventually training for her full. 

We also get into a lot of new runner tips and tricks as well as the importance of training your stomach so lot's of good topics on this one!

If you'd like to follow along with Paige, you can find her on TikTok at @peaziggy! 

On today's episode we've got a lifelong runner with 66 marathons and a wealth of knowledge under her. We're talking someone who's ran New York 27 times, Chicago seven times and Boston six times. 

We break down her journey to her first marathon in San Francisco where she was finding out what it meant to be a marathoner and got through a lot of the triumphs and low points of running multiple marathons in a year. I love this runner's perspective on making sure you adjust your goals and at the end of the day, make running fun. 

To follow along with Erica, you can find her on Instagram @ericaagran! 

On today's episode, we talked to someone who running hasn't left alone since 2020. After having the itch to give it a go in 2020 and having the race canceled to trying to sign up again a couple of years later and getting COVID, the odds were stacked against her to run her first marathon. 

But running kept coming up and in 2023, she got the opportunity to run her first marathon in New York City. We get into topics of fueling challenges and the mental battle of training for your first marathon, as well as experiencing racing as a slower runner. 

Follow Amanda on Instagram and TikTok at @racewithamanda!

This runner is someone I've personally followed for a while and I think brings such a joy to the running community. In 2020, she found herself searching for new ways to prove herself wrong and push beyond her limits, which eventually led her to run three DIY races in the span of two years. It started with a DIY half, then a DIY full, and then finally, a DIY Ironman. 

We break down the mental battle of these races and how those experiences helped shape the future of her running. We also get into topics of coaching and when to get a coach, as well as social media influencing as a runner. So there's a lot of great stuff in this episode. 

Follow along with Ryley at @ryleejade.fit on Instagram and TikTok!

On today's episode we talk to an ultra runner who started running over 20 years ago in middle school but because of a delivery job at Jimmy John's actually ended up getting away from running for a while and dove headfirst into the biking world. After bike racing for a year he decided he wanted to get back into running and tackled the challenge of completing his first marathon. 

From there, we get into how this road eventually led to ultras and how the mental toughness aspect of running in ultras where the change can really happen in yourself. 

To follow along with Cass on Instagram, find him at @dog_cog_stew!

On today's episode, we talk to a runner with eight marathons and 13 years of running under her belt. We get into how she's heavily involved in the Cape Cod marathon community as both a runner and announcer, and also break down the differences between running your local marathons versus running world majors as she chases her six stars. 

Julianna is SO engaging to listen to and has a lot of experience to work with, don't forget to listen to her podcast (Runnah Pod) and follow along with her journey on Instagram at @jellyanna_runs! 

Today's runner is a dad marathoner and run-streaker with 10 years in between his first and second marathon. We dive into a lot of detail about training for the Philly Marathon last year where he PR'd his marathon time by nearly two hours as well as how consistency through his run streak has really allowed him to show up better for his family and for himself. 

We go in a little shoe tangent at the end, so if you're a shoe fanatic, make sure you stick around for that. We also talked about Bobby's awesome running playlist that we wanted to share with all of you so make sure you check out that link below!

To follow along with Bobby, find him at @cs0xruns on Instagram. 

Bobby's Playlist