My First Marathon

I just got back from my honeymoon in Portugal, ran a half marathon a week later, and somehow walked away with a two minute PR. In this mini episode, I'm breaking down what this training block actually looked like, why I made the call to drop my sub-two goal weeks before race day, how a heat wave, a wedding, and a week of zero running in Portugal accidentally became the best thing that could have happened to my fitness, and what it taught me about the difference between giving up on a goal and just knowing it's not your season to chase it yet.

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

Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon

Jose Martinez has always had a complicated relationship with running. Growing up in Vancouver, it was something he returned to in waves, usually when life got messy and he needed somewhere to put it. When 2021 took his cousin and then his father, Jose found himself somewhere he didn't quite recognize. It wasn't until he and his wife started talking about making a change that he gave himself a reason to start moving again, early morning walks that slowly turned into something more. And when he stumbled across an old race record on his phone from the year 2000, he made a decision from his couch that he couldn't take back. He was running the Vancouver Marathon again, 25 years later, whether his body agreed or not.

What followed was a training block that tested just about everything he had. Injuries, loss, COVID two weeks out, and a tragedy in his city that put the whole race in question. Jose showed up to the start line anyway, carrying his dad with him and running on a mantra and the handful of familiar faces who showed up along the course when he needed them most.

Follow along with Jose: @jose604 Follow along with Jose's wife Sarah and her beautiful jewelry work: @sarahmulderjewelry & sarahmulder.com

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

Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon

Hey friends! I'm officially off getting married and soaking up every second of it. I'll be back with brand new episodes on May 4th, but in the meantime I'm bringing back one of your all-time favorite episodes for you to enjoy. Thanks for all the love and support. It means everything. Now let's get into it!

Ariel Greenstein didn’t grow up as an athlete. She didn’t fall in love with running early. And for a long time, movement just wasn’t part of her life. But in her early 30s, something shifted. What started as Broadway-themed Peloton classes during the pandemic slowly turned into outdoor runs, then half marathons, and eventually a very intentional, very patient build toward her first marathon at the Chicago Marathon.

In this conversation, Ariel walks us through what it looks like to take your time with the sport. She shares how releasing pace and time expectations helped her actually enjoy running, how documenting her slower-paced journey online helped other runners feel seen, and why community, strength training, and consistency mattered far more than rushing to the next distance. We talk about training with a run group, navigating the mental side of marathon prep, handling tough long runs, and what it was like to race 26.2 miles through her home city with zero pressure beyond finishing and having fun.

This episode is a reminder that anybody can go the distance, that there is no timeline you need to follow, and that running can be something you build slowly, joyfully, and on your own terms.

Follow along with Ariel at @arielgreenstein_ on Instagram and TikTok!

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

Hey friends! I'm officially off getting married and soaking up every second of it. I'll be back with brand new episodes on May 4th, but in the meantime I'm bringing back one of your all-time favorite episodes for you to enjoy. Thanks for all the love and support. It means everything. Now let's get into it!

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

Ryan Trask has always been a runner at heart, even when life kept pulling him away from it. From getting cut from his middle school basketball team and stumbling into cross country, to running through job loss, a pandemic, and the chaos of raising four kids, running has been the thing he keeps coming back to. So when he decided it was finally time to run a marathon before 40, it felt less like a new chapter and more like finishing something he'd started a long time ago.

But this one was about more than just him. His wife lives with a chronic illness that keeps her from moving the way she'd like to, and somewhere along the way, Ryan decided that if she couldn't run, he was going to run for both of them. That purpose carried him through four months of pre-dawn long runs, a zone two training experiment that humbled him in the best way, a 100-day streak he wouldn't exactly recommend, and a bout of flu A that landed right in the middle of taper.

He showed up to the Houston Marathon having done the work, even if it didn't always feel that way. What happened out on that course, especially in those last six miles, is the kind of thing that's hard to fully understand until you've been there yourself.

Follow along with Ryan: @ryantrask 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

Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon

Ilana Dunn didn’t grow up a runner. In fact, she was the person who walked the mile and avoided it whenever she could. But after accidentally getting into treadmill classes, discovering run-walk intervals, and slowly building up, she found herself chasing something she once thought was impossible: the marathon. What followed wasn’t a perfect training block. It was injuries, setbacks, and figuring things out in real time, eventually leading her to the start line of the New York City Marathon feeling as prepared as she could be.

What she didn’t expect was how race day would actually feel. What started as excitement quickly turned into panic, overwhelm, and a moment where she seriously considered walking off the course entirely. This is a story about pushing through when things don’t look or feel how you thought they would, and learning that the marathon isn’t always the picture perfect experience people say it will be.

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

Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon

Cass Robinson’s path to her first marathon was anything but straightforward. Growing up with undiagnosed Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, she spent years dealing with injuries, pain, and being told nothing was wrong. Running came in waves throughout her life, but it eventually became the place where she could process everything she had been through and start taking back control.

In this episode, she shares how she trained with an unpredictable body, what it looked like to run her first marathon without time goals, and how her second marathon forced her to adapt in real time. It’s a conversation about resilience, learning to trust yourself, and why you shouldn’t quit on a bad day.

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

Join our First Marathon Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon

This week’s mini episode brings back coach Nick Savin for a conversation that goes way beyond splits, paces, and perfect training plans. Instead, it’s all about mindset and the role it plays in how we show up for our training, especially when things don’t go the way we expected. From missed runs to tough workouts, Nick breaks down why those moments aren’t failures at all, but actually part of the process, and how reframing them can completely change your experience as a runner. 

Follow along with Nick: 
https://www.runstrengthacademy.com/
@runstrengthacademy on Instagram and TikTok

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

Krissy Murphy didn’t grow up as an athlete. She started running in her early 20s with a Couch to 5K plan, thinking it might be a one-time thing. But somewhere between a spontaneous 10K, a Disney half marathon, and a first marathon in Richmond, something shifted and she realized she belonged in this world. What started as a way to move her body turned into a long-term relationship with the marathon.

In this episode, Krissy shares what it looked like to build from the ground up, how she handled the highs and lows of her first marathon (including losing her music mid-race), and what’s kept her coming back through 45 marathons. It’s a story about letting go of perfection, staying curious, and deciding to go for it when something feels just out of reach.

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

Join our First Marathon Community for free at skool.com/myfirstmarathon !

After a hip surgery at 17 ended her competitive dance career, Maya Struhar spent years away from structured movement. Running wasn’t part of the plan until a St. Patrick’s Day 5K with coworkers pulled her back in. One race turned into a 10K, then a half marathon, and before long Maya found herself training for her first marathon at Grandma’s in Duluth. Along the way she discovered a runner’s high, built confidence through a series of half marathons during training, and learned how to make decisions during the race that prioritized enjoyment over chasing a specific time.

In this episode, Maya shares what it looked like to rebuild a relationship with movement after injury, how a tough training run almost shook her confidence, and the moment during her marathon when choosing to slow down helped her have a better experience. She also talks about the wall at Lemon Drop Hill, the emotional finish line at Grandma’s Marathon, and how that first race led to running Chicago just a few months later.

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 First Marathon Buddy Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon

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