My First Marathon

Chris Field spent high school playing football, where running was something he had to do rather than something he chose. That changed in 2024, when partway through a weight loss journey a friend of his talked him into running a 5K, and his wife took one look at his face at the finish line and told him it wouldn’t be his last race. Spoiler alert: she was right, and within six months he’d run his first half marathon. After six of them, he decided to stop waiting to feel ready and signed up for the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach.Training brought 4:30 a.m. midweek runs in the dark, a few lessons about easy pace that only made sense later, and a 22-mile long run that ended with the biggest sugary drink Starbucks would give him. Then a sinus infection hit during the final week of taper, but Chris still went into race day set on breaking five hours, right up until the sun came up over Virginia Beach and turned it into a day nothing like the cold winter miles he’d trained on. It ended up teaching him more about himself than any training run could, including just how stubborn he really is and why the way you get to the finish line doesn’t change the fact that you ran a marathon.Follow along with Chris Field on TikTok: @fieldsy073Follow 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! - https://www.skool.com/myfirstmarathon/about

I’m back with a Wednesday mini episode for the first time in a long time, and I’m catching up with you right after finishing my 20 miler for the Charlotte Marathon. I was supposed to be about eight months pregnant this November, but after a miscarriage in June and a second surgery in the middle of my training block, I spent most of this cycle with one foot in and one foot out, not trusting my body to do what it used to know how to do. In this episode I share how my husband’s “count to five” advice finally got me out of the car, why I’m using one mile run, one minute walk intervals on race day, and what happened when I stopped holding myself back halfway through. I also look back at the lesson each of my marathons has taught me and talk about what running has given me this year: a place to fall apart, rebuild, and feel proud of myself again. Now I’m officially in taper, and I’m so grateful you’ve stuck with me.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! - https://www.skool.com/myfirstmarathon/about

Morgan Berry spent her high school track days saying yes to whatever event her coach needed filled, but the marathon didn’t feel like hers until she watched her husband chase a Boston qualifier and find his running community in Knoxville. After finishing her local half, with three young kids at home and a husband who travels for work, she decided there was no point waiting for a perfect season. She signed up for her hometown marathon and told everyone she knew so she couldn’t back out.Training meant Friday long runs so her husband could take Saturdays, treadmill miles when he was on the road, and a new running friendship with someone she went to high school with who messaged her on Strava. Not every long run went to plan, but by race day she had a carb load plan she trusted, a family ready to cheer at six spots along a hot, hilly course, and three kids she knew were watching.Follow along with Morgan Berry: Morgan Berry on StravaShop Bound Running CoFollow 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! - https://www.skool.com/myfirstmarathon/about

Jess O’Brien became a mom at 18, and for years movement took a back seat to raising her son. Running didn’t stick the first time she tried it, but joining a CrossFit gym had built up her endurance, so when a Revel marathon popped up on her favorite New Hampshire highway, she signed up and figured she’d learn the rest along the way.And of course as anyone does training for their first marathon, she learned plenty that winter. Fueling, learning how to push through the hard, you name it, she was learning it along the way throughout training. But the bigger surprise was what those miles gave back. Running was the first thing she’d ever done only for herself, and she found she showed up better as a mom, wife, and friend because of it. Follow along with Jess: @Jessgets_fit33Donate to Jess' London Fundraiser! https://secure.qgiv.com/event/20tclondonma/account/2403919/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! - https://www.skool.com/myfirstmarathon/about

Casey’s running story starts with summer camping trips, where she raced anyone who would line up and tried her hardest to beat the boys. Thirty-plus marathons later, she’s a landscape architect and run coach who credits curiosity for just about everything.We talk about how it took seven marathons to qualify for Boston, how canceled races during COVID nudged her toward her first 50K, and how ultras eventually led her to the CCC on the Mont Blanc trail. Casey also walks through her most recent block, training for a 100K and the Sydney Marathon at the same time with weeks topping 70 miles, and why she believes the marathon doesn’t owe you anything. With a 100-miler on the horizon and a sub-3 marathon still on her list, she shares what it looks like to keep showing up and play the long game.Follow along with Casey Klein: @caseycline_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! - https://www.skool.com/myfirstmarathon/about