Podcast
My First Marathon
Hosted by My First Marathon · EN
Join host Taylor as she sits down with runners from all walks of life to delve into their unforgettable first marathon experiences.
From the nerves at the starting line to the euphoria of crossing the finish, each episode offers a candid look at the highs, lows, and unexpected twists of preparing for and conquering 26.2 miles for the first time.
Whether you're a seasoned marathoner or just considering lacing up your running shoes for the first time, this podcast is your go-to source for motivation, inspiration, and real-life insights from those who've been there, done that. Tune in as we celebrate the triumphs, share the struggles, and uncover the lessons learned along the road to that unforgettable first marathon finish line.
Follow along on TikTok and Instagram at @myfirstmarathonpod!
Have feedback? We'd love to hear it! Reach out at myfirstmarathonpod@gmail.com.
Ready to tell your story? Fill out the below form for your chance to be featured!
MFM Request Form
From the nerves at the starting line to the euphoria of crossing the finish, each episode offers a candid look at the highs, lows, and unexpected twists of preparing for and conquering 26.2 miles for the first time.
Whether you're a seasoned marathoner or just considering lacing up your running shoes for the first time, this podcast is your go-to source for motivation, inspiration, and real-life insights from those who've been there, done that. Tune in as we celebrate the triumphs, share the struggles, and uncover the lessons learned along the road to that unforgettable first marathon finish line.
Follow along on TikTok and Instagram at @myfirstmarathonpod!
Have feedback? We'd love to hear it! Reach out at myfirstmarathonpod@gmail.com.
Ready to tell your story? Fill out the below form for your chance to be featured!
MFM Request Form
33episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
125: $10 Walmart Shoes to Marathon Finisher: Running the Austin Marathon w/ Ashley Bree
1w ago00:42:46Tap to summarizeAshley never considered herself a runner. As a kid she dabbled in sports, hated cross country, and didn't think twice about it. It wasn't until her early thirties, going through a divorce and looking for somewhere to put all that energy, that she laced up a pair of $10 Walmart shoes and headed out onto the country roads behind her house with nothing but cheap earbuds and an Eminem playlist. She had no plan, no training knowledge, and no idea what was coming.Fast forward a few years and Ashley, a 911 dispatcher who has spent nearly two decades taking calls from the streets of Austin, decided on a whim one late summer night to sign up for the Austin Marathon and run the very roads she's been protecting for her entire career. She built her own training plan from scratch to fit her rotating shift schedule, tackled the heat and humidity of a Texas summer, and showed up to the start line ready to prove something to herself that had been a long time coming.Follow along with Ashley: @ashleybblankFollow along with the show: 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resources Shop merch! - myfirstmarathon.com - click on "shop"Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon
Transcribe →124: 4:30 AM, No Bib, No Crowd: Running the Anniversary of Her Surgery w/ Carly Schrom
2w ago00:53:34Tap to summarizeCarly Schrom grew up in a running family and carried the sport all the way through college, where she also quietly battled years of stomach issues that nobody could explain. What eventually got diagnosed as Crohn's disease derailed her senior season, and just when she thought she was finally turning a corner after graduation, a routine scan revealed something scarier waiting on the other side.What followed was a surgery that changed everything, a long road back, and a decision to mark the one year anniversary in the most Carly way possible: a 4:30am marathon on a random Friday in December, no race bib, no crowd, just her and the guy who had been there through all of it.Follow along with Carly: @carlyschromFollow 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
Transcribe →27: What If Removing the Goal Got You the Result? (Mini Episode)
3w ago00:12:25Tap to summarizeI 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/resourcesBook a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! - https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon
Transcribe →123: The Last Song on the Playlist: Grief, Sobriety, and 42K w/ Jose Martinez
3w ago01:01:00Tap to summarizeJose 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.comFollow along with the show: 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resourcesBook a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! - https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon
Transcribe →122: Throwback Episode: Ariel Greenstein
4w ago00:53:32Tap to summarizeHey 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/resourcesBook a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! -> https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440
Transcribe →121: Throwback Episode: Gabby Averill's First Marathon Story
Apr 2000:48:14Tap to summarizeHey 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/resourcesBook a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440
Transcribe →120: He Ran Because She Couldn't: Running the Houston Marathon w/ Ryan Trask
Apr 1300:57:47Tap to summarizeRyan 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/resourcesBook a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! - https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon
Transcribe →119: The Worst Day of My Life: Running a First Marathon That Didn’t Go to Plan w/ Ilana Dunn
Apr 601:02:25Tap to summarizeIlana 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/resourcesBook a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! - https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440Join the First Marathoner Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon
Transcribe →118: Don’t Quit on a Bad Day: A Marathon Journey Through Pain and Persistence w/ Cass Robinson
Mar 3001:04:45Tap to summarizeCass 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/resourcesBook a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! - https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440Join our First Marathon Community! - skool.com/myfirstmarathon
Transcribe →26: Mindset and Running w/ Nick Savin (Mini Episode)
Mar 2500:31:53Tap to summarizeThis 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 TikTokFollow along with the show: 👣 Personal IG/TikTok: @tay.says / @taysays 🎙️ Podcast IG/TikTok: @myfirstmarathonpod 📺 YouTube: @MyFirstMarathonPodcast 🌐 Website & extras: myfirstmarathon.co & myfirstmarathon.co/resourcesBook a free 1:1 Coaching Call with me! -> https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=37408473&appointmentType=85354440
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