Check out the “My First Marathon” podcast for more inspiring stories of ordinary people running their first marathon.

Many of you aspiring ultra runners will be running some shorter races before running your first ultra, especially half-marathons and full marathons. This episode is for those people.

Taylor Sayles, host of the “My First Marathon” podcast joined me and told me all about her training and the story of her first few half-marathons and her first ever marathon. Taylor started running because she was feeling stagnant in life and needed a new goal to work towards. So she started running a few miles 2 days a week, and progressed from there. She tells the story of her first few half-marathons, one of which was a trail half that had her feet bleeding through her shoes by the end! But that didn’t stop her from running her first marathon a few months later.

Listen to today’s episode to hear how Taylor trained for and ran her first marathon, the setbacks she encountered, and what it took for her to get to the finish line.

Follow the “My First Marathon” podcast on Instagram and check out Taylor Sayles on Strava to see what her training looks like.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Taylor's Running Background

04:36 Training Routine and Running in Different Seasons

08:23 Transition from Rock Climbing to Running

12:50 Training for the First 10K Race

15:28 Running the First Half Marathon

21:40 Training for the Marathon and Traveling

24:06 Running Two Half Marathons in Between

25:04 Traveling to South America

43:26 Preparing for the Marathon: Nerves and Logistics

46:54 The Importance of a Nutrition Plan

48:01 Carrying a Hydration Pack for Peace of Mind

48:58 The Night Before: Getting Everything Ready

53:28 The Start Line and Setting Goals

57:08 Mental Challenges and Halfway Point Realizations

59:08 Struggles and Spectators

01:02:08 The Finish Line and Post-Race Reflections

01:08:21 Starting a Podcast to Share Marathon Stories

01:09:35 Continuing the Marathon Journey: Signing Up for the Next Race