After nearly 2 years of interviewing runners on their first marathon stories, there were two really clear patterns: coaching support isn’t accessible for everyone, and even for those it is accessible to, many don’t feel ready for 1:1 coaching. On top of that, there’s simply too much information out there to make sense of when you’re a beginner marathoner. I built The First Marathon Buddy community to fill that gap. This space is meant to be community first and to make the training process feel less isolating and more supported, no matter what plan you’re following. The My First Marathon Buddy Program is officially out now!! I’m really excited to build this with you all and see where it goes. -Taylor 🧡

Hey there! I'm Colin from Portland, Oregon and I got started running in late 2023 after/during a weight loss journey. I've worked my way from run-walk to a mile to a 5K to 10K to Half Marathon to Marathon and I've learned to appreciate every piece of what makes up training and completing these goals we all have. One of my favorite things is making the running world feel smaller and less lonely for people from all over and I love cheering people on. While running is such an individual effort and achievement, it can get lonesome at times. That's why I'm so excited to be here-- to chat and interact about all things running and training. (I also read and watch an absurd amount of shoe reviews, so if you ever want to nerd out about that, I'm *always* down for that.)

Hi friends! My name is Paige, I’ve run 9 marathons, 14 half marathons, and am training for a bunch of races right now! I’m a running coach, personal trainer, and Pilates instructor from the DC area and love a good party pace! Fun running facts about me- I’m training for my third world major, my last marathon I did I drank half a beer and had a shot of fireball after mile 20, and one time when I was running a marathon someone ran over my foot with a bike. I’m so excited to cheer all you on for your first marathons! 🤸🏼‍♀️💫💖

Super excited to be here to support those running their first marathon & learn from those who have done it a time or two (or three or four). My name is Katelyn & I’m from just north of Philly (go birds)! I started running about 10 years ago after my family decided to do a weight loss competition for the month of January. I am super competitive, so I went out & bought a treadmill on January 2nd. I started walking, then added incline, and then progressed to running. After the month was over (I won), I never looked back! I am a huge Disney fan, so I knew I wanted to run the Princess Half Marathon the following year. I used the Jeff Galloway run/walk/run training program and successfully completed my first half marathon in February 2017! Then, I decided I wanted to run the Walt Disney World Marathon in 2018 for my first marathon. It was a day I will never forget! Since then, I’ve run 40 runDisney races of all different lengths & completed 3 Dopey Challenges (48.6 miles over 4 days). I also ran the Chicago Marathon in 2024 & the NYC Marathon in 2025! I’m excited to see everyone progress on this journey and honored to be a small part of it! Happy running!