Hi everyone! Nice to meet you :) So excited to be running my first marathon this year. I have always wanted to “be a runner”. Out of college, 10+ years ago, I jog/ran a half marathon and enjoyed it. However, for years I had some health struggles which held me back - mostly mentally but also physically. I’ve gotten my health on track the past 2 years and have wanted to take running seriously. Now I’m grateful I’m healthy enough that I can. I am so lucky to have a charity bib to run the NYC marathon this year! My first stop on that journey is The Flying Pig half in Cincinnati this May. As a born and raised Cincinnatian I’ve always loved watching my friends and family participate and I’ve done the 5K and 10K in the past. So excited for the journey but also nervous for the challenge. Thanks for the community and support!

Hi my name is Audra and I’m beyond excited to be a part of this group. I have been running off and on since my 30s and I am currently 52. I have done 4 half marathons and quite a few 10k&5ks. I have dreamed of doing a full marathon for many years and have finally committed to training and signed up for my very first to run in December. I am so happy to have found this group and Taylor’s podcast. Listening to all these amazing stories on my runs brings me such excitement and motivation to run my first at the end of this year. Love these podcasts Taylor and keep them coming 😁👏🏼

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 🧡

After many years of long and short course triathlons at 45 i decided if i would ever be able to complete the 140.6 Ironman i needed to give 26.2 a shot. I entered the Chicago lottery and like a million other didn’t get in so i selected Richmond in 2025 as my first. This race was my fathers first marathon back in the 80s and the town i grew up in so it was a great experience going back home for MFM. The training went amazingly with no injuries (goal #1) finished the race (goal #2) and just missed my last goal of sub 5 miles. I met you Taylor in the start corral and learned about the podcast. I’ve listened to nearly all the episodes now and enjoy it very much. Waiting for the registration to open for my second marathon in 2027.

Hey everyone! I'm Heather, from Cochrane Alberta Canada 🇨🇦 I'm a lifelong runner, starting with runs with my Mom then leading to sprinting & track, when I was a teenager I stopped running for 4 years as I was diagnosed with endometriosis and didn't start running again until that felt managed. By my 20th birthday I was running again and with a new best friend, my dog. In this time I survived a violent DV situation. Not realizing that our daily 10k runs would lead me to understand I'm an endurance runner. I started to run half marathons (I now run marathons) in his honor while I was facing my own serious health battles. I know what it's like to show up during different phases of life, in a different body, with fear while managing a business. I also know what's on the other side of showing up - finding yourself! I'm 37 currently going on 38 so I've almost earned my master runner title! Happy to help in any way that I can, if anything I've learned along the way is going to help anyone - I feel that's why I learned it. Thanks for having me!