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