I ran my “one and only” half marathon and now I’m doing another one
“I have zero desire to ever run a half or full marathon.” That’s what I’ve said pretty much my whole life. Although I grew up playing sports, running was never something I enjoyed. In fact, my least favorite part of my daily soccer practice in high school was the one-mile warm up.
In general, I don’t like to do things I’m no good at. I mean, who does? As an Enneagram 3, Type A, eldest daughter, I just don’t see the point of putting in the effort to master something I’m not naturally talented at. But I’ve learned there is a lot to gain from failing forward.
In my early 20s, I attempted a 5K for the first time. I pushed myself to run the entire race without stopping. Do you think I trained for that? …nope. Of course, I felt miserable the next few days and vowed to never do that again. Over the years, I saw friends and family members train for half and full marathons and I always thought: “I love that for them. That’ll never be me though.”
It wasn’t until my mid-30s that I finally decided to give it another go. My best friend is an avid runner and she’s got countless half marathons and 2 full marathons under her belt. She always told me: “If I can do it, you can too.” I set a goal to run a 10K because I wanted to see if I was capable of doing a really hard thing. And it was, indeed, a really hard thing. I trained — not well, mind you — but I learned a lot about how to run effectively. The biggest game changer was interval running, sometimes referred to as as the Galloway Method in honor of Jim Galloway, an Olympian who believed that the run-walk-run method could make running accessible to anyone.
Since then, I’ve trained with intervals of :40 running and :20 walking. I know some elitists like to say this isn’t “real” running, but I actually walk less than I would if I just ran until the point of exhaustion. Because this method is more structured, you never really burn out. My endurance is much better.
After completing my 10K, which at the time was the hardest thing I’d ever done, I thought I had kicked the running bug. But a few years later, my friend convinced me I could do a half marathon. I paid for my registration, which was very expensive, so there was no going back. During my training, it was amazing to see my miles increase and my endurance improve. Soon, each run became a new record for me: 8 miles, 10 miles, 12 miles. I couldn’t believe my body was capable of this, knowing that I used to struggle just to run 1 mile.
On March 1, 2026, I ran my “one and only” half marathon. I did the Disney Princess Half and it was just as magical as I’d hoped it would be. The energy, the outfits, the feeling of everyone doing this big thing together: it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t care about my race time, I just wanted to have the best time. I’m not much of a crier, but I couldn’t hold back the tears at the finish line. My body carried me 13.1 miles — and the crazy thing is I didn’t feel tired at all. I could have run further if I had to. My training really paid off.
What I originally thought would be a once in a lifetime event lit a fire in me. I’ve kept up my running since and will be completing my second half marathon in December. Two half marathons in one year — who am I?!
What’s even crazier than that is now I actually think I can run a full marathon! My body did 13.1 miles…why not double it? I’ve set the goal to run a full marathon for my 40th birthday in 2028. The Disney marathon lands on my birthday weekend and I can’t think of a better way to usher in a new decade than doing something I never thought I could do, with my best friend by my side.
I’m sharing this, not to pressure you into running, but to remind you that your body is capable of hard things. You can achieve things you never dreamed of, if you put in the time and the training. And I actually think the victory is that much sweeter when you really have to work for it.
