Shout out to @Emily Bailey for the idea and for collecting a list of everyone's upcoming marathons! You'll now find any upcoming milestones on the calendar, if I'm missing any please feel free to comment and I will add them :). You'll also see the name of the community member running the race in the invite so you know who to cheer on! I plan to add to add tracking and bib numbers for those who are comfortable sharing as we get closer! Upcoming races are: ⦁ @Caitlin Palmieri Jackson - NYC Marathon 2026 - November 1, 2026 ⦁ @Audra Hahle - Phoenix Marathon - December 12, 2026 ⦁ @Shawna Delellis - Philadelphia Marathon - November 22, 2026 ⦁ @Annika Olson - Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon - Oct 4, 2026 ⦁ @Dom OBrien - TCS Sydney Marathon - August 30, 2026 ⦁ @Cristina Boose - Every Woman's Marathon 2027 - February 28, 2027 ⦁ @Alison Jones - Boulderthon Marathon - September 27, 2026

We have another official marathoner in our community y'all - CONGRATS @Sophie Adamson for crushing the Garmin Marathon in Durham this weekend! We can't wait to hear your recap about it when you're ready!!

I joined the marathon club!! Thankful for this group for answering last minute questions and the new people I’ve met along the way! Phone- I used rally, runna and music (only for a few miles, I was listening to everybody around me and taking in the sights and sounds of Eugene, especially along the river) I had downloaded. I turned my brightness all the way down and my phone was on 70% when I finished! Mascara- I didn’t have time to go by Sephora so I grabbed Maybeline lash sensational- waterproof and it stayed on! Hair- I did a slick back with bubble braids because I hate when my hair wraps around my neck and stayed the whole time and no tangles! Unfortunately I have alopecia and used boldify hair line powder to cover a bald spot and it stayed 80%! Things that went right! I finished! Notes- I went out slower than I needed to but only sped up a little. When I was done I felt like I still had more in the tank which was disappointing because even though I said I wanted to finish under 5, I had a silent goal. I didn’t want to push myself and not finish so now I know I could go a little harder. Since I didn’t push too hard I never hit a wall. I was expecting that mile 20 wall, never happened! At mile 25 I was like alright, I’m ready to finish though. Only walking breaks were through water stations. I ate a rice cake, honey and banana before the race. Had a cup of coffee on the shuttle to the race. Ate a gel in the corral. And I was trying to eat a gel every 30 min but I had extra gels at the end so I guess I skipped some times I was supposed to gel. But I did take one around 23 even though I was thinking I’m almost done, why gel? I ate 2 salt sticks, could have had more but I’m used to training in hotter more humid conditions so I felt like it was a little unnecessary. I took small sips of water at every water station except one. Mile 16 water station I took a goodys powder and asked a college boy to open it for me because my fingers didn’t have enough dexterity!

My first marathon was such an incredible experience! The first few miles were so hard because I was feeling like I didn’t belong there. Around mile 3, I settled in with the 4:00 pacer for a little while, then felt good and moved ahead. I saw my family around mile 12 and my daughter ran next to me for about 30 seconds which was so special. At the halfway point, I was feeling so strong and was on pace for a sub-4 finish. Around that time, the headwinds kicked in and really made the entire second half so much harder. Since it was my first marathon, I decided not to push myself too hard. I knew enjoying the day and feeling strong at the finish was more important. I took some walk breaks and really loved everything about this. My fuel timer went off at a mile and a half left, and I debated skipping the fuel since I was so close to the finish. @amanda_katzz and @runnergirldietitian popped into my head so I knew I needed to take it! That definitely helped me get to the finish feeling strong. (I also saw my family 2-3 other times before the finish line!) All in all, this was an incredible experience and I can’t wait until my next one!

Huge congrats to @Jill Shalley, who completed (and CRUSHED, I will add!) her first marathon this past weekend!! 🎉👏🏻 We can’t wait to hear all about it! Enjoy that post- marathon glow! 😊❤️