Three Marathons in 69 Days

I am currently 3 days out from my third marathon this fall!

My goal race for this fall was the Appletree Marathon in September. I selected that race since it was semi-local, I have two young kids who would need me before and after, I could sleep in my own bed the night before, it is an absolutely gorgeous race and would be an easy place for family and friends to come and cheer! It was all that and more, just the most special race day ever! You can read my blog on that here: Appletree Marathon Race Recap

Last spring, I applied to be a Portland Marathon ambassador, because I thought it would be nice to run a fall half marathon after my marathon and I love that race. I don’t quite remember the order of events super clearly, but around that time I also threw my hat in the ring to win a free trip to Every Woman’s Marathon in Savannah, Georgia. I was thinking it wasn’t likely I would win, but how cool would it be if I did?

Well, the same day that I found out I had a spot on the Portland Ambassador team (which entitles me to a free entry to the race), I found out I won the Giveaway to the free trip to Every Woman’s Marathon! It felt surreal and there were a lot of steps to follow, so I wasn’t sure if it would really come to fruition, but it has! I leave this week to fly to Georgia to take on my fifth marathon and third this fall!

When I was selected to be an ambassador for the Portland Marathon, it felt a bit ambitious to run two marathons exactly a month apart and then to run another marathon about 5 weeks later, so I planned to run the half at Portland. But— after racing Appletree, I had the post-marathon blues and was feeling sad that the training and race was over and thought about trying to attempt the Portland Marathon 28 days later. I asked my husband and my parents what they thought about it, and they were very supportive, so the dream grew. I heard about a group called the Marathon Maniacs, where you run 3 marathons in 90 days and looked up more information on what that meant. I realized that I would be running 3 marathons in 69 days, so I would be a candidate to apply to become a Marathon Maniac!

So here I am 3 days out and about to achieve my goal. When I started running again in November 2023, for the first time postpartum after my second child, I thought a single marathon sounded like too big of a goal for that year and really didn’t want to even train to run that far. Turns out that responsibility and stress increase when you add another child, but so does the need to have some “me time!”

Fast forward, the year has looked a lot different than I would have anticipated as new mom of two. I have learned more about myself over this last year that I ever have and learned more about running, too. I could not be more in love with running and the drive to see what my body and mind can achieve.

I have been running for pretty much my whole life, so I am not new to running, and would not recommend this to someone who is new, but running three marathons in 69 days is showing me that I can do so much more than what I believed I could initially. I completed a very focused training block for the Appletree Marathon, and it got me in great shape for my initial race and I have been maintaining my way through the next two. It has been a balance of recovery, maintenance and a little building before another taper. I have worked hard to fuel well, sleep as much as I can (not really enough), and keep up with my cross training.

Throughout the whole time I have been training over the last year, I have been a busy mom of two little kids, breast feeding one, working out of the house part-time as a Speech-Language Pathologist, which is a job where I really have to be focused, coaching 10+ runners per month, and leading a running club that meets every week. I also do event coordination for a company that produces running races and events and do that freelance work during naps, evenings, and whenever I have a spare moment. All that to say, I am BUSY. I have never had more on my plate, and I do get overwhelmed at times, but running is one constant that grounds me. Running is not a hobby; it is part of me.

So, as I get ready to embark on this last marathon of my fall trifecta, I am getting a little emotional. So much has gone into this year and it is so fitting that I started running post-partum a year ago and will be completing my third marathon of this fall just about the same time I started. I feel completely honored and thrilled to have this opportunity and couldn’t have ever planned for my fall to be “falling into place” like this, but it is a gift. The gift of seeing yourself push hard through barriers and work harder than you believed possible really is an incredible feeling.

I just want to encourage you to go after your dreams and shoot your shot. It may be messy, things may be overwhelming at times, but if you have big scary goals, I bet they will make you feel more alive than you ever have, I know mine have!