Pam is a Team Strength Running member. Every month, I get the team together for a live video coaching call. We talk about workouts, scheduling races, planning around vacations and injuries, and how to strategically plan a season.

I recently asked the team if anybody was planning a BIG goal and wanted to come on the podcast to talk more about how to achieve that crazy goal.

[These opportunities are only available to Team SR members. Learn more about the team here.]

Pam stepped up. She’s not new to running but wants to run a marathon even though she’s never run longer than about 9 miles. Her longest race has been 10k.

This is a unique place to be: an experienced yet low-mileage runner who wants to make the leap to running 26.2 miles.

We’re left with a lot of questions:

• How can this transition be done safely with as little injury risk as possible?
• Can Pam train for a marathon now or should she wait?
• How can Pam build her mileage over the long-term to make running her first marathon easier to achieve?

These are the questions we’re answering on today’s podcast episode about running your first marathon.

This is a behind the scenes coaching call that I occasionally do for team members, highlighting their unique goals and struggles and how they can keep improving.

The format of the call is three parts:

First, what is Pam’s background as a runner?

Second, what are her goals and current training like?

Finally, we strategize on how she can make those goals a reality.