We Ran a Marathon!!!

Meeting AFTER running 42.2km!!!

If you’ve been following our journey, you know we’ve been chasing a wild goal: running a marathon. Yep, a full 42.2 km. It all started in May 2023 when our friend Jen Crichton, founder of PetraHealth, gave us the nudge (okay, the challenge) to run a marathon in a year. (No, this isn’t a sponsored post—Jen’s been my friend since we were 16, and she’s just an incredible human who believed in us!)

At the time, it felt totally unrealistic. I had always dreamed of running a half marathon, but a full? That felt completely out of reach. Still, with a mix of curiosity and a “why not?” attitude, we eventually signed up.

The Beginning

Our training plan was simple but effective: 2–3 CrossFit classes per week at 1855 CrossFit and two runs—one short, one long. It almost felt too good to be true, which made us question whether we were underpreparing. But in reality, we were doing just enough—staying effective without risking injury. Our goal wasn’t about speed; we just wanted to cross the finish line.

A year ago, spring 2024, workouts were sporadic at best. Balancing kids, work, and life’s chaos made consistency tough. Skipping a session was always easier than showing up. Honestly, I felt overwhelmed and lacked motivation.

What helped? Accountability. Jen acted as our unofficial coach, and having someone in our corner made a huge difference. It reminded me so much of the support we give to parents during sleep training – having someone in your corner, made all the difference.

We truly started from zero in May 2024. Our first long run in July was 6–7 km. Every week, we gradually increased our distance by 1–2 km. Some weeks we scaled back. And every time we pushed to a new distance, it felt hard.

REALITY CHECK

In the fall, we tackled the Army Half Marathon without ever running 21.1 km before. It was intimidating, humbling, and tough. We will always remember kilometer 17 (IYKYK). Those hills were relentless, and crossing the finish line left us feeling defeated, questioning if a full marathon was even possible.

From November through the winter, training was extra tough. Between the holiday season, viruses, and general mom life chaos, it felt like everything was working against us. At one point, Mahtab had the flu followed by gastro. I had some nagging IT band issues that thankfully improved with the help of Andrea! 

Winter meant doing many of our long runs on treadmills, yes, even the 20+ km ones.

Some runs felt amazing—like we totally crushed them. And others? We had some really bad ones... the kind where we had to call an Uber halfway through. Yeah, that bad. lol

When the runs started to get longer, there were times where mentally and physically, it was exhausting. What kept us going was Jen and her structure: just two runs a week and three CrossFit classes. Eventually, those CrossFit sessions became a kind of treat—shorter, fun, and full of community support.

Seeing family at the 30km mark was the perfect way to keep going

Race Day

From January to May, we kept pushing, and by the time race day arrived, we were excited, nervous, and SO ready. We ran together for the first 15 km, then split up to find our own rhythms.

The energy from the crowd and our families was indescribable. Leading up to the race, the furthest we had run was 30 km (which isn’t typical for marathon training, but hey—#momlife). The conditions on race day were perfect, cool and beautiful.

As we started our run, we were focusing on enjoying the run and not just getting through it. We wanted to celebrate the YEAR we dedicated to this goal. Every 6 am class in the dead of winter, every long run that took us away from our family, waking up at 4:30 a.m. to get a long run in before work. Every sacrifice we did – was for this moment. And we took it in.  

Crossing that finish line brought an overwhelming of disbelief. We laughed, we cried, We did it.

We are officially MARATHONERS!

What’s Next?

Believe it or not, we’ve already signed up for the Army Half again this fall. We are looking for redemption from the first time we ran it lol. If you’re in the Ottawa area and thinking about it—join us! There is a 5km, 10km and half marathon to choose from! We’d love to meet you at the finish line!

Running this marathon taught us so much about consistency, flexibility, and believing in ourselves. Whether you’re a runner or not, we hope our story reminds you that big goals are possible—even (especially) when life is (mom)busy.