The first marathon
Long intervals. Worn out running shoes. Miles and miles with your eyes locked on the horizon.
Once you cross the finish line, all of that vanishes. And the only thing left is the feeling of relief. Joy. Strength. And pride. Pride over the accomplishment that is yours – and yours alone.
Malene, Emil and Line are training for their first CPH Marathon.
They have the same goal – but are following different training plans and have different reasons that they've come to appreciate all the miles behind and ahead of them.
Malene, 42 years
Married, 3 kids, working as a development consultant
Ran a half marathon in 2009
Going for her first marathon
Training 3 times a week
Following the entry level training plan
"Having a family, kids, and a full-time job, there are many things in my everyday life that are outside of my control. This, on the other hand, is something that I can decide for myself – it's flexible and works good for me. Basically, I think it's cool to have a goal and achieve that goal. Or at least to have fought for it. The feeling you get once you accomplish something that you've set your mind to and worked hard for, is quite powerful. A feeling of pride, for sure, but also just "Yes, I freaking did this!"
Malene, 42 år
Married, 3 kids, working as a development consultant
Ran a half marathon in 2009
Going for her first marathon
Training 3 times a week
Following the entry level training plan
"Having a family, kids, and a full-time job, there are many things in my everyday life that are outside of my control. This, on the other hand, is something that I can decide for myself – it's flexible and works good for me. Basically, I think it's cool to have a goal and achieve that goal. Or at least to have fought for it. The feeling you get once you accomplish something that you've set your mind to and worked hard for, is quite powerful. A feeling of pride, for sure, but also just "Yes, I freaking did this!"
Emil, 35 years
Works in insurance, former language officer
Ran a half marathon in 2022
Going for his first marathon
Training 3-4 times a week
Following the improver training plan
"For me running is about well-being and having a fit and healthy body. It's also a mental training. Getting your training done even on the days where you don't really feel like it. To me, that is self-care. So the real goal is actually all the runs leading up to the marathon. Creating good routines for myself."
Emil, 35 years
Works in insurance, former language officer
Ran a half marathon in 2022
Going for his first marathon
Training 3-4 times a week
Following the improver training plan
"For me running is about well-being and having a fit and healthy body. It's also a mental training. Getting your training done even on the days where you don't really feel like it. To me, that is self-care. So the real goal is actually all the runs leading up to the marathon. Creating good routines for myself."
Line, 25 years
Studying at university, working part-time at a hospital
Ran a half marathon in 2022 and running 15+ km regularly
Running her first marathon
Training 4-5 times a week
Following the advanced training plan
"I've often wanted to be able to say that I'd done a marathon. And finally, I'm at a point where I'm thinking that it is actually possible to do it. I am a quite competitive person, at least with myself. I like the idea, that once I've decided to do something, that's what I'm going to do. Now I'm decided that I want to run a marathon, so that's what I'm going to do."
Line, 25 years
Studying at university, working part-time at a hospital
Ran a half marathon in 2022 and running 15+ km regularly
Running her first marathon
Training 4-5 times a week
Following the advanced training plan
"I've often wanted to be able to say that I'd done a marathon. And finally, I'm at a point where I'm thinking that it is actually possible to do it. I am a quite competitive person, at least with myself. I like the idea, that once I've decided to do something, that's what I'm going to do. Now I'm decided that I want to run a marathon, so that's what I'm going to do."
