My First Marathon

At 10:52:46 am on June 14th, 2026, I crossed the 2026 Kigali International Peace Marathon finish line. After 4 hours and 22 minutes of (mostly) running, I had just finished my first full marathon on a hilly course, and in uncomfortably warm weather. But where did this journey begin?

The Backstory

March 2025 to September 2025 was the most sedentary period in my life. As a hyperactive kid who became a competitive swimmer in my teens and then picked up running as a hobby during the COVID lockdown, this was a very unusual stretch for me. The effects were apparent. I gained over 9 kilos during this time, and some well-fitting shirts turned into compression wear :(

I felt that I needed a change, and so I subscribed to a nearby gym in October. Learning from some friends who had been at it for a while, I tracked my workouts using Hevy. Being my first time doing resistance training after 7 years, I felt uncoordinated and my muscles were super sore after each workout. During the second week of October, I added running to my routine.

My first run back was short and brutal: 2.5 kilometers at 5:48 min/km. I gradually added easy pool swims to my routine. I found a hilly (but zero net elevation) route for 5k time trials and decided to work with a goal in mind to help push me. I decided that by the end of November, I’d run under 27:30 for a 5k on this route. At this point, my training had little to no structure. All of my runs were medium to high effort. They consisted of tempo runs, threshold runs and hills. I ran three times a week while keeping the gym and swim sessions in the routine, and did time trials every two or so weeks. I knew this wasn’t sustainable for long-term development. But I had to get it done.

On November 30th, I set off for my time trial and I did it! 27:16 with 179 bpm average HR. It was extremely painful, but equally rewarding. I had given myself a huge target, and I nailed it. By this time, I had run that route so much that I dreaded it. So I started mixing some easy runs into my routine, and it felt good. It felt sustainable. I stayed consistent through December and into the new year, and little did I know that the new year would come with a new challenge.

Training Block

The idea to run the Kigali marathon started as a lofty target in January 2026 that’d help motivate me (and two friends) to be consistent with running. At this point, my longest run since I had gotten back into running was around 11km, but for some reason I thought that I could be ready to do 42.2 km in a little over 5 months. To measure my fitness at the start of the training block, I did some time trials on more reasonable courses and got 25:34 for the 5k. In my naivety I thought that a sub 4:00:00 marathon would be more than achievable. This was before I realized that the course has an elevation gain of over 500m, and before I faced some setbacks in training.

I formalized a training plan in March consisting of three runs a week: one interval session, one easy run and one long run. I also added stationary bike riding and longer swims to bring more low-impact cardio into my training. Things initially went well, but the added training load (in particular the long runs) revealed that for an inexperienced and heavier-than-ideal runner like myself, the hardest part of marathon prep is staying injury free.

Injuries started to reveal themselves bit by bit. After my first long run, my right achilles tendon was in a lot of pain that didn’t ease after a couple of days. I started to read a lot about running injuries and eventually found some incredible physiotherapists online who posted freely accessible educational content. (As you can see from week 3 of the plan), I incorporated isometrics into my gym routine for tendon rehab and prehab. The calf pain slowly went away, but next to become problematic was my foot. Plantar fasciitis (PF) always flared up after long runs, but it never felt as concerning as the achilles tendinopathy. I managed the pain with a roller and tried to extend my isometric routine to include some exercises that might help. Late in April, as my long runs settled into the mid 20kms, my right biceps femoris tendon (a hamstring tendon) dealt me my biggest setback yet. Unlike the achilles and PF, which felt manageable, this was the first injury that didn’t seem to improve with time. I had to correct some asymmetries in my running and target my glutes during resistance training, as the injury pattern seemed to suggest that weak glutes were overburdening the hamstrings. This took about a month to get under control, and before it was strong enough to start my 30km long runs, my left hip started acting up, so I decided to manage my mileage and effort. As a result, with the marathon date approaching, my longest run was only 25.5km. I was about to face nearly 17km that felt completely unfamiliar to my body, but I had committed to doing the marathon, and no amount of injuries could stop me. The last two weeks saw a reduction in volume and intensity to taper for the race.

The Marathon

Runners often say that the race is the icing on the cake of a training block or the celebration of all the effort. I was surprised that this is what it felt like, a celebration. I knew I hadn’t finished my training as I had hoped and so I reset my sub 4:00:00 expectations to sub 4:10:00. Luckily I got to meet a friend just after the starting line and we ran 95% of the race together. We started off very conservatively, doing the first 5k at 6:04 min/km pace. Everything felt good at this point. Music was playing and hydration stations were well stocked. I had my nutrition drink and my refills ready to go, and was pleased to see a number of people come out to watch and cheer, which gave an extra boost of motivation.

Over the next splits, 10k, 15k, and the half, we got faster: 5:57, 5:55, 5:42 min/km. A silly thought came to mind: “We might actually go sub 4 if we hold this pace and sprint the last 2k.”

But the pains had started showing up. First was the plantar fasciitis, and then the glute when going uphill, which remained my primary limiting factor for the last 10km.

The last 12km was brutal. I started walking uphill from just before the 30km mark, and continued to do so for most of the race. The heat started to creep up but thanks to the aid stations, the water kept me cool. This was largely a mental battle. I knew the pain wasn’t any significant injury, but it was a lot. 31–36km was my slowest split, averaging 7:11 min/km. I knew that I’d finish; the only question was just how long it would take me. I fell back behind the friend I had paced with the whole way. But I kept going. With about 4km left I faced the last major hill, and shortly after saw some friends who had come to cheer. This pushed me, because I knew they were watching and I didn’t want to look bad ;). So I picked up the pace, but then got some cramps. I eased back slightly, but by this point I knew the finish line was close, and the mental barrier was gone. My final split was a little quicker at 6:58 min/km pace. I crossed the finish line, and it seems the adrenaline rush at the end had suppressed all my pains, because now everything ached. I could barely stand up. I was clearly unprepared, but I had forced my unprepared body across the finish line.

I was relieved and happy to meet some more friends at the finish line. They made things so much easier for me, and I am grateful for them.

Now the only question that remains is: what next? Another marathon? A triathlon? To be honest, I don’t know. But I want to train properly and avoid injuries going forward. So I’ll put in the work, and set the target as I go.