Steffen Reals's Staging Area

I was never a fast runner growing up, usually in the back of the pack during gym class and that one semester I did track in high school.

I attempted my first marathon while I was living in Norway with the Oslo marathon in 2015. I trained for months and thought I was making good progress, race day came and I took off hopeful. However, my body began to slow down once I approached the halfway point, then completely gave out by mile 16.

While I did manage to run 13.1 miles, which is more than most people, it always ate at me I could not finish what I set out to do in Oslo.

When I began to approach my 30th birthday, my quarter-life crisis kicked in and I decided I wanted to run, and more importantly FINISH, a full marathon. In 2024 I began to train, and despite a minor injury that required me to go to physical therapy, I finished my first marathon with the St. Jude marathon in Memphis.

Now my stubbornness continues, and I wait to run and finish the Oslo marathon in 2025. But I’m now on a mission to do as many marathons as possible!