How to Finish Your First Run and Still Want to Run Again
Your first run is not a test of endurance. Learn how to combine running and walking, find the right pace, and finish wanting to run again.
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By Jovana Cumbo
About the platform
Running, stories and community - in one place.
Running Letters is an editorial platform for stories about running, journeys, challenges, people and kilometres that mean more than a result.
It was created by Jovana Cumbo to connect movement, storytelling and community - and to preserve what stays with us long after the finish.
CHICAGO 2026
The road to the Chicago Marathon
Follow 18 weeks of preparation, kilometres, training sessions and reflections on the road to the start.
- Training week
- 11/ 18
- Kilometres completed
- 475km
- Days to the marathon
- 50
Latest training
- Distance
- 2.00 km
- Time
- 11:51
- Pace
- 5:56 /km
Latest reflection
Marathon preparation is not a series of separate sessions, but a process in which every week has a role. Progress comes from consistency, patience and trust in the plan.
stories
Stories born between kilometers, places and people.
A collection of personal stories, travel, races and challenges that matter not only because of distance, but because of the people, emotions and moments they carry.
Paris2024
Third Time Lucky in Paris: My Slowest Marathon and Greatest Victory
Two cancelled chances, pregnancy, a C-section and the road to my slowest, hardest and dearest marathon.
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By Aleksandra Burkanović
New York2025
New York Marathon: Running Through the City That Never Sleeps
From Staten Island and the Verrazzano Bridge to a crisis at kilometer 35 and tears in Central Park — the story of my first New York City Marathon.
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By Jovana Cumbo
Serbia / region2023-2026
Ko te juri? Kilometers That Change Children's Lives
From a small group of friends to a community of almost one thousand runners, the KTJ challenge shows how every kilometer can become support, hope and tangible help for a child and family in need.
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By Sanja Mitić
Sarajevo / Zagreb2024–2025
From 0 Kilometers to the Spartathlon Qualifying Standard
A story about limits that exist only until we move them, from the first few kilometers to 133.16 kilometers and a Spartathlon qualifying standard.
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By Miloš Veleušić
Dolomites2024
The Party Is in the Dolomites 🪐
Alta Via 1 in five days: 125 kilometers, rifugios, and friendship in the simple rhythm of walking from one mountain hut to the next.
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By Stefan Jokanovic
Banja Luka2026
Banja Luka Half Marathon
If you have not run Banja Luka, try it, because you will almost certainly come back.
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By Jovana Cumbo
Basel2025
Basel Half Marathon: Friends Running for Iskra
A race that brought together so many good people that it should probably be run at least once a year.
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By Jovana Cumbo
Frankfurt2024
Frankfurt Marathon: What My First Marathon Taught Me
32 kilometers of songs and around 10 kilometers of stubbornness.
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By Jovana Cumbo
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Running Letters brings together stories about running, journeys, challenges, people and kilometres that changed more than a finish time.