Not yet: A marathon & a BQ
Leading up to my marathon on May 24th, people asked me what time I was aiming for. I’d laugh and say “3:20 is my audacious goal… but probably sub-3:30.”
I ran a 3:18:29 and qualified for Boston (“BQ”) by 6 minutes and 31 seconds. With a negative split.
While I don’t quite know how that happened, I know I felt joyful. I was happy, strong and grateful.
One of my friends messaged me after saying:
Part of that joy came from something simple - I was actually able to get to the start line.
In December 2025, I was supposed to run the Honolulu Marathon. After finishing a successful first training block, I caught a flu-cough two days before the race. So sad. I cried in bed listening to the starting fireworks go off. Out of stubbornness, I signed up for the Ottawa Race Weekend marathon that day.
Then a few months later, I was supposed to do Hyrox, very kindly courtesy of BlackToe (#ad buy their shoes join the run club they’re great). I trained on Saturdays with an incredible community at my gym and felt strong. Two days before, my partner couldn’t make it and we forfeited. For the second time, I was fully prepared, watching the opportunity disappear.
Now I think I understand. Sometimes the Universe, God, angels - whoever you believe is looking out for you - doesn’t say no. They say not yet.
If I had run Hawaii, I would have run in miserable torrential downpour at 4:30am and not qualified for Boston. If I had done Hyrox (the week before my May marathon), I likely would not have run as strong of a race.
I like to think of my angels shaking their heads at this girl who wants to do everything, do it well, and do it right now. They had to intervene and say not yet. Get another training block under you. Learn to fuel better. Strength train with your Hyrox group, but the training will count more than the event. Now, go for it.
From 1-10 km, I ran with my good friend Kate. We picked up two other girls and had a great girl squad going. Chelsea appeared several times with her big sign (love you!!). My mum surprised me. I went turbo mode at BlackToe’s cheer tent (not the only one lol). I finished with a huge smile, feeling so much gratitude and joy for my body and this life. The “not yet” was something even more beautiful than I had expected.
For the runners curious about the training for this “first”: over 20 weeks, I ran 999.9 km, averaging about 50 km per week. For Hawaii, I had run slightly more at 54km per week for 20 weeks (1,078km). Not perfect. Not elite. But consistent enough, fun enough, and apparently enough to BQ.
Two cheesy favourite moments (of many) come to mind for these training blocks:
One is running shoulder to shoulder with my run club friends on a Sunday long run, talking about the kinds of things that are sometimes easier to say when your body is moving and you don’t have to look someone directly in the eye. You can be fully yourself because everyone around you is also choosing this slightly absurd Sunday morning ritual.
Two is doing Wednesday speed work loops with some of the girls. When our footsteps sync, our breathing syncs, we stop talking, it becomes this pack of terrifically life-force-full women running fast and strong.
I run with moms in my run club who are bursting with energy and joy, yapping away on Sunday long runs and then casually PRing after having their kids. Inspiring and uplifting is an understatement. I’m so excited to be half as cool as them. They are proof that life can keep expanding.
From 25km to 35km I ran beside a woman named Elisabeth who was 59 (!!!) and lost count of how many marathons she had run. She told me she wants to be the Canadian female marathon record holder next year at age 60.
When asked how many marathons I’ve done, I said this was my first. She laughed and said “oh, you have so many years of running ahead of you!”.
And as I write this, I realize this has been one of the gifts of this season: I’m surrounded by women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s who are overflowing with life. Kind, playful women running marathons, raising children, organizing major conferences, leading national companies, writing books, travelling, building communities, and still finding time to laugh, move, love, and create.
They are not doing it to prove anything. It’s simply their wiring, their life expression. Joy for existence. Curiosity for expansion. Willingness to try. A refusal to shrink with age or responsibility.
And that is what this marathon became for me. It wasn’t about proving anything. It was about expressing something: how strong, healthy, joyful, free, loved, supported, and capable I am.
The marathon was a pleasant reminder that sometimes our “not yet”s turn out better than we expect.
What’s a Katya post without the cheesiness! What a blessing it is to be alive, healthy, happy, and full of love.