301. My First Ever Marathon DNF: What Every Runner Can Learn From It

301. My First Ever Marathon DNF: What Every Runner Can Learn From It

June 9, 2026 · 39 min

About this episode

Duane Scotti shares his experience of his first marathon DNF and the lessons learned from it.

Grab your FREE Ultimate Marathon Training Guide to Master Your Marathon Feeling Strong! Last week, I did something I never thought I would do. I stepped off the course at mile 13.1 of the Buffalo Marathon and recorded my first ever DNF. After completing seven marathons, I finally had a race that didn't go according to plan. But here's the crazy part... Just six days later, I found myself standing on another marathon starting line. And by the end of that race, I crossed the finish line of marathon number eight. In this episode, I share the full story behind my first DNF, why I made the difficult decision to stop, why I chose to run another marathon less than a week later, and the biggest lessons I learned from my entire spring marathon training cycle. If you've ever had a race not go according to plan, struggled with setbacks during training, or felt like one bad race erased months of hard work, this episode is for you. You'll learn: ✅ Why knowing when to stop is not quitting ✅ Why one race does not define your fitness or your training cycle ✅ The mindset shift that helped me move forward after my first DNF ✅ What I learned about marathon fatigue, fueling, and reflux management ✅…

People in this episode

Host: Duane Scotti

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Mentioned in this episode

Places: Buffalo Marathon

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