This story is part of our ongoing “First Steps” series, where we share extraordinary stories of men who transformed their bodies, minds, and lives with a focus on the first steps it took them to get there (because, after all, nothing can change without a first step!). Read all of the stories here.
Below, Peter Weber—known to fans of The Bachelor as “Pilot Pete”—recounts the time he ran the New York City Marathon with no training at all, and how he laid the groundwork for success on his second attempt with four months of mental and physical preparation.
I’VE NEVER REALLY been much of a runner. I was really into swimming and playing football throughout high school and college, but I didn’t start running until after I moved to New York City in 2021, and decided to enter the NYC Marathon. It came about from a bet with a friend over who could run the fastest time. Being a very competitive person, I just said, “Why not? Let’s do it!” I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
I ran that marathon with no training. Literally. I had no plan; I didn’t work with a trainer or anything. I truly had no way of knowing what 26.2 miles was going to feel like. Three weeks prior to race day, I decided to run six miles on the Lower East Side, and I figured that three weeks of rest later I’d be all good for the marathon. I couldn’t even finish that practice run. I ran three miles to the bridge and had to stop for a 10-minute break. I barely managed to run three miles back, and that’s when I knew I was in trouble.
When the 2021 Marathon Day came, I managed to survive feeding off the energy of the crowd. I finished at around 5:15:27, and I was so stoked to just finish. But I always wondered what I would be able to accomplish if I had trained properly. So three years later, when Fabletics approached me about running the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon with full mind and body training support, it felt like the perfect opportunity to discover what my true potential could be. I knew that I wanted to aim for a time of under four hours. I didn’t even know if that was possible for me, but I was going to give it my all. I decided that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right, and not make any excuses.
We started training in July, four months out from the 2024 Marathon. Fabletics introduced me to an amazing running coach, Lance Parker, who was with me every step of the way. He carried out biometric testing to check my lung capacity and endurance, then put me through my paces to get a benchmark of where I was at. After that, he gave me a whole training regiment to follow. It was nothing crazy at first: to begin with the longest run I was doing was eight or nine miles. Then as we got closer to the race, the mileage would ramp up. I was training five to six days a week, with just one or two days for rest and recovery. I hadn’t done any consistent running in those three years other than occasionally joining friends who were in a run club. Starting over took me back to my high school football days…that feeling of regimented practice every day after class.
I already tended to eat pretty healthy, so I didn’t change my nutrition, but I did remove alcohol from my diet, and this proved to be the best possible thing I could have done. It was a total game changer: fewer nights out meant I wasn’t eating junk late, I was sleeping incredibly, and after two to three weeks I vividly remember noticing how much more energy I had, which helped exponentially in my training. (It also meant that I really enjoyed my post-race drink of Maker’s Mark on the rocks!)
Another huge factor which helped me stay motivated and clear-headed was working with mindset coach Megan Monahan. In some ways, the mental side of my training was even more important than the physical side, and unlocking that inner potential was so exciting. We started off in our first session by exploring my “set-point,” which is how I view myself and the world in general. Then we turned our attention to the marathon with 60- to 75-minute meditation sessions every other week, including “in the moment” practices that created access to deeper transformation, like how to monitor my thoughts and stay present while running, along with a visualization routine which supported my specific pace goal. The visualizing and manifesting process extended beyond just the race; it taught me to see myself 20 minutes after the successful outcome, and imagining how incredible it would feel. I think this was a huge reason why I was able to accomplish my goal.
There was definitely a moment where this mindfulness came into play in the marathon: I was on mile 20 or 21, and there was a point where I was about to give up. I had nothing left. And I remember Megan hammering this message into me: “When your mind is telling you alarm bells are going off and you have nothing left, at that point your body still has 60 percent left.” Understandably, having that idea in my back pocket was a huge confidence boost for me.
Then, at mile 24, the watch I’d been using to pace myself died. Lance offered to pace me, but I wanted to do it solo. I knew that at this point I could empty the tank, and if I didn’t hit my time, then I would have no regrets: I would have given it my all. That gave me an extra burst of energy that got me all the way to the finish line. Megan and Lance were there, along with one of my best friends, and together we saw that I had finished with a time of 3:58:25. A whole minute-and-a-half under my goal. I just wanted to cry. It was such a beautiful experience: all of that training, everything I had envisioned, happened exactly the way I wanted it to.
Now, I’m hooked. I wish I’d been running marathons all this time, and I can’t wait to run one again when I have the time to dedicate that level of time to my training. Maybe next year, or the year after. All I know is, when it happens, I’ll be going for sub-three this time.
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