By Jessica Dillon
Michael Taylor, a local runner, has shown that focusing on health and athletics can start at any age. Beyond improving his own fitness, Taylor is an advocate for preserving local trails, which he uses year-round.
Taylor’s journey to better health began in college, when he weighed 385 pounds. “I had been going to school for 18 years and did not want to waste the education I had gained by not living a healthy life. If I wanted to live my life to the fullest, then my mind and body had to work together towards a common goal,” he said.
He approached his weight loss carefully to avoid injury. “Just getting to a weight that was healthy enough to run for exercise was a hurdle. It took years of a strict diet to get my weight low enough that I would not injure my joints from running.” At the time, he hadn’t considered becoming a runner.
He recently completed the Allianz Richmond Marathon with a time of 4:45:09, just under his goal of five hours. Taylor spent over a year training for the race while balancing a full-time job and personal commitments.
“I did not ever think I would be able to run a marathon. It was not even on my radar until about a year ago,” he said. He began running in 2024, initially aiming to complete a 5K in under 40 minutes, which took two months of training.
“I couldn’t even run a mile without stopping in the beginning. Then I made progress to set a goal of a 30-minute 5K, which took about three more months to accomplish. At this point, I was signing up for some local Miles in Martinsville races and gaining some running confidence,” he said.
Taylor enjoys the YMCA’s local Miles in Martinsville races, which helped him build up to marathon distances. “Miles in Martinsville has a variety of race distances, from 1 mile to 21.4 miles, and I wanted to try all the distances. Going to a full marathon was the next step if I wanted to continue to see how far I could push my body.”
Training for a marathon is demanding, he said. “Marathon training is a gigantic time commitment. Most training programs are around four months long. My peak training week included 42 miles of running, strength training workouts, and bicycling.”
At his peak, he spent 8.5 hours per week running—nearly double the time of his usual 4.5 hours—plus two hours of strength training. Taylor credits his success to his supportive family.
“Immediately after finishing, I was just happy to stop running since I had been going for over four hours. I felt incredibly supported by my family as they were in Richmond with me. Several days later, I had a ‘what’s next?’ feeling, which I still do not have an answer to.”
Taylor hopes to inspire others to enjoy running, despite its negative reputation from school days. “We were told to go run a mile or do pacers, and in sports we were made to run as punishment,” he said, adding that not learning to properly run makes the activity less enjoyable.
“We were conditioned to hate running because we were not taught the correct techniques to make it enjoyable. There are many variables in running – whether your heel or midfoot, or forefoot strikes the ground first, if your foot lands in front of your body versus underneath, cadence, heart rate, breathing technique, posture, shoes, pace, nutrition, and strength training. Finding what works for your body takes experimentation, and it is the key to making running a lifelong activity,” he said.
“Goals will take longer than one season to accomplish, so you must learn to accept all types of weather. There’s a certain beauty in heading out onto the Dick & Willie Trail and watching the plants and wildlife shift with the seasons. Extreme weather conditions are a part of nature, and help me stay grounded in the fact that we are all part of the ecosystem together.”
Taylor plans to continue running Miles in Martinsville races and hopes others will embrace the sport for both health and enjoyment.
