5K to 40 Marathons: How Krissy Murphy Accomplished This Feat

Like most people who become dedicated runners, Krissy Murphy never deliberately tried to make running a huge part of her life. She was just trying to stay active, so she downloaded a training app to help her conquer a 5K. “I was like, ‘I’ll just try it and it’ll be a one-and-done,’” she recalls. “But I did a 5K and then I was addicted.” Addicted is one way to describe going from one 5k to 40 marathons. Another way is dedicated to something she loves doing.

She refers to herself as an “adult onset runner,” a term often used for anyone who wasn’t especially athletic in their youth but discovered a love of running as an adult. It was the simplicity that appealed to her—she didn’t need a ton of special gear to start, and she was able to do it on her own schedule.

There was something else about running that really appealed to her: “I’m competitive with myself. I’m not competitive with other people,” she says. “I enjoy the vibes of going to a race and being around people who have the same mindset. That was the addicting thing.”

Becoming a Runner

Back when she started running in 2010, she was working for Disney. It made sense to aspire to run one of the celebrated races through the Disney parks. She did her first half marathon at Walt Disney World in January 2011 before running her second only a few months later on Labor Day. In the 14 years since her first race, she’s now done more than 40 marathons—and built a community in the process.

“I feel like I’ve seen so many times the quote that running is a metaphor for life and what you put into it is what you get. There are so many ways that it has affected my life,” she says. “Obviously there’s the physical aspect. I love going out for a run. But then there are so many people I’ve met from running that I never would have met.”

When Krissy ran Boston for the first time in 2022, she had the joy of meeting in person many of the people she had connected with online. She describes it as being almost like a reunion. “You might be meeting somebody for the first time, but you already know what types of shoes they prefer to run in or what races they most recently did,” she says.

She has also settled into her identity as a runner. Even if she doesn’t introduce herself that way, others around her will. She’ll be introduced to somebody at work, for example, and she’ll hear the person introducing her say, “This is the runner I was telling you about. She’s the runner.” From there, people are really excited to hear about her race endeavors.

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Focusing on the Fun

Krissy has two young daughters who have observed her run their entire lives and who recently expressed interest in doing a race with her. “I’ve never said, ‘You need to run,’ because they need to have their own interests and hobbies,” she says. “But they see me running, and they said, ‘Can we do our first turkey trot?’” This Thanksgiving marked the first time Krissy and her daughters did a 5K together. 

It’s not surprising Krissy’s enthusiasm was contagious for her kids. She keeps a positive attitude and focuses on the fun of running. Goals help keep her motivated, but she doesn’t let herself get too stuck on them. “I think it’s important to have serious goals but not take yourself too seriously,” she says.

With that attitude, this has been a great year for her. She met her goal of running 40 marathons by her 40th birthday. She also set PRs in 5K, 10K, and half marathon distances. As for what’s the come in the years ahead? She says she might consider aiming for a marathon in all 50 states, but she’s not committing to that just yet. (She’s currently at 12 states, if she’s keeping count.) “But my long-term goal is to just keep running and enjoying the people I’m running with,” she says.

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