Marathon running teaches valuable life lessons about perseverance, discipline, and self-belief. Ultimately, it is the sort of activity that demonstrates that challenges can be overcome with a positive mindset and the support of a community.

Just ask social worker and author Marie Dunn who describes herself as being deeply influenced by American motivational speaker and ultra-marathon runner David Goggins, to the point where every essence of her life embodies resilience, grit, and an unrelenting drive for personal growth.

The parallels between Dunn and Goggins are hard to miss. For one, she’s ran an ultra-marathon. Two, she is intimate with the pain and the hard-won lessons that marathon-running can teach and which she has applied to her real life in the pursuit of greatness. And three, she is a fighter. She has survived a near-death experience in 1996 and a violent physical attack at the hands of a client but continues to chase her dreams.

“David Goggins is my idol, I listen to his podcasts, I have read his book, Can’t Hurt Me. I watch his videos. I love his ‘creating a callous mindset’ philosophy because pain for me is a motivation, I don’t see it as crippling, the more I feel pain, the harder I go,” said Dunn.

Goggins is a retired United States Navy SEAL, and a New York Times bestselling author who was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame for his achievements in sports. Dunn is also an ultra-marathon runner, so she knows that most participants experience some level of discomfort. Once, she completed a marathon despite her toes hurting from blisters.

“Recently, I did an ultra-marathon, where I ran 41.28 miles and during that time, by mile 30, I had to tape my toes because of the blisters and an attempt to ease the excruciating pain I felt, but I just kept going,” she shared.

Dunn said her friends and family members are befuddled at her willingness to push her body to such limits.
“This mentality is something I have learned and developed. If I block my mind from the pain, that is a psychological game, and that’s been working, and David Goggins has a lot to do with that…my family thinks I am crazy, my brother is like ‘I am over you’,” she recalled, laughing.

“But this is a choice I make, every day. I get up, I have 24 hours, so the question is: will I be a victim or get off my backside and keep going?” she asked, passionately.

She details some of her marathon-life philosophies in her latest book, Don’t Wait, a moving and inspiring memoir that explores what it means to overcome – off the pavement and deep within. But this book is more than just a story about marathons; this is a story about the invisible enemies like self-doubt, and the endurance it takes to challenge your inner narrative.

“This isn’t just about running shoes and finish lines – it’s about finding your voice, trusting your steps, and daring to start even when you’re unsure. It’s about reclaiming your own story,” Dunn said.

The book itself is framed by the author’s journey training for, and completing both the New York City and Philadelphia Marathons. She launched her book in June.

With a graduate degree from Fordham University, Dunn has skillfully combined clinical expertise with a deep passion for serving others. Her work is driven by a clear mission: to create positive, lasting change.

A self-described social activist and philanthropist, St Ann-born Dunn completed the 2023 New York City Marathon, followed by the Philadelphia Marathon in 2024. Her participation in both events was especially impressive given her ongoing struggle with chronic pain in her shoulder and neck, resulting from a workplace-related assault in 2017 as well as a persistent ankle sprain sustained in 2021 following her father’s death.

“I remember that I was feeling so much pain at mile 13 in the Philly Marathon in 2024 that I cried. I remember calling my friends to tell them how much pain I was in, they gave me tough love, to wipe my tears and stated that they would be waiting at the finish line for me to show. Disappointed by their response yet motivated, I pulled out a sharpie and wrote ‘keep going, don’t stop’ on my leg. I knew I was going to run back to the finish line, I wasn’t going out on a stretcher,” she said.

Don’t Wait is Dunn’s fifth book; the others are Salt & Honey, sexually charged Bold Her Liberation and Tease, as well as her Journal 99+ Inspiring Thoughts. The earlier books are credited to Toya J, Dunn’s alter ego.