Hannah is in the top 1% of runners in the world.
But her story isn’t about running.
It is a story about what happens when a goal is truly yours.
🌟 Welcome to Interview with a Goal-Crusher! 🌟
Hi, I’m Coach Tony, and this is Interview with a Goal-Crusher.
Every month, I sit down with someone who’s crushing their goals and building a happier life in the process. These are real people, not gurus … just like you. Think of it as free mentoring … straight from people who’ve done the hard work and have the wins (and lessons) to prove it.
These goal-crushers are out there chasing their biggest dreams. Why aren’t you?
Are you ready for a dad joke? Before we dive in, here's a groan-worthy dad joke as a little palate cleanser. I promise it will be worth every penny you paid for it. 😂 Why does it feel good to visit the aquarium? All the indoor fins.
Hannah Is in the Top 1% in More Ways Than One
I have a real treat for you with this Interview with a Goal-Crusher.
Something I have learned from coaching high achievers is that they don’t stop once they reach the finish line for an epic goal. They usually reach a finish line, celebrate their victory, and then they’re off and running on their next journey. Sound familiar?
Nonstop high achievers mean I occasionally get the privilege of revisiting prior goal crushers to share the stories of their continued success.
At the beginning of 2025, I introduced you to Hannah and shared her story of completing an EPIC 50-mile run (see Hannah’s Epic Challenge: A Massive Goal, Courage and Mindset). In this prior interview, Hannah said, “I am one strong, badass woman, and that strength starts with believing in myself.”
Fast-forward a year and a half, and Hannah crossed another finish line that proved her badassery. Today, I am honored to share her story.
Before diving in, I want to set the stage with two important details.
First, I want to give you context on how impressive Hannah’s accomplishment was. Fewer than 1% of people in the world will ever finish a marathon. Of those who finish a marathon, only about 1% of women will finish in less than 3 hours.
Hannah is in the top 1% of the top 1% of humans in the world! Holy shit!
Finally, this is not a story about running. While I am going to share Hannah’s story of completing her sub-3-hour marathon, the lessons are much bigger than that. Everything Hannah is going to share in this interview applies to YOU. Whether your dream is an epic athletic performance, career growth, launching a business or any other goal, Hannah’s lessons apply.
With that said, it’s time to share Hannah’s story.
Ready.
Set.
Go!
Let’s start with the basics. Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Hannah Pany.
I’m a strength coach, field hockey coach, and endurance athlete based in Columbus, Ohio. I work with athletes of all levels – from youth athletes to adults simply trying to keep up with their grandchildren – helping them build strength, confidence, and resilience through movement.
Outside of coaching, I’m also deeply involved in the running community and spend a lot of my own time training for marathons and ultras.
Running has become a huge part of my identity, not just competitively, but personally. It’s taught me discipline, patience, humility, and how capable the human body and mind really are.
What motivated you to pursue your unique journey? What was your vision? Can you share your story?
I started taking running seriously in 2024. What began as a challenge to bring light into my life during a tough time quickly became something much deeper. I ran my first 50k and 50 miler that year, but heading into 2025, I set a goal that honestly scared me: qualify for the Boston Marathon at one of the hardest road marathons in our country.
I chose the Big Sur Marathon as my qualifier attempt – not exactly the “easy route” considering the 2,200 ft of elevation gain and difficulty of the point-to-point course. But I wanted to earn it the hard way, because why set a goal that doesn’t scare you and make you have doubts?
Crossing that finish line with a Boston qualifying time and a podium appearance changed something in me. It proved that goals that seem impossible can become real when you commit fully to the process.
The date for the 130th Boston Marathon was set for April 20th. I had two goals heading into Boston: run a sub-three-hour marathon and smile through every mile.
Both were accomplished.
Boston became more than just a race. It represented growth, belief, and consistency. Training for it required balancing work, coaching, recovery, strength training, staying on top of nutrition, and long mileage weeks while still showing up for the people around me.
Finishing Boston in under 3 hours was one of the proudest moments of my life because of everything it took to get there. What people don’t see are the highs and lows you endure in a training block – it is not always pretty, but that is part of it.
Now, my journey is shifting toward ultras and longer endurance challenges, but Boston will always hold a special place because it showed me what I’m capable of, and I hope it inspired others.
Running completely changed my life in ways I never expected. What started as something personal slowly turned into community, purpose, and connection.
Along this journey, I became a Lululemon Run Ambassador (WHAT!?!).
I joined the Columbus Running Company (CRC) Elite Team (ME?!).
Soon I’ll be pacing Western States for someone who plays a huge role in inspiring and believing this entire chapter of my life (SPEECHLESS!).
And, at the end of July, I will cross the finish line of a 100 miler (HECK YES).
It’s surreal because sometimes I still feel like I’m just getting started.
One of the biggest things running has taught me is that no one accomplishes hard things alone. Leading up to Boston, the amount of support I received overwhelmed me in the best way possible. Friends, athletes, coworkers, family, clients, teammates, and people from the running community constantly checked in on me, believed in me, and reminded me who I was when doubt started creeping in. When things got hard during the race, I replayed those messages in my head over and over again. They carried me through more than they probably realize.
I also want to give a huge shoutout to the people who traveled to Boston just to cheer me on. Seeing familiar faces on the course gave me so much life and energy in moments where I really needed it. Boston may have been an individual race on paper, but crossing that finish line felt like a reflection of every single person who supported me along the way.
What was the very first step you took to get started?
The very first step was stepping out of my comfort zone and asking for help. Something I am NOT good at. I started a new job, and for once, I decided to put running before lifting, so I hired a coach! I am a firm believer that coaches need coaches too. This decision genuinely changed my life.
My coach genuinely changed my life – not just as a runner, but as a person. She taught me that growth doesn’t always come from doing more, pushing harder, or proving yourself every single day. Sometimes growth comes from slowing down, recovering properly, trusting the process, and having the patience to build something sustainable.
As someone who comes from a heavy strength and fitness background, slowing down was incredibly difficult for me. Easy runs felt “too easy.” Recovery days made me feel guilty. I constantly wanted to prove I could do more. But she helped me understand that endurance training is less about ego and more about consistency. She taught me how to listen to my body instead of fighting against it.
I honestly don’t think I would have made it to a sub-3 Boston Marathon without that guidance, accountability, and belief.
I didn’t have everything figured out. I didn’t know whether I was “good enough” to chase big goals. I just started showing up consistently. One run at a time. One workout at a time.
I think people underestimate how powerful consistency is. You don’t need the perfect plan to begin – you just need the willingness to start before you feel fully ready.
What were your biggest challenges in chasing your goals? How did you push through them?
One of the biggest challenges was balancing everything mentally and physically.
I never ran more than 40 miles when training for Big Sur or the Chicago marathon. I always wanted to run more, but I knew I would injure myself with the amount of workouts I was doing while also teaching fitness classes as my job. So here we are, hitting 55-60 mile weeks – over and over again.
High-mileage training is demanding, but life doesn’t stop while you’re training for a marathon.
There were days when I was exhausted from work, emotionally drained, or doubting myself entirely. I remember one Friday in particular when I just simply had enough. I called my mom during an easy run – dropped to my knees and cried… a lot – she listened and said all of the right things. I needed that moment and safe space more than she will ever know. Love you more, Birthgiver!
Another challenge was learning patience.
Progress in endurance sports doesn’t happen overnight. There are setbacks, bad runs, injury scares, fatigue, and moments where your confidence disappears. I had to learn to trust the process even when I wasn’t seeing immediate results. I doubted my coach in not ramping up my mileage sooner. I doubted my coach in giving me specific speed workouts that seemed impossible. I doubted this vision more than anyone will know.
What helped me push through was remembering why I started.
I don’t run for medals or external validation. I run because I love challenging myself, discovering new limits, and running is my therapy. Being able to inspire others in doing so is a bonus.
I’ve learned that growth usually happens in the uncomfortable moments – the early mornings, the hard AND easy workouts, the lonely miles, and the moments where quitting or making excuses would be easier.
My Boston “why” was doing this for my brother. My brother is someone who has caused a lot of tears and pain in my life, but also someone whom I look up to. He has his own story, and I’ll leave that part out, but I’ll just say, the mental strength I have now was developed when I was a freshman in high school – going through the chaos of my brother’s addiction, parents’ divorce, and sister (my rock) being away at college. I was severely depressed, but back then, no one really talked about this, so I went to the gym for hours on end to cope and get out of the house.
To dedicate this feat entirely to my brother – I hope he knows how much I love him.
What goal-setting or success habits have worked well for you that you’d love to pass on to others?
Consistency over intensity – I will die on this hill.
People often think success comes from huge moments, but most of it comes from the small things repeated over and over again. Showing up when you don’t feel motivated. Prioritizing recovery, nutrition, and yourself. Staying disciplined when nobody is watching.
Through trial and error, I learned you must train slow to go fast on race day. One of the hardest pills I believe most runners face is training at an uncomfortably slow pace. This is not because you are not capable of going faster, but this is so you can wake up and do it again.. and again… and again. If you are constantly running xyz paces to prove something to yourself or prove something to the wonderful world of Strava – I can tell you now, you WILL get lost.
Once I stopped trying to “win” every training run, I became a significantly better athlete.
I also think it’s important to set goals that genuinely excite you – goals that scare you a little. The best goals force you to become a different version of yourself in the process of achieving them.
And lastly, stop waiting until you feel ready. Confidence usually comes after action, not before it.
What else would you like my Operation Melt readers to know about you, your work, or the journey you’ve taken?
I want people to know that you do not need a perfect background or years of experience to pursue something meaningful. A lot of my endurance journey is still new to me. I’m learning as I go, taking risks, and pushing myself into spaces that challenge me.
I think there’s something really powerful about being willing to be a beginner again. Whether it’s chasing a Boston qualifying time, running your first ultra, or simply starting a fitness journey, growth only happens when you step into discomfort and stay consistent with it.
I also hope people understand that fitness is about so much more than appearance. Running and strength training have helped shape my mindset, my confidence, and my resilience in every area of life.
I do not chase aesthetics.
I do not chase to look like a specific mold.
I do not chase to wear a certain outfit.
I chase endorphins and growth.
What’s one thing you do that might look lazy or indulgent from the outside, but is actually essential to your success?
Rest and recovery!
I take recovery very seriously – sleep, mobility work, fueling properly, easy days, and listening to my body. From the outside and from the inside too, it might look and feel like I’m “doing less,” but recovery is one of the biggest reasons I’m able to perform at a high level consistently.
A lot of runners only focus on pushing harder. I’ve learned that knowing when to slow down is just as important as knowing when to push. This was something I had to lean on my coach for too, for accountability.
Recovery was NOT something I prioritized as much as I wanted. I made every excuse to skip it. I fell in love with using Red Light Therapy, cold plunges, and Normatech Recovery legs at work. I also focused on a proper warm-up and cool down. What started as 1x a week turned into (almost) a daily habit! I start nearly every run with some sort of mobility and always take the time after a run to stretch.
These things are not “extras.” They are part of training.
If you could go back and give 18-year-old you one piece of advice, what would it be and why?
Stop worrying so much about timelines.
At 18, I thought life had to happen in a very specific order and that success had an expiration date. Looking back, some of the most meaningful parts of my life came from unexpected pivots, failures, and moments where things did not go according to plan. Losing a job, totaling my car, sitting on the bench during my field hockey career, getting my heart broken – all real things that have led me to believe there is no timeline, no ceiling, and absolutely no pressure from the outside world to be you.
I would tell my younger self to trust herself more, stop comparing her journey to everyone else’s, and understand that growth takes time. You’re capable of more than you think – but you have to be willing to keep going long enough to discover it.
Where can people go to learn more about you or connect with your work?
You can connect with me on Instagram (@hannahpany) where I share my running journey and day-to-day life in endurance sports. I also coach athletes and work within the fitness community in Columbus, Ohio, through strength training and performance coaching, group fitness instructing, and coaching field hockey at The Armory.
Most importantly, I just hope my journey encourages someone else to chase a goal that feels intimidating.
You never know what you’re capable of until you try.
Wow. What a total badass!
As I said at the beginning, Hannah’s story isn’t just about running a marathon. Hannah’s story is a guide for how to successfully run our lives. I will dive into the specifics in a minute, but I wanted to highlight a couple of things that really landed with me.
“You do not need a perfect background or years of experience to pursue something meaningful.“ I really felt this one because it is a reminder that your biography doesn’t define you. You can always choose to become someone completely different. It’s all about making a choice, making a commitment, and making an effort.
“Looking back, some of the most meaningful parts of my life came from unexpected pivots, failures, and moments where things did not go according to plan.“ As we just wrapped up a month focused on destigmatizing failure, this is a perfect callback to failing forward. Throughout life, we all face ups and downs, and even some moments where it seems like everything is off track. These unexpected events often happen for us rather than to us.
“There were days when I was exhausted from work, emotionally drained, or doubting myself entirely.“ Hannah didn’t sugarcoat her journey and reminded us that the growth process isn’t always pretty. This is seldom easy. But just because this moment sucks doesn’t mean that you aren’t moving forward. As Hannah said, “growth usually happens in the uncomfortable moments.”
“I just hope my journey encourages someone else to chase a goal that feels intimidating. You never know what you’re capable of until you try.“ This may be my favorite thing that Hannah said! The first step to building the life of your dreams is trying. No matter how big, scary, or intimidating the goal, the result will always be the same if you don’t even try.
I can tell you firsthand, waiting to try only delays your happiness.
Without deciding to try, you experience the ultimate failure.
It was more than a race… it was a project!
Hannah isn’t just a badass top one percent of the top one percent runner; she is also an expert project manager.
Hannah’s story demonstrates every one of the Project Manage Your Life principles… with phenomenal results. Here are a few examples of PMYL in action in her story.
✅ Commit to SMART goals:
Hannah committed to a goal, a big one. She wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon at one of the hardest road marathons in the country and finish Boston with a sub-three-hour time.
This goal was certainly specific and measurable (the S and the M)… no question about it. It was also time-bound because Boston wasn’t going to move if she wasn’t ready.
Was Hannah’s goal attainable? Yes, theoretically, this goal could be achieved, but Hannah wasn’t sure if she could achieve it.
That was part of the point.
I didn’t have everything figured out. I didn’t know whether I was “good enough” to chase big goals. I just started showing up consistently. One run at a time. One workout at a time.
Hannah had faith in herself, her commitment, and knew she could do hard things. So she did!
Finally, we need to talk about the R… was Hannah’s goal relevant?
Hell yes it was!
Hannah explained that her two-fold why was what pushed her through… especially when things got hard.
I don’t run for medals or external validation. I run because I love challenging myself, discovering new limits, and running is my therapy. Being able to inspire others in doing so is a bonus.
Plus, her “why” behind her Boston run was deeply personal and emotional. She dedicated the run to her brother in honor of his battle.
She ran Boston for love, and that made her unstoppable.
✅ Build a plan that works for you:
Hannah’s accomplishment required way more than 26.2 miles, and she didn’t just jump in and do it. It took a year of hard work and a structured plan. This plan had to fit her goal and who she was.
Boston became more than just a race. It represented growth, belief, and consistency. Training for it required balancing work, coaching, recovery, strength training, staying on top of nutrition, and long mileage weeks while still showing up for the people around me.
With such an important goal, she knew she needed some additional expertise. So Hannah hired a coach to help her with her training. Her coach pushed her outside her comfort zone and helped her stick to the plan, even during her hardest times.
Hannah ran fifty-plus-mile weeks and stopped trying to “win” every training run.
She embraced rest and recovery as a part of the process, not a break from it.
She was ready for the mental challenges that come with such a physically demanding goal.
Her plan wasn’t simple and came with many struggles, yet she stuck with it. And it worked!
✅ Don’t Go It Alone
A popular misconception is that running is a solo sport. It’s not.
Hannah’s story is a team effort. As she said, “one of the biggest things running has taught me is that no one accomplishes hard things alone.”
Hannah had a team of experts helping her. First and foremost, she worked with a coach who didn’t just help her reach the finish line, but also changed her life.
She also had an army of supporters and accountability partners who pushed her forward. Many of these people even traveled to Boston to be there to support her.
I can’t tell you the number of times Hannah and I passed each other on runs and cheered each other’s efforts.
Running, goal-crushing, and life in general is a team sport!
✅ Enjoy the Journey
Finally, I glossed over something Hannah said about her goal.
I had two goals heading into Boston: run a sub-three-hour marathon and smile through every mile. Both were accomplished.
Hannah didn’t just do something hard to cross it off the list. She enjoyed the whole process, even when it sucked.
She didn’t start this journey for the rewards, recognition or any of the other side benefits. She started it because she loves running, challenging herself and the growth. Oh, and for the endorphins too.
That said, her efforts also earned her lots of fun recognition too! She became a Lululemon Run Ambassador, joined the Columbus Running Company (CRC) Elite Team, became a pacer, and, the most prestigious of all, she joined an exclusive club of repeat featured goal crushers on OperationMelt.com. 😂
Is your goal really YOUR goal?
Hannah ran 26.2 miles for herself. Not for the medal. Not for anyone else’s expectations. And that is exactly why she made it to the finish line.
If you are not sure your goals are really yours, that is worth exploring.
I can tell you firsthand that one of the most exhausting experiences for a high-achiever is when you pour your heart and soul into something that doesn’t light you up at your core. I want to help you fix that.
That’s what we will do at our next Goal Crusher Coffee Chat.
Chasing the Wrong Thing
Are you working hard for someone else’s dream?
In this session, I will open up my Coach’s Notebook and share the signs you’re chasing someone else’s goals and how to shift your focus back to your own.
Then, during our roundtable, we will each answer one simple question:
What’s one thing you could put on the back burner so you can make room for what really matters to you?
If you’re ready for your goals to feel like yours, not everyone else’s, this event is for you.
Click below or visit OperationMelt.com/CoffeeChat to save your spot for this free event.
Hannah didn’t just run a marathon. She ran her marathon. There is a difference. Her story is proof that the most unstoppable goals are the ones that are truly yours. Let’s make sure your goals have that same kind of ownership behind them.
You’re here for a reason. Let’s take the next step.
Meet Coach Tony
Tony Weaver is a master life coach, technologist, consultant, writer, and founder of Operation Melt.
He helps project managers and other left-brained high-achievers pursue their biggest goals.
Through free resources, personalized coaching, and his proven Project Manage Your Life system, Tony empowers clients to move their dreams from “someday” to success… one step at a time.
Learn more about Project Manage Your Life, the system my clients and I use to crush our goals, at OperationMelt.com/PMYL/
Coach Tony
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