They Hated Running—Then Secretly Trained to Surprise Their Partners on Race Day

Jill Frisch was waiting at a stoplight during a run when she saw something that sent her into a panic.A car, her car, with her husband, ultrarunner Zach Frisch, at the wheel, approaching the intersection.Jill knew that Zach always noticed a fellow runner on the street. "I really thought he saw me," she said. When she told him about this later, "he was like, 'Honestly, I think I would have just been like, Wow, she looks a lot like Jill.' He couldn't even comprehend that I would be running. If that doesn't show you how much I hate running, then I don't know what does."Why, you might be asking, was Jill so nervous? If so, you probably haven’t seen her ultra-viral video about this.Jill, a Utah florist and cake artist and avowed non-runner, was panicking because she had been training in secret — for months — so she could run with her husband in the Utah Valley Marathon & Half. That day, Zach was driving her car to a photoshoot.Here’s another thing Zach didn’t know: his wife had hidden the Altra running shoes she'd secretly purchased in the trunk of her car, right next to the spare tire. What followed was a mission straight out of a cloak-and-dagger spy movie."My dad dropped me off, and I had to sneak over without him seeing me, open up my car, and then grab the shoes," she said. She managed all of it without being seen, only for Zach to drive past her minutes later.It was the closest call she experienced in weeks of secret training, though there were many moments she was certain her husband would figure it all out. But all of that anxiety, and all that running, paid off when she made it to her big reveal.As anyone who has taken on a serious running event knows, training is a serious challenge. And as anyone who has been in a relationship knows, keeping what you’re up to from your partner is a serious challenge. Put these together, and the stakes — and rewards — can be very, very high.Jill Frisch says it was completely worth it. "It'll be something we brag about to our kids, for sure," she told Runner's World.As it turns out, she's not the only person who has been inspired to secretly train and surprise their partner. Personal trainer Ben Carpenter did it, three times, surprising his wife, fitness coach Sohee Carpenter.Ben captured some of this on video. After seeing one of them, civil engineer and father of three Will Granbery was inspired to surprise his wife, Andrea.Runner's World spoke to Frisch, the Carpenters and Granbery about their experiences, the satisfactions, and potential costs of pulling off a bib-pickup surprise.The IdeaFrischesBefore meeting her husband, Frisch had an on-and-off relationship with running — mainly, it was something she got into after a breakup. She even ran a half marathon at one point. But those days were over. "When we first met, I was like, 'Oh, yeah, I run all the time. I'm a big runner.' I kind of catfished him," she joked. Between meeting Zach and deciding to secretly train, Jill Frisch estimates she went on maybe five runs total.As an ultrarunner, Zach Frisch doesn't often participate in marathons. When he signed up for one that also included a half-marathon, Jill saw an opportunity. "It just popped into my head," she said. “I was like, ‘This would be such a cool surprise.’ ”CarpentersBen can recall the exact moment he first decided he might try to surprise Sohee. A cross country runner through middle and high school, Sohee had stopped running in her twenties and returned to it in the last few years. One day, before leaving for a run, she said it would be nice to run together."We realized it was the only time of the day that we were apart,” Ben said. “We both work from home and we often go to the gym together, but when she started running, it's like, 'See you in a couple of hours,' It planted the seed."Ben also knew that Sohee valued actions over gifts. When Sohee signed up for the November 2024 Anaheim Turkey Trot, Ben secretly signed up, tooGranberyBen Carpenter's first video (above) about surprising Sohee inspired Granbery, who lives in Boston, to start secretly training. It was a surprise, even for him. When his wife, Andrea, first started running, “I laughed at it," he said. But after Andrea ran her first half-marathon, the Beach and Back in Marshfield, Mass., Granbery was impressed by the achievement and the support of his wife’s running community. Soon after, she signed up for her first marathon, the Wineglass Marathon in Corning, N.Y. Granbery spontaneously, and secretly, followed suit. "When she texted me that she finally signed up for it, I signed up for the same race," he said. "So our bib numbers are actually one after the other."Training in SecretCarpentersUntil 2024, Ben had never run as an adult. "I detested running," he told Runner’s World. "I avoided it completely." This was true even though he was a personal trainer who understood the value of cardio and spent a lot of time in the gym. Ben also has Crohn's disease, an autoimmune condition that can cause joint inflammation and stiffness. He was concerned that running would put his body at risk. His first outdoor run lasted about four minutes.That was in March 2024, and The Anaheim (Calif.) Turkey Trot 5K was in November. The event proved a success — he and Sohee both earned medals. Ben decided he would try to get into half-marathon shape in time to join her for the Mesa (Ariz.) Half Marathon in February 2025."At that point, five miles was the longest I'd ever run, maybe not even that, so I thought, I'm not even sure if I can do a half marathon," he said.But he was intrigued. And when Sohee crossed the finish line at the London Marathon and said she wanted to run another, his wheels started turning.“I kept doing my long runs,” he said, “knowing that maybe one day, possibly, I might be able to surprise her."GranberyFor Granbery, who had an established gym routine already, hiding his initial marathon training was simple — until his mileage started increasing. It became difficult to carve out the time, and to avoid feeling dishonest."I always tried to ride the line of not straight-up lying, because that made me uncomfortable, but still keeping it a secret. I switched my terminology. I was like, 'I'm gonna go exercise,' instead of 'I'm gonna go to the gym.' It made me feel a little better." He kept his running gear at the office. When his wife asked about his running shoes, he replied he thought they were for walking.FrischesJill Frisch had her own challenges in keeping her half-marathon training from her husband. She hid her running shoes in her car, in the tank of a toilet in their home, and beneath the couch. She planned her runs around her husband's runs, but the training variety of an ultra-runner proved a challenge. "He could run for an hour, or he could run for five, six, seven hours," she said. “I just had to get up and leave [when he did].”Technology complicated things. Both Frisches had location sharing turned on for their cellphones. That allowed Frisch to see how close to home Zach was, but she couldn't run on nearby trails since he would immediately recognize them. Instead, she ran close to pickleball courts, to provide cover if asked.She had several close calls. One time she saw he was on his way home when her phone died. She sprinted for nearly a mile to beat him home."I was so cooked after that, but I made it home right before he did," she said, adding that she headed straight to the shower to avoid getting caught red-faced.The Big RevealFrischesJill had originally hoped to surprise Zach at the starting line of the race, but since he was running the full marathon and she was running the half, they had different starting points.She had to settle for revealing her months of training in the bib pickup parking lot, right after picking up his packet."Afterward, Frisch could finally tell her husband about all the close-call moments and funny stories, and showed him all the video clips she'd taken during the process. "He was dying laughing," she said. "It was so fun."CarpentersBen surprised Sohee three times. On the morning of the Anaheim Turkey Trot, Ben revealed his racing bib clipped to his shirt. "I thought he was wearing mine," Sohee said. When she realized it was Ben’s, she was thrilled. "Her reaction was so amazing and so cute," he said.He confirmed Sohee’s Mesa Half suspicions at the bib pickup.The New York Marathon surprise was the most emotional; the Carpenters had originally discussed running it together, but getting Ben a ticket proved difficult. That, plus the difficulty of the race, had him ready to take a pass. Then Sohee learned she was pregnant with their first child, and it changed their calculations."She said to me one day that it would be really nice to cross the finish line with our daughter," Ben said. He shelled out $3,000 for a last-minute ticket. Before the flight to New York, Ben told Sohee he’d be running, too. "I saw the excitement on her face when she realized what I'd done," he said.GranberyGranbery revealed his surprise at bib pickup, too. After Andrea handed over her ID, so did he. "I'm a bit of a joker, so she assumed I wasn't serious initially, but then I was like, 'No, I'm seriously doing it,' " he said. "The initial reaction is caught on the video, and it was just shock and amazement, and it was the exact thing that I was hoping for."But, Granbery ultimately had some regrets about his decision to train in secret. After the surprise wore off, and they discussed it further, he realized that his wife's reactions were more layered than he had previously understood. "She felt like I fooled her," he said.A crucial detail he hadn't considered was that it was Andrea’s first-ever marathon. “I was upstaging her moment, and that was a total miss on my part."Race DayCarpentersBen’s efforts meant everything to Sohee, especially in New York. "He basically was my chauffeur the whole race, so even though he's faster than me, he ran next to me the whole time," she said.It was just as special for Ben. "Crossing the finish line of the New York Marathon, holding your wife's hand while she's pregnant with your firstborn, that was the best," he said.They both were wiping tears from their eyes for the last two miles, when it became clear they were going to make it all the way. Shortly after crossing the finish line, Sohee started sobbing. "The whole experience with running in my thirties again has completely transformed [my relationship to running] because, for me, it has nothing to do with calories or changing the way my body looks, and I think that has made a huge difference for me in the best way," she said.GranberyWhile Granbery's wife, Andrea, was not completely pleased with the surprise, she forgave him ahead of the race, and they ran together for the first 10 miles. "I was hoping to stay with her for the first half," he said. "I was definitely pushing way too hard and contributed to my really poor finish, because I was trying to stay with her as long as I could … That was the goal, altogether, was to run with her." In the end, they both finished and were happy with the experience and their final times.FrischesOne of the reasons Jill Frisch didn’t like running with her husband was because he was faster than her. But since he was running a full marathon and she was running a half, her goal became to finish faster than he did. And she did."He was 27 minutes away from beating me," she said. The morning of the race, they got ready together, and then Jill dropped her husband off at his starting point before driving on to her own.Meeting Zach at the finish line made it all worth it. "It was so fun," she said. "We were just asking each other how it went, and I was so proud of him. It was just fun having a common love in that moment of running together."But Jill’s day wasn’t done. She had committed to provide flowers for a wedding taking place the same day. "It was a very long day. I didn't get finished until 11 o'clock at night, and it was a little bit dumb to take on both of those things, but it was awesome," she said.Becoming a Runner ... or NotCarpentersSince running the New York Marathon together, Ben and Sohee have continued running regularly. Caring for a newborn means they are both opting for shorter workouts and being careful not to push too hard.For Sohee, running regularly has helped her feel like herself again after going through pregnancy and postpartum.Ben runs four or five times a week these days. While he still prefers the gym, he actually enjoys running now — something that he never would have imagined was possible. "It's been a steeper progression curve,” he said. “I have literally run a marathon, whereas three years ago, I had never run even half a mile outside in my whole adult life."GranberyGranbery said he definitely does not recommend going from couch to marathon in five months, like he did (it led to runner's knee and muscle fatigue from overtraining). Although he has regrets about keeping his training a secret, he does not regret the race itself. In fact, he has continued to run regularly. “Now it's fun, because we're supporting each other in it,” he said. “We'll take turns going on our runs. It's fun that we get to support each other in that way."FrischesAfter running the Utah Valley race together, Jill and Zach went on a 2-mile shake-out run together the next day. Since then, Jill has stepped away from running. Part of it is that the pair have been busy with travel.But that’s not all of it. Jill said the goal, and the surprise of it, were motivating. "It was almost the adrenaline of the surprise that made it easier," she said.Without a clear goal to work towards, Jill said, it's been challenging to get back out there, and she is unsure that running is ultimately for her. But she hasn't fully given up. "I just need to get back into the groove of it and find another purpose," she said. "I probably will keep running."Katja Vujić is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn whose work has appeared in Runner’s World, The Cut, Allure, Architectural Digest, The Boston Globe Magazine, and more. You can find more of her work on her website.