THE MARATHON.
The most legendary race ever.
A race that only 1% of the world’s population has ever finished.
42 km of pure pain.
The youngest finisher? 5 years old.
The oldest? 100.
But why?
Why do people push their bodies to the limit?
2,500 years ago, in the Battle of Marathon, a Greek soldier sprinted from Marathon to Athens, exhausted, dehydrated, running on nothing but duty. He delivered his message:
“Athens has won.”
The Western world was saved.
Then he collapsed and died.
Today, the marathon isn’t about war, it’s about the war within.
The pain cave. The wall.
That moment when your mind screams “stop” but your heart whispers “keep going.”
There’s no luck involved. No way to fake it.
To finish a marathon, you need commitment, sacrifice, and grit.
Three things over which the Kenyans reign, unbeaten in the discipline.
The fastest ever? 2:00:35.
A barrier no human had broken… until this man, Eliud Kipchoge,
on a chilly morning in Vienna, ran 1:59:40.
Great intro, right?
Last weekend, I completed my first marathon in 4:04:11.
Just one month earlier, I had covered the distance in training in 4:36,
which means I cut off 32 minutes in a single month.
I nearly stopped at kilometer 30.
My legs cramped 5 to 8 times,
Maybe I started too fast, aiming to finish under 3:45.
But the sun hit hard, I hadn’t slept properly the night before,
and I’d just come back from a weekend trip.
Still, none of that could erase five months of work and a dream becoming real.
I stretched when needed, prayed every time, and kept moving forward.
So yeah, I’m finally a marathoner.
My circle? Super proud and happy about the achievement.
Me? Honestly… it left me wanting more.
The race itself was incredible, and the process, every training session, deeply fulfilling.
But once it was over, I felt like I should’ve done this long ago.
Not because I was late to it,
but because my genetics, talent, and mindset were made for sports,
something I’ve already seen in football and skateboarding,
the two sports I’ve practiced the most.
I never focused entirely on one, so I never saw it as a profession…
but my passion for sports brought me here:
to finish a marathon, and to feel hungry for more the moment I crossed the line.
Running itself? I enjoy it, I’m fast, strong, and running has always been one of my best skills in football.
But will I become a 100% dedicated runner? Probably not.
I’m 1.80m tall and weigh 85 kg, solid build, powerful legs.
Even so, I’m quick and strong.
I don’t plan to lose more weight just to run 3:30 per km for a “decent” marathon time.
Because now I’ve found my next challenge,
one that fits my body better and pushes me to grow as an athlete:
Triathlon.
