Nicolás Cordón Lozano, a journalism student at CEU San Pablo, took part in the event on April 28th, and achieved an impressive result of 1st in under-23’s, and 44th in the general public category.
He said: “I never thought I would be running at the front of the race with professional athletes, some international ones from Spain, it’s been really cool.”
Despite a result which places Nicolás as a ‘semi professional’ runner, he has only recently gotten into the sport, having previously taken part in just one half-marathon.
Nicolás planned on starting his training for the prestigious Madrid Marathon earlier this year, however he came across an all-too familiar challenge in the sporting world.
He said: “My idea was to start in January, but I was injured. I had four injuries, which had never happened to me before, from January until March. The truth is that I prepared for the race itself in just five weeks.”
Nicolás began training little by little, going for runs in Casa de Campo, following the end of last year’s university football season, which left him without a sport and searching for something to dedicate his time to.
He said: “I train in the countryside a lot because it’s vast, and I like being in nature. I recommend it to everyone, not just for running. As the marathon approached, I made a big leap and started doing around 140 to 130 kilometres weekly, which is what you need to achieve the time I did.”
Despite the challenges he has faced, Nicolás sees in retrospect that the marathon was worth every minute spent training, having now secured a sponsorship and been scouted by a coach.
He strongly advises anyone who is interested in running, among other sports, to ‘not get discouraged and give up, but to persevere’.
Furthermore, he shares his tips on how to juggle training while keeping up with university work. He said: “I think that if you organise yourself well, starting to run daily is doable. Even for people who are just starting out, dedicating just ten or fifteen minutes can provide a mental break from the chaos of the day. It’s really helpful for clearing the mind, you know.”
Aiming to participate in the next Madrid Marathon, Nicolás has established himself as a promising athlete, hoping to one day represent Spain on an international level.
