Fabio

The kilometers roll by and everything is fine, it's a long walk to the 30th km. There, I check, all signals are green, I don't have excessive fatigue and I slightly increase my pace.

40th km, I give everything that's left, the finish is near, the emotions along with it, I think about the preparation but especially about my family, tears are present, it's hard to contain my joy, my pride, and especially my wife and children whom I miss terribly. 250 m to go, I'm on the famous blue carpet, I see the finish line, I speed up one last time and it's done; it's over with a personal record at 3h51'37".

My meeting with other Campus members in Valencia, that's something I will not forget, we created bonds and we will stay in touch 😉

I have been running for about 4 and a half years and this is my second marathon this year. I've participated in a few 10 or half marathon races, I love it, but I quickly developed a taste for long distances.

Difficult at first with the heatwave, I really suffered and on top of that, I had gained too much weight 🥵 Then it went better, I started a strict diet and the workouts began to pass very well, I increased my weekly volume and the number of workout days to reach over 100 km in the last weeks and 6 days of workouts, Monday was rest! As I said, I put all the cards in my favor, I really wanted to do a beautiful marathon. The interval workouts were a delight, I took them as a real challenge each time and what a satisfaction to see the progress week after week 💪

I also lost 14 kg with a very strict diet, no small pleasures and many deprivations but it paid off 🙏 Overall it was my best preparation 👍 and I can still improve a few points 😉

Two months before the marathon I participated in a half-marathon, the one in Mons where I shattered my record on the distance without trying to do it, and there I understood that not only did I want to go under 4 hours, but I also wanted to achieve the Campus prediction of 3h54'25" which, at that moment, became realistic for me. As I progressed, Campus was giving me an actual final time prediction of 3h51'29". While 6 months ago I did a 4h12'01", I finally made a personal best of 3h51'37" in Valencia!

Very very very well 👍

I am in my starting corral and in the front line, music in my ears, tension is mounting, and I am eager to get going... Here it goes, it's the start... I focus on my race strategy and above all I force myself to slow down because it's the start trap, you have legs like fire, and you go too fast; it costs a lot after the 30th. I watch my heart rate and adjust my pace even though I'm still a bit too fast.

Regarding fueling strategy, I had planned 1 gel every 5 km but finally took one every 8 km, without slowing down, with two bottles of ISO drink, snatching water bottles along to stay well hydrated.

The kilometers roll by and everything is fine, it's a long walk to the 30th km. There, I check, all signals are green, I don't have excessive fatigue, and I slightly increase my pace.

Initially, my targeted time was 3h54' at 5'33"/km but my watch indicated 3h51', and I admit my ambition at that moment was to achieve the predicted 3h51'.

I'm at the 35th km and it's good, I'm not hitting the wall, I try to speed up again, heart rate climbs high but I don't care, I know it's going to work out.

The last kilometers are complicated, the crowd is immense, and the space becomes increasingly narrow. There are runners stopped, others walking, it's necessary to weave in without slowing down too much and especially not to fall.

40th km, I give everything that's left, the finish is near, the emotions along with it, I think about the preparation but especially about my family, tears are present, it's hard to contain my joy, my pride, and especially my wife and children whom I miss terribly. 250 m to go, I'm on the famous blue carpet, I see the finish line, I speed up one last time and it's done; it's over with a personal record at 3h51'37".

The plan, the explanations (very useful), the progress curve (very realistic), the lives on social networks, and the community, very good for exchanging.

But especially my meeting with the other Campus members in Valencia, that's something I will not forget, we created bonds and we will stay in touch 😉 We did the last pre-race workout together and went to the restaurant afterward, and it was truly a beautiful memory 👍

I think of Joan, Didier, Hervé, Clément, Maxime, Quentin... Some of us are going to do Valencia again next year. I already can't wait to meet them 😎... and I know our coach Nico will also be part of it 😉

Prague Marathon on May 7th, but just for pleasure, and then mega big preparation to redo Valencia in December to make a new personal record 😉 This time my ambition is a sub 3h50' or even 3h45', now I know I am capable 💪