Early in 2024, after completing my 125th marathon in Almagro, I set myself the goal of reaching 150 before turning 50. That meant running 25 more marathons in just over a year and a half—and choosing the right place for such a milestone.
As 2024 progressed and I kept adding marathons, I realized I could hit that number well before my birthday. At one point, I fantasized about running my 150th in Japan, but a second work examination in less than a year—coinciding with the dates of major spring marathons like Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto—made me reconsider and aim for a more achievable destination.
In the end, I chose Madrid to host my 150th marathon, just as it had been the stage for my first back in 2000. This way, I tied together my “marathon silver anniversary” and the 150th milestone, having also run my 100th there in September 2021—the first major post-pandemic marathon.
I have waited several months after Madrid to write this recap. I didn’t want to rush, thinking more marathons would follow soon. May seemed like a month where I could run several—Vitoria, Deux-Rivers, Candeleda—to keep the momentum going. But in the end, I didn’t run any, and by mid-summer, with Madrid almost three months behind me, there is no reason to leave the story unfinished.
Back to the Madrid recap: Like in so many recent races, I set out before dawn with Gorriti, arriving just in time. Our bibs had already been picked up, so all that was left was parking and heading to the baggage drop.
After so many editions, I’m familiar with Paseo de la Castellana and the start, finish and baggage areas. Though not in one of the first waves, I had plenty of time to settle into my corral.
I take the early kilometers cautiously, on a slight uphill, ticking them off one by one. I pass 5K in 27:37 and 10K in 54:16, already well off the 3:45 pace I always set as my initial target—a time I might as well forget by now, since it feels further out of reach with each race.
With temperatures rising, I hit the half-marathon mark in 1:57:09. I take the chance to enjoy running through Casa de Campo, where they’ve added extra kilometers this year, and a Madrid mostly free of traffic. In my mind, I revisit moments etched in memory from previous runs of the classic distance in the capital—the only one I’ve ever raced there.
I remember those early Mapoma editions, with the pots-and-pans cheers on Avenida de Valladolid or “Chariots of Fire” playing in other stretches. And that one-of-a-kind Millennium Marathon in 2001 (I still have an unused cap from it in my closet).
Finally, replaying old Madrid “battles” in my head, I cross the finish line in 4:06:42, once again over the four-hour barrier.
With this, I reach my 150th marathon—and my 9th in Madrid. After this, I feel it’s time to leave Madrid behind and seek a new destination for 2026, perhaps returning to Aveiro.
I thought the break from marathons would help me regain my rhythm, but looking back, it hasn’t. My pace hasn’t improved over the summer, and I even approach the 42 kilometers with more fear than I should. I hope it’s just a passing feeling, one that will vanish at the next starting line.
Next milestone—now without so much pressure—marathon number 200.