And I feel alive when running

Berlin, 11:53 am, km 25: My shoes are full of water, it's raining harder every time, at first I was trying to avoid puddles, I even took a few more steps, which only added meters to the route and the length of time Yeah. I don't like to run with wet feet, I'm already imagining them, first they'll start to wrinkle, and then the soft, white skin will cause little blisters that will stick in like little needles… I'm already seeing it…. And… how the hell am I going to run 42 km in these conditions?

In the end I have given up on my efforts, my husband, running next to me, has stepped on a puddle with force and all the water has bounced off my leg. I have noticed how my shoe was flooded. I haven't said anything, partly because I'm out of breath and partly because I think it's the best thing that could happen to me, I won't have to take extra steps trying to fight a battle that was already lost. It has been a turning point, we are going to get our feet wet, and whatever God wants. He's been running all the way inches in front of me, or that's how it feels to me, and every time I push to catch up with him, he pushes a little harder, I'll never catch up, it's like the carrot and the hare cartoon .

And I can't stop thinking, what the hell am I doing here? Again!!! Look, I always say that this running thing is done, that I want to focus more on yoga because yoga lengthens me and gives me flexibility and running makes me harder than a stick... and hey! I work in a yoga brand, I better focus now, right???

But nothing, here I am, over and over again… running. Because every time I put on my shoes and decide to go out to stretch my legs, I come back with charged batteries, happy as a partridge, knowing that I have been able to overcome the little inner voice that gave me a whole list of reasons why I shouldn't go out. But no, I have defeated it, I have gone out, I have oxygenated myself, I have come into contact with the fresh air that caresses my face every time I manage to run to Tibidabo, I have seen Barcelona from above, imagining the people there in the hustle and bustle , and smiling inwardly at being lucky enough to be on top of the mountain and looking at it in perspective, if only for a few seconds, before going back into chaos with all of them… and finally coming home wanting to eat the world …

… I think it's like taking a shower, in the end you need that daily gesture not only for hygiene but to feel better; Well, the days that I take a running shower, I feel with clear ideas, I feel more alive, curiously it makes me appreciate my surroundings more, material things are no longer important, I connect more with my essence, I take off the layers of superficiality, it is me in my purest version, many times without makeup, without accessories, with almost nothing, this is me, running forces me to show myself to the world as I am, regardless of what they think, something that many times we try to hide under layers of makeup, hairstyles, and dresses.

I can't stop thinking, what has pushed these 40,000 candid souls to face this challenge on a cold and rainy autumn day in a city that is foreign to many of us. I see 40,000 stories of self-improvement, each of these people is one or a brave person who has decided to leave the comfort of their homes behind and face their demons, has stood up to that tireless little voice that tells you not to bother, to not worth it. Each one has a personal story that has led them to this point, some are big and moving, like overcoming an illness, others smaller and more banal, like losing a few extra pounds; but each and every one of us is stepping out of our comfort zone, and it's outside of our comfort zone where great things happen. We can do better or worse, but I am sure that we will all remember this day for many years to come. Those final steps towards the goal, in which some of us arrive in better conditions and others in worse conditions, always seem eternal, you see how the finish line gets closer but it never arrives, and the passage becomes so intense that when you finally arrive you take everything that you carry in you, the emotions that you have been accumulating, everything is on the surface, and your most primitive ME emerges, screams, cries, smiles... everything that you carry inside comes out and you cannot hide it.

And I feel alive, as I rarely feel in my life. And I think it's one of the reasons why this sport engages so many people, because it allows ordinary people like me to feel capable of achieving extraordinary things.

I am thankful for having people around me who push me and support me to improve myself, and to achieve things I never thought possible.

-Regina-