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| Meet the Ambassadors 2025
Miguel Ferreira
Program: marathon
"Two years after the start of my running journey it is time to take it to the next level and go for a full marathon."
| Training updates
Follow Miguel's journey
April 2, 2025
Life is a marathon
After months of training, the moment of truth had arrived!
The plan was very clear: keep my pace under control to ensure an easy and smooth run that would allow me to finish in under four hours. Easy, right? Well… where’s the fun in that?
The start was smooth, but shortly after the 10 km mark, I started to feel my legs getting tired. Nothing to worry about, I thought. My pace and heartbeat were under control… just 32 more kilometers to go. Nice and easy.
Half-marathon. I’ve felt better than this before, but I was still in control, no exhaustion, nothing close to it. My legs, however, felt heavier and heavier. I had expected this to be the hardest part of the race… but still.
Keizerpark. A huge crowd, with some familiar faces cheering me on. That gave me a huge boost of energy and a good feeling for the rest of the race.
Kilometer 27. Cramps. My right leg started shaking… and from that moment on, it was all about pain management. I could still run, but not for long. I had to mix in some walking… and stretching. At that point, I realized that finishing under four hours would be tough to achieve. But there was still one goal, the most important one!
With a slower pace and some walk breaks, the pain was under control, and I managed to keep a smile on my face.
Stadium, Stropkaai, Vooruit, Coupure, Koning Albertbrug, Watersportbaan, Topsporthal. I kept counting milestones to track my progress and stay focused on getting to the end.
It wasn’t a perfect race, but it was a success no matter what! A little over two years ago, finishing a marathon would never have even crossed my mind. This has been an incredible journey, and I can only say that it doesn’t stop here!
With this race, I’ve learned many lessons for future attempts, especially this one: as important as what you do is who is with you when you do it!
February 14, 2025
Let's get serious
Hello, everyone!
We are halfway through this journey, and that means, time to do some checks!
In January all ambassadors got together to repeat the same tests we did in October and compare our current figures with the initial ones. I might say there were quite surprising!
But let’s not get there just yet.
During the last three months I have been focusing on building the aerobic base. When looking at the distances and times I must say I did not do anything different than what I accomplished in the past. My pace was good… but in the range I already did before (5:30 – 6:00 min/Km). My runs were long, but also in here, never went above the half-marathon…
So, while things were going very smooth, I also did not feel that I was improving that much.
With this in mind, I started to think about the marathon itself. How would I be able to hold for twice as long as my current longest run? How long will it take me, to ensure that I can do it all in a decent time, but still enjoy myself and not remember this experience as pure suffering?
Then, the results came in.
When comparing with October one’s we can see a really nice improvement! Taking it easy in the first three months allowed me to improve my base speed and prepared myself for what comes next!
Now it is time to get serious. I should get closer to 3 hours on my long runs and have added a forth training day to increase the kilometers on my legs. These results really boosted my confidence, and I am really eager to see how I will manage in the actual run!
As stated before, my main goal is still to get to the finish line with a smile on my face and willing to participate in more marathons in the future. But maybe… that can be achieve in a shorter time than expected… which time would that be? Let’s just focus on finishing it! 😊
Hope to see you all in the big day!
December 13, 2024
It never gets easier, you just get faster
Hello, everyone!
Two months after the start of the training program, everything is going smoothly. The load is gradually increasing, and things are getting challenging, but still manageable.
In my previous post I mentioned how interesting it was to be able to compare the test results from 2 years ago with the ones of this year. Well, the comparisons don’t end there!
When I look back in time, I remember that at this moment I was still doing start to run trainings that would include some walks in between the runs! Nowadays, sometimes slower, other times faster, but there is only one thing – running. I still get a smile on my face when I recall that the first time I did 5 km running was in the beginning of January, 2 months after I started the program for the first time. Nowadays, a weekend 15 km run is a normal thing, and I foresee longer runs coming soon.
One of the things that made me stick to running was the fact that the training plan and all advice given were tailored to ensure that everything was done in an easy way. The same remains true, but another big difference is the fact that I am able to push harder when needed and I am much faster in a natural way, sometimes without even noticing.
If 2 years ago, running slow makes you faster was a very powerful idea that helped me, and I believe others, trusting the process and reaching our goals, today I got to learn and incorporate a new one – It never gets easier, you just get faster!
I’m not entirely sure how much faster I will be when the day comes, but the main goal is still to reach the finish line with a smile on my face. Maybe there is a time I would like to beat… but that is something for another time!
For now, stay tuned for more updates, and join us on this road to the Sofico Gent Marathon 2025!
October 31, 2024
Here we go again!
Two years ago, I got into the challenge of becoming a Sofico Ambassador and try to complete a half marathon. Even though I have practiced different kinds of sports like football, swimming, and rink hockey, running was never something I enjoyed doing. At the time, the ambassador program was the trigger I needed to get out of the couch and do some sport again.
Looking back, I am very happy with the step I took. With a tailor-made plan and guidance, I started to enjoy running and managed to complete my first half-marathon! Since then, running became part of my routine and I already completed a couple more half marathons.
Now, it is time for a new challenge: complete a full marathon! This is something I have been thinking for a while, but I wanted to ensure it was done in the right way, without injuries. And here I am, back to the ambassador program, where I hope this will be achieved, once again!
During the kick-off session, I got in touch with some of the persons of the program and was able to compare the new results with the ones from two years ago. It is always interesting to see how running shapes my body and the effects it has on my physical ability.
The training sessions started right after the kick-off. I am doing 3 sessions per week with some long sessions during the weekend. I am curious and, I must admit, scared to see how I will cope with the increase in load that is yet to come, but what was true for a half marathon is also true for a full one: trust the process!
So far, everything looks promising, and I hope to fulfill this challenge with flying colors! In the meantime, stay tuned for further updates and developments on my road to the Sofico Gent Marathon 2025!