The Road to Barcelona Marathon: Ali Edition

Ali survived….just!

Super proud of him for getting to the finish line here, not an easy one. The training was not smooth sailing unfortunately with injuries popping up throughout the final weeks of preparation which really tested Ali’s resolve, to the point where he didn’t think he was going to do it. But he overcame those hurdles, picked himself up, and carried on training even when he wasn’t able to run. That takes real mental strength and so I couldn’t be more proud of him!

He kindly asked if he could write the last post about his journey which I was honoured by, so here we go. Read below for Ali’s thoughts on the race. 

From Ali

This was the fourth running event I participated in, but this time, it was different. The difference was that, this time, I had trained more and had a coach. Also, I was used to having at least 4-5 friends at my level in the event, but this time, the only person I knew was James, and he was much more professional than me. That’s why I was really stressed about running alone.

The day before, James suggested that we go together to pick up our race kits. Since his friends were also there, I had a great time. The night before the race, I was really anxious about running alone, but the good thing was that I would see James in the morning before the race, which gave me energy. I had so many thoughts running through my mind that I couldn’t sleep on time, and in the end, I only got about five hours of sleep.

In the morning, I woke up, had breakfast, and headed to the race start. Seeing the people on the metro made me even more nervous until I arrived at the venue and saw James and the others, which got me even more excited. My race was scheduled to start about 20 minutes after James’s, so during that time, I walked around alone, watched the people, and thought about my injury possibly coming back and stopping me from finishing the marathon.

When the race started, I was very motivated and kept a good pace. I was really proud of myself—I managed to complete the first 10 kilometers in 1 hour and 7 minutes, which was amazing for me. At the 12-kilometer mark, I sent James a video saying, “No matter what happens, I’m going to finish this,” and I was very happy and full of energy. Everything went well until kilometer 20, and I kept sending James videos on WhatsApp so he could watch them all later. At 2 hours and 18 minutes, I reached kilometer 20. But then, my knee pain slowly started.

Since I had run before and James had warned me not to push myself too hard, I decided to walk a bit to ease the pain before trying to run again. I mostly walked until kilometer 24, trying to run a few times, but the pain was so intense that I just wanted to stop and quit. At kilometer 24, I told myself that I had to start running again because I wouldn’t be able to finish if I walked half the marathon. However, after just a few steps, the pain became unbearable, and I had to sit down. I even cried a little from exhaustion, pain, and fear that, despite all my training and effort, I might not be able to finish. I texted James again, telling him that I might not make it and that I was feeling terrible.

But then, I thought, “No, this has to work. I’ve trained so much, and I have to finish this.” So I stood up and started walking again, but I felt weak and had no motivation. This kept happening until kilometer 32—I had to stop and sit down several times, thinking about all the training I had done over the past three months. I realized that, despite all the breaks I had taken during training, James had always motivated me to get back on track with better and more suitable workouts. I felt like I had to finish the race just to tell James that his efforts had paid off.

Around this time, James had already finished his race, and he replied to my texts, asking how I was feeling. He told me, “If you think you can keep walking, just make it to the finish line.” His words gave me motivation again. I became determined to finish, no matter what, and to see that finish line and get the medal.

From kilometer 32 to 38, I walked with my friend Ali while staying in touch with James on WhatsApp. At one point, a car passed by and told me that the race was almost over, which really discouraged me. At kilometer 38, I messaged James, saying, “I don’t think I can finish this.” I sat down again, feeling terrible. Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue. I got on the metro and rode to kilometer 41, then rejoined the race for the last kilometer.

This medal was a medal of failure for me—but a successful failure. This marathon was where my friendship with James truly started, and he helped me so much throughout the journey. All the ups and downs of this race taught me valuable lessons—both from James and from the resilience I had to push through.