“I hope the marathon is a great sport event and that all the people who go to Lanzarote enjoy the island as much as I do, if so, they will be delighted”
Chema Martinez is a tireless athlete who understands the race as a philosophy of life reflected under his motto #NoPiensesCorre [#donotthinkrun]. It is common to see him around the island, enjoying his favorite sport or just relaxing. However, this time he returns to compete in the Lanzarote International Marathon that will take place next Saturday 10 of December. From #LanzaroteESD we have taken this opportunity to interview him before the race:
Welcome once more to the island. You have recently visited us on numerous occasions, why have you chosen Lanzarote?
True, I am visiting the island very often. Why do I come back? I don’t really leave because my mind and my heart always stay in Lanzarote. For me it is a magical and a very special place, where I am happy I find myself and it is one of the few places that bring me peace and happiness.
The island offers excellent conditions for practising sport. The high number of European athletes who train here, specially in winter, proves this. We are sure that you have made some friends here …
I consider myself a very outgoing person and, in the end, I end up making many friends. I believe that sport unites us. The island hosts a great variety of sports events and this, along with the excellent weather conditions, athletes from very different disciplines come to train here.
This time your visit to the island is something different, you do not come to train or rest but to compete. Is it the first time you are joining a competition in Lanzarote? Did you know the Lanzarote International Marathon?
This time I return to compete, I usually come to train or to spend holidays. As I am not 100% recovered from injury, I cannot make the marathon but the 10 kilometers. The truth is that it is not the first time that I compete on the island, I competed in the Haría Extreme last year. I have a great memory from the moment I won the category of 26 kilometers. This time it will be different because it is a race on asphalt, I am sure it will be very special and I hope to manage to rise to the occasion!
We consider that Lanzarote International Marathon is a special marathon due to its route along the south coast, the number of participants … it is so different from the marathons held in large cities. Have you competed in a marathon of this type before? In which category will you compete? What are your feelings prior to the marathon?
Of course it is different to run by the sea through the south bay of the island … that does not happen in large cities … here you enjoy is a wonderful landscape.
As I have previously said, I am going to compete in the 10km category due to a knee injury, a a ruptured Baker’s cyst, which has prevented me from being 100% and I have been doing low-intensity workouts for two months to try to recover myself. It seems that I feel good and I see the glass as half full. I feel very comfortable in the 10k category and it probably is the one that best suited my conditions when I was in the high competition level.
I will try my best and enjoy a great experience regardless of the result.
More than 2,000 participants, more than 150 nationalities … all of them will meet on the starting line this Saturday. As an experienced and winning runner, what advice would you give to all those greatest distance runners or to those who will face a marathon for the first time?
You need a lot of time to be ready for a marathon. My advice is that people should set themselves a real goal according to their physical conditions. It’s a marathon and it’s a hard and complicated race. I would recommend saving energy at the beginning and not to force yourself.
I would also recommend to live the experience from the beginning to the end, from the moment you get to the island until you leave.
Thank you Chema for your time and advice. We wish you to enjoy #LanzaMarathon. See you at the finish line. Good luck!
See you on Saturday! I hope it is a great sport event and that all the people who go to Lanzarote enjoy the island as much as I do, if so, they will be delighted.
