Hi!

In exactly 27 days, I’ll be standing on the starting line among 22,000 people ready to take part in the oldest and biggest ultramarathon in the world.

When I set the ten-year goal of qualifying for the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, I knew I’d take some detours along the way. I never expected to stick only with triathlon prep. The whole idea was to become healthier, stronger, and happier—not just to swim, ride, and run.

I imagined events like the Santiago Way as a gravel ride with friends, or the occasional adventure that might cross my path. But ultrarunning? That was never part of the picture.

And for one good reason:
I hate running.

No one has ever seen me excited about it. I like completing a run and seeing progress in my numbers or how it felt. I draw satisfaction from evolving. I may even enjoy having run. But I don’t look forward to running like I do with swimming or cycling.

I only run because “I have to.”

That’s what makes this whole thing even crazier.

The Text That Started It All

It all began with a message I got from Greg Karpinski, COO & Partner at KEO International Consultants, at 6:26am one morning in November.

Greg: I’m going to the Comrades this year. You should consider joining! Me: Should I? Greg: How could you miss this chance to go with a big group of guys to do the oldest and most iconic ultra-marathon in history?

“Fair point,” I thought. “But Francisca (my wife) will put some sense into this…”

While I waited for her to wake up, I Googled it. And I found incredible stories and testimonials about its epicness, its deep tradition, and the energy it creates.

When she finally stirred, I shared the message with her. After listening for all of three seconds, she looked at me and said:

“It sounds like an amazing idea!”

Wait—what?!
She was supposed to stop me, not fuel the fire!

With no arguments left, I registered that same day for the 2025 Comrades Marathon Down Run in South Africa: 89.98km from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

The Race and the Why

Comrades isn’t just a race. It’s history on foot. It cuts across the political and social history of South Africa, follows a strict "gun-to-gun" format, and comes with one simple rule: runners have exactly 12 hours to finish.

If someone had told me five years ago that I’d be writing these words to you, I would have laughed. I would’ve given you a dozen reasons why this would never happen.

And the strongest reason of all?

I don’t like to run.

So why am I doing this?

I’m Doing It Because I Don’t Like It

Honestly, that’s the best answer I’ve got.

When I signed up, I wasn’t even sure I’d go through with it. I was just getting back into training. I was still far from ready. I still dreaded every run. But something deep down told me I’d regret not going for it.

As the training picked up, I began searching for anything that could help me tackle this challenge—not just physically, but mentally. That’s when I found a book by Matt Fitzgerald. It helped me understand and finally make peace with a mental wound I’d been carrying since my first marathon in 2022.

Let me explain.

Breaking at Km35

During my first marathon, I broke down at kilometer 35 and walked most of the final 5 kilometers. I’ve been trying to understand why ever since.

Did I hit the infamous “Wall”?

I don’t think so. The Wall is a massive loss of energy that usually happens around km30, typically due to fuel depletion or dehydration. But I didn’t feel that. I wasn’t hurting. I wasn’t suffering unbearably.

My legs were fine-ish. But something in my brain just… shut off.

It simply said, “That’s enough.”

And so I stopped running.

That moment haunted me—until I read this sentence in Fitzgerald’s book “How bad you want it?”:

“What endurance athletes must endure above all is not actual effort but the perception of effort.”

That line hit me like a brick.

It turns out the mind—not the body—is the final decision-maker.

According to researcher Samuele Marcora’s psychobiological model of endurance, our ability to keep going isn’t determined by muscle fatigue or glycogen stores, but by how difficult the effort feels and how badly we want to continue.

It’s not about how tired the legs are. It’s about whether the brain still wants to tell them to move.

And on that day, my brain had had enough.

Now I Need to Know

That’s why Comrades is no longer just a race. It’s a necessity.

I need to go beyond the limits I thought I had. I need to find out what’s on the other side of discomfort—on the other side of that voice that says “stop.”

And so that’s what I’ll do.

With less than four weeks to go, there’s one thing I keep reminding myself:

“If you think you can do it, you’re right.
If you think you can’t do it, you’re also right.”

I don’t know what I’ll find out there, but I’m looking forward to discovering it.
And I hope I’ll have something meaningful to bring back and share with you.

Thanks for reading.

—Miguel

P.S. This week I logged my longest session yet—44,35km in 5h. Still don’t like running. Still going. 🫡