“Bathing daily in the sea cures all ailments. This is my secret.”

– Add in 351 marathons and 45 ultra-box tests. Do you have no limits?

As long as my body can handle it, I will keep running because it is my life. My best mark is 3 hours 20 minutes, but I don’t look at the clock anymore. Now I finish it in five hours, but I’m enjoying it. I was starting to like long-distance events, apparently at the age of 45 already. I know both Spain and Europe. It is a hobby that has no limits for me. It’s my way of life. The best thing about this marathon craze is how many friends I have in Spain and Europe.

– His life was not easy, first he worked in the fields and then worked as a civil guard.

– I did professional agricultural training and did not get a job. In 1980, when I finished my military service, I joined the Civil Guard. I had the chance of an irrigation supervisor, but the notification came too late. Before that, I used to work in the fields, cutting down pine and fig trees. I plowed, mowed, picked tomatoes… whatever came out. work hard. Now I say without problems that I have been a civil guard since I was 23 and that I have been assigned to the Basque Country and Navarre. Fortunately, I had no problems of any kind, but I couldn’t honestly say what I did in the most difficult years.

– How did you get started in the marathon world?

– At the age of 25, I started to love running to get in shape. It came from two years of doing very little exercise. It started with a few popular races, then countless half marathons until I lost count. I loved the healthy environment I found, with very calm people. I started making friends, and I realized that this was my life and I am hooked to this day.

– Do you remember your first marathon?

– This is unforgettable (laughs). It was March 10, 1991 in Barcelona. He was a beginner and didn’t have a lot of references. I didn’t prepare it very well and spent more than four hours to finish it. I left very happy because I felt like a marathon runner. The next year I didn’t do anything after being transferred to Pamplona. Later, I ran for the first time in the 5th Marathon World Cup in San Sebastian, running 3 hours 22 minutes, which was my personal best.

–How did you discover the Martin Phys Marathon?

– It was a carambola. I had a half marathon in Pamplona, ​​which ran through my gate. But I found out that a marathon was being opened in Vitoria by Martín Fiz, an athlete I have always admired and whose career I have followed. I didn’t think about it and went there for the first version in 2003. Since then, I’ve played them all. I loved the ambience, they always welcomed me as if I were at home. It is a beautiful city with many parks and people are very hospitable. So this Sunday you’ll see me cross the finish line, and there will already be 20 copies (laughs).

35 marathons in 2018

– How many marathons can you run in a year?

– Since the year 95, I began to do a lot. For my 50th birthday, I thought of breaking the record for the marathon completed in one year and I managed to make 26. The record was held by an athlete from Zala who did it in 2005, with a total of 25. Enough for me and I wanted to break my own record when I’m sixty years old. That year, I turned 35. crazy! Some of what I did outside of Spain. I went to Italy, did two in the UK, Liverpool and Manchester, in France one in Montpellier. The last 15 were in the last 15 weeks of the year, i.e. 4 in September, 4 in October, 4 in November, 3 in December, and the last one in Pisa, Italy. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repeat such madness because obviously when I’m 70, I won’t be the same physically. Although I will continue as long as I can.

–How was 2023?

– a little weaker but because I’ve devoted myself a bit more to superfunding. I spent 24 hours in Barcelona and then had all my teeth removed to fix dentures. I’m still in treatment. I ran the Almagro Marathon in Ciudad Real in January, two in February in Seville, Castellón, Madrid… I did 24 hours of tests without sleep, one on the track and then I went to Italy for the Six Day World Championships where I covered 355 kilometres.

– What is the Six Day World Championships?

– I’ve only raced two races in this discipline, one in Hungary and the other in Italy. I actually filed in the super boxes because I added 45 but I needed to learn more about the six day races. It takes place around a campsite where you have food and a bungalow to sleep in, but you organize yourself. You can rest as much as you want but the more you do, the less miles you’ll burn. Some sleep only two hours a day.

– Do you have any secrets in your willingness to endure many kilometers?

When I have a marathon a week, I don’t train. What I do is rest and recover. My only secret is the sea. I live in Castellón. I take a shower from April to December for 1 hour a day. Heals all my ailments. If there are two or three weeks where I don’t race, I do extreme sports and do two or three hours a day. slowly and quickly. After the Vitoria Marathon I will be doing a 100km run in Santander. I don’t go to the gym even though I have to work out harder, but I’m lazy.

– How many countries have you traveled and what is missing?

– I’ve traveled three-quarters of Europe. Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Bulgaria and Portugal. In some of them I repeated, for example, the Paris marathon that I ran three times. I turned 65 this year and wanted to go to New York. I haven’t crossed the pond but it’s more complicated because it costs more money. In Europe and Spain, I organize myself better and look for cheap flights and accommodation.