Nadia Ruiz shortly before leaving for the Los Angeles Marathon on March 19, 2023.
Photo: Nadia Ruiz / Courtesy
forty eight hours After running a new Los Angeles Marathon, Nadia Ruiz still feels the physical ravages of such a demanding effort: “I’m sore, my legs hurt, I’m hungry, sleepy.” She is tired, but nothing takes her smile away.
“When I suffer is when I learn. When I suffer, I learn how strong I am and what power I have inside,” Ruiz told La Opinión hours before starting on Sunday from Dodger Stadium to cover the mythical 26.2 miles (42,195 meters) of the marathon, this time with goal in Century City.
Nadia Ruiz is one of the most prominent and interesting runners in Los Angeles. She not only completed her 25th this past Sunday. Los Angeles marathon, but she crossed the barrier of 150 marathons in his career (all complete). She was recounting her experience before, during and after her career in a special video for La Opinión.
Nadia runs the Los Angeles Marathon every year -the city where she was born- with her father, Jorge Ruiz. Being able to hit the asphalt of the streets of Los Angeles allows them to share -and suffer- something special between them.
“We like to suffer,” says Ruiz. “The name of our team is Team Mala Vida”.
Jorge and Myriam Ruiz, Nadia’s mother, came to Los Angeles from Ecuador in 1984, shortly before Nadia was born.
“They left everything: they left money, family, [hicieron] everything they could to survive here as immigrants”reveals the athlete. “And that’s when I learned hard work, how to focus, discipline, but being proud of my roots, where I’m from, because being humble is very important.”
The first time she ran the Los Angeles marathon she was 14 years old and her father was 40. It was the beginning of an unlimited journey around the world.
Nadia admits that since she turned 30 it has been more difficult for her to run marathons, a reality that sooner or later all distance runners face.
“You have to sleep more, you have to eat much healthier, you have to take better care of yourself and also take care of yourself mentally, be very positive. And not just for running”, explains the woman who has accumulated more than 600 long-distance races in her notable sporting career.
She completed Sunday’s race in 4 hours and 13 seconds.
“It was a very special experience, with my family, with my boyfriend, with my dad. We’ve already run 25 Los Angeles Marathons,” says Ruiz, who says He will rest this week to recover, before returning to training ahead of the Boston (April 17) and Big Sur (April 30) marathons..
“I am very happy and with a lot of gratitude,” says the impressive athlete, a proud Latino from Los Angeles, the United States and Ecuador.
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