Living in a foreign country and learning a new language can be hard enough but Transworld Schools student Marino Morillo Fernandez from Venezuela added an extra challenge to his first year in America: running the San Francisco marathon! On July 29th, Marino completed the San Francisco Marathon in 2 hours and 57 minutes, finishing 64thout of 50,000 runners and 16thin his category.

With the first race held in 1977, the San Francisco Marathon’s 26.2 mile course takes its runners through the historic neighborhoods and past the iconic landmarks of the city - including crossing the famous Golden Gate Bridge. This grueling but scenic race is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon and the Olympic Team Trials Qualifier race.

Marino successfully managed to balance his daily classes at Transworld Schools in San Francisco with a strenuous training schedule, no easy feat! He trains at 6am before the start of his classes, and on weekends he runs to Sausalito for long-distance practice. He also follows a special pre-race diet, loading up on carbs in the week prior to the race with just a banana on race day.

“I started running the summer of 2016, and my first marathon was in Caracas during my time in University. It was amazing to run through San Francisco. A lot of people came out and lined the streets to cheer on the runners! I struggled going down the hills as I prefer to go uphill.  At mile 22, the race became difficult for me and I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish. The most emotional moment of the race was crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, the wind was so strong, and it demanded a lot of me as a runner.”

Marino says that his goal is to run in the top five marathons in the world, he’s already competed in Boston and San Francisco, so has London, Tokyo and Berlin left to go!

Transworld Schools is very proud of Marino’s accomplishment (he’s also a great student of English language by the way) and thanks him for inspiring us to lace up our shoes and get out there and run!