Interview Nr. 33 mit Nuno Valente
Nuno ist seit längerem Mitglied unseres Vereins und der Name steht für Geschwindigkeit! Er ist ein exzellenter Läufer. Woher er diese Schnelligkeit hat, findet man im folgenden Interview (Antworten auf Englisch).
Wann und wie bist du zum Laufen gekommen?
As a typical child growing in the countryside, I was always very active, running and cycling around and playing the whole time. When I was 12 I realised that there was an athletics group in my school and joined it. Since then, I got passionate about it. Despite it was evident that my area was endurance I did try (and train for almost) all the disciplines when I started. When I was 14 y.o. I started with race-walking, which gradually became my „speciality“. (A funny fact is that when I was 16, I was still training a bit of other disciplines, I managed to qualify and represent my district/region in a national competition in 2 disciplines: 5.000m race-walking and discus!) When I came to Switzerland 10 years ago, I decided that I had enough of race-walking and, after a break, I resumed training but only focused on running.
Was waren deine persönlichen Highlights beim Laufen/an Wettkämpfe?
I did have a few very great moments: I won the 5.000m race-walking competition mentioned above, which was my first victory on a national level. After that, I remember another 5000m race-walking competition on the track indoors where I improved my PB by (since then set at 21’21“), which came very unexpectedly, and I remembered of speaking with my coach about it and telling him how easy it felt. And, in recent years, many marathon finishes (Basel 2016, Porto 2019, Berlin 2022 and Vienna 2023) were somehow a flashback to that moment, and I felt like flying.
Was hast du noch für Ziele im Laufen?
In first place, I want be able to keep on running, injure-free, and enjoying it. If you ask me about times over specific distances: below 1h15’00“ on the half, and 2h35’00“ on the marathon. However, I won’t cry (too much) about it if I don’t get there 😄.
Wie bist du zum BRC gekommen?
At the beginning of 2016 I wanted to be part of a club and have a structured training. I got to contact Rainer (former trainer of BRC), who told me that BRC was about to be founded. I took some time to make up my mind, but in January 2017 I became a member of the club.
Welches ist dein Lieblingstraining beim BRC?
All the training units are important, and I try to get enough of all, regardless on my own or when join for the group trainings on Thursdays. However, when I go to Schützenmatte Stadium, I like to push the limits in an intervals training, as well I enjoy the BRC biathlon (throwing darts and running).
Was gefällt dir besonders beim BRC? Nimmst du an den Social Events teil?
I like the fact that it is a really diverse mixture of people, from many perspectives (competitive vs fitness runner, gender, age, nationality). Despite I do not come by that often to the yearly gathering (Generalversammlung) or to the BRC Hock, I find great that that these moments/events exist
Was ist deine Lieblingswettkampfdistanz?
I like all the distances, but there’s something special about the marathon. However, if you want to prepare for it properly and make it THE goal, it can feel like a loooong (and sometimes bumpy and painful) road, also requiring a longer time to heal afterwards. And, precisely because of that, there lies the merit of short races (5km-10km): you can decide last minute to join, and a few days later you’re ready for another.
Was machst du beruflich und hast du noch andere Hobbies?
I work in a lab at Roche. As additional sports, I bike and (try to) swim 😅.
Du warst früher 10-Kämpfer, wenn ich das richtig in Erinnerung habe. Welches war deine Lieblings-Disziplin und wieso?
No, I was never a decathlete, but as mentioned above I did try all the disciplines (and competed in separated events). The biggest multi-event I took part in was a hexathlon or heptathlon, when I was 14-15 y.o. I can’t pick one as a favourite, but I can admit that the short and speedy ones weren’t any close to that (I was always, and still am, a turtle compared to others. However I like to watch them on TV). From all the disciplines, the most challenging / difficult are probably the javelin and the pole vault. Hurdles and steeple are the risky ones.
Was liebst du besonders an der Schweizer Mentalität und welche Eigenschaften können Schweizer von den Portugiesen übernehmen?
I like the punctuality, politeness, friendliness, and the fact that Swiss people follow the rules (if they don’t like one, they just make a voting to change it). But Swiss people could learn to be a bit more relaxed.
Wie erholst du dich am besten nach einem Marathon?
Drink, eat, and rest well. More seriously, after the last marathons, I went for a very easy and short runs in the first days after the race. It might hurt a bit, but the recovery is quicker, and the return to the usual training is then smoother.
Wie viele Stunden investiert du aktuell in den Sport pro Woche?
10+ hours.
Nuno, herzlichen Dank für das Interview 🙂