The 29th Rector's Cross-Country Race 2017
This is the 29th year
next year, it will be 30 years since we started
At the beginning everything seems very new
but it's been going for a long time now
and actually, it’s a great initiative and it's still going
which is good news.
This year, lots of people have taken part
about the same numbers as in previous years
307 runners have signed up
240 men and 67 women from all the universities in Madrid.
For the UNED it means many things; firstly
it could seem that in a university like ours
where there are fewer young people
with time available for academic activities and other things
sports would not be important
but we decided to foster it
and in fact there are more and more associate centres and faculties
holding their own sports events. The cross-country race
started a long time ago and I think it is an important element
in the UNED’s visibility
and inclusion in something very central to university life
although it is not academic study it is university sport
From that point of view,
the Rector’s Cross-country Race is a very interesting event
and it is highly connected with what the UNED aims to be.
On your marks
Get ready
[Starting pistol]
The route is the same as in previous years
7,500 metres for the men's race
and 5,000 metres for the women's
and they must do two laps while the men do three
around the Moncloa Campus in Madrid
This is the first time I've ever done the university cross-country race
and it was quite hard actually, because of the hills
I started slowly at first
but I then I stepped up the pace
and as I left my fellow-competitors behind
I set my own pace, and in the end I came first.
This year I’ve been recovering from an injury
a relapse of Osteitis pubis which I had many years ago
I had a slight relapse
I had 3 months without doing intervals.
I wasn't sure about the race.
But, these two last weeks I’ve been doing better
but I wasn't confident, so I wore spiked running shoes
which are always good for speed
though it's risky as you come down harder on the tarmac.
I thought, “I'll wear spiked-shoes though nobody else does
so I can get ahead on the earth tracks
and not slide down in the downhill sections.”