#04 | Meet Cris Palomo
Cristina Palomo, spanish trailrunner, talks about her very first beginnings and about how sport is changing her life. She recently took part in three Snowrunning races in Spain and she is into trail just since 2019. A story that motivates us to keep improving to reach whatever we propose.
Tell us about you...
My name is Cristina Palomo, I am from Toledo so I am spanish and I’m a trailrunner. Beyond mountain running, I love the sea, reading, music and animals: everything related with nature. Also I love travelling to discover new places. I see myself as a very social person, I love to meet new people and share experiences, especially people loving mountain as much as I do.
You started running recently, and in a very short period of time it has become your passion and your day-by-day. What made you start running?
I start running in 2017 and trailrunning since 2019. I went to live in Málaga and I started running there. My only goal was taking a break and clearing up in my free time. As you said, now it has become my passion and my routine day-by-day.
What does running give to you personally? Has it become a lifestyle?
Running gives me freedom, improvement capacity, discipline... It teaches me many values like consistency and self-confidence. You can reach things when you work hard and believe in yourself. Now, even more than running, mountain has become my daily life. Sorrounded by mountains I have been able to get rid of my fears and now I can feel more powerful.
Trailrunning is a lifestyle that goes beyond just running... For me, it means to be connected with nature. I would never change the little things that running in this stunning places or getting to the top of a mountain give me. It is a lifestyle that I would like to keep forever: being on the mountains running, walking or skiing. I am fascinated by everything mountains involve.
Which goals have you proposed for this year?
This year, even though I am going to several races, my goal is to get to know myself, know my strengths and weaknesses and be able to practice in order to give my best next year.
As I have started recently in trailrunning, I need to know my boundaries and how far I can go. Also I want to find the discipline within trailrunning where I feel the most comfortable. This is why I go to different kinds of races: short distance, snowrunning, vertical km and ultra distance.
How do you organize in order to improve and achieve your goals?
I always look for somebody that guides me in the world of sport so I can learn the trainings I have to do when I am preparing for a race.
Even so, in this moment I am training alone because I think I know myself better and I know when I am failing, when I lack strenght or when I have to improve this or that. Finding somebody that trains you and achieves the best of you is not easy.
Your lifestyle is based in sport. Have you changed a lot of habits?
More than changing habits, I improved what I already did. There are things that you have been doing your whole life that are not bad but they don’t really benefit you. When you practice a lot of sport it is very important to know that some habits help you more than others. Food is an example. Even so, I can eat everything and I have a varied diet, but balanced.
Also, I quitted smoking some years ago, before starting running.
Do you remember your first race?
I do remember my first race, definitely, it was the 12 of November of 2017 in Vélez Málaga and it was a 6km race. I finished second in the women general and I couldn’t believe it. In that moment started my competitive vibe.
Your second race after lockdown and your first race in the snow, how has this experience been?
Running in the snow is an awesome experience. It has been really hard for me to adapt because where I live it never snows and I couldn’t practice much. Luckily with Filomena storm last season I could train a little...
Snowrunning is a hard discipline. I admire people that practice this sport because it makes you struggle a lot, it seams like you can’t move forward.
Find out more about Cris Palomo on her Instagram @crispula87