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Valentin Poncelet on his Wings for Life performance, growing in endurance sports, paying it forward, guiding in the special olympics
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On today’s episode of Just In Stride, we’re joined by Valentin Poncelet, a Belgian long-distance runner who consistently tops global leaderboards. Most recently, he finished 4th worldwide at the Wings for Life World Run in Breda, covering an astounding 67.4 km—and placed 1st locally, setting records and inspiring others.
Valentin isn’t just focused on results; he’s passionate about using his platform to support others—running events to raise funds for spinal cord research and guiding visually impaired athletes in marathon events . His races tell a story of endurance, purpose, and giving back, both on the roads and behind the scenes.
In this episode, Valentin dives into the grit behind his standout performances, how his involvement in charity and coaching shapes his perspective, and what drives him to keep pushing the limits. Expect plenty of insight into what it takes to run far—for yourself and for others.
Transcript
Podcast Introduction and Sponsorships
00:00:03
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Justin Stride podcast. I'm your host, Justin Pugliese. If you love endurance sports, you've definitely come to the right place. On this show, we'll talk to athletes, coaches, and professionals who can help us reach our true potential.
00:00:18
Speaker
Being a student of distance running for over 10 years and interviewing people in the sport for the last five, I've learned a ton, but there's always more to discover. Everyone has a story and I know you'll resonate with each of our guests as we embark on this new journey together.
00:00:34
Speaker
Join us at home, on the road, or while you run. Together we'll have some fun. So follow along on Instagram at JustInStridePod and your favorite podcast platform and prepare to be inspired.
00:00:47
Speaker
Come along for the ride with Just In Stride. This episode is presented by our friends at Exact Nutrition, a tasty and healthy way to fuel your body before, during, and after a solid training session.
00:01:00
Speaker
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00:01:13
Speaker
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00:01:26
Speaker
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00:01:41
Speaker
When I spoke with Ryan Hurley, the founder of Lagoon on episode 37 of the podcast, I learned just how important the right pillow is for optimal sleep and performance. After taking their two minute quiz and finding my perfect match, I finally started waking up refreshed and ready to tackle my goals.
00:01:58
Speaker
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Meet Valentin Poulslet, Belgian Runner
00:02:10
Speaker
On today's episode of Justin's Stride, we're joined by Valentin Poulslet, a Belgian long distance runner who consistently tops the global leaderboards. Most recently, he finished fourth worldwide at the Wings for Life World Run in Breda, covering an astounding 67.4 kilometers and placed first locally, setting records and inspiring others.
00:02:31
Speaker
Valentin isn't just focused on results. He's passionate about using his platform to support others. running events to raise funds for spinal cord research and guiding visually impaired athletes in marathon events.
00:02:44
Speaker
His races tell a story of endurance, purpose, and giving back, both on the roads and behind the scenes. In this episode, Valentin dives into the grit behind his standout performances, how his involvement in charity and coaching shapes his perspective, and what drives him to keep pushing the limits.
00:03:02
Speaker
Expect plenty of insight into what it takes to run far, for yourself and for others. Welcome to the Justin Stride podcast, Valentin. How are you feeling?
Wings for Life Event Experience
00:03:12
Speaker
I'm feeling great. Thank you for having me. Yeah, you're welcome. ah I saw your name come across my Wings for Life Instagram feed. I've been a fan of that event for quite some time now. I used to help organize it actually in Montreal, ah the the virtual event.
00:03:29
Speaker
But I saw you did quite well this weekend and I i just wanted to touch base with you and see how how it went and how you're feeling and And yeah, just how that all came about.
00:03:40
Speaker
Yeah, and indeed. I yeah had a pretty good day on ah on Sunday. It was my third time running the the Wings for Life. My second time in ah in Breda. And yeah, I was able to ah to come to come away with the win for a second year in a row in Breda.
00:04:01
Speaker
So I also ran and a new PB, so I'm extremely happy. Still a little bit tired, but yeah, I have time for for some rest now. Sure, and and I mean, it's it's it's of course like a race for charity, which is really great. I think the the cause is what attracted me at first, but like how do you even train for some kind of event like that that's basically unlimited? Because for anybody who doesn't know,
00:04:30
Speaker
The race ends when ah either either a virtual car catches you or a real life car catches you, which is, I think, the case in Netherlands where you were.
00:04:41
Speaker
yeah Yeah, so in Netherlands, they organize a flagship event. So the flagship runs. ah There you have an actual car, but you can also participate, as you said, ah via the app.
00:04:54
Speaker
And then it's a virtual car. So basically, and everybody in the whole world can can can run the race. and That's what also makes it makes makes it pretty great.
00:05:06
Speaker
um This year they had 310,000 participants worldwide. um and yeah, it so you ah you have two ways of of of participating.
00:05:20
Speaker
Yeah. And they raised a ton of money. Like I read the number like 8.6. Yes. Something like that. Yeah. All going to like spinal cord research and all the projects that ah take place all around the world to kind of try and develop that further and find a cure for for those athletes that are... It's actually the biggest running race in in the world.
00:05:44
Speaker
Yeah. And you're taking off like like at the same time as everybody in the world, right? No matter where you're on the globe, the kind of the time sets. and like in I know in Montreal, it was 7 or
00:05:59
Speaker
Yeah, it's I think it's always at 1 p.m. Paris time. so um So yeah, and then everybody in the world, some some people run at night, some people run very early in the morning.
00:06:15
Speaker
ah So yeah, it's it it depends a little bit where where you are and when the start is, but usually they stay they they keep it like that also. So if ah if it's in Europe, it's 1 p.m., which is okay, but sometimes you can also have some pretty warm days in early May.
00:06:34
Speaker
um So 1pm is also yeah not ideal actually because the the temperature can get pretty high, um especially because you yeah if you want to to make it far, you run for about four hours.
00:06:48
Speaker
yeah Not that easy.
Training Strategies and Adaptation
00:06:51
Speaker
So so as i like as a two hour something marathon or 2.15, I think as your I saw it was your best, like how do you yeah prepare for a race like this?
00:06:59
Speaker
Especially if you're, you know for most people that going out, they they're doing it for someone or they're either walking it or or they're running it. Um, but you're going out to kind of win this type of race. Like, is it easier to prepare for something like that?
00:07:14
Speaker
or is it more difficult because you don't know where the finish is going to be? Yeah. So, um, What I did in the past, the first two times that I ran the race, um I just did it for fun.
00:07:29
Speaker
I would just have a good marathon buildup for a marathon in April. And then i would just... rest for like a week after the marathon, uh, which was my big goal, uh, like the two 15 or 17 that I've run also, right before the wings for life.
00:07:48
Speaker
And then, uh, yeah, just, yeah I think there's like two or three weeks between the marathon and the wings for life. And I would just do some, some, some easy jogs and maybe one time at tempo at Wings for Life pace and then just show up to the race.
00:08:05
Speaker
um So I think that's kind of one way to to see it if you are more like a half marathon marathon runner. um This year I changed a little bit because I didn't plan a fast marathon in April.
00:08:19
Speaker
ah So I had more time to work towards the race. ah But also I didn't really pick for... a marathon. So I didn't know how my shape was going to be because I just did some slower tempo, more like 340 K. But I didn't really tried to run a sub 2.15 marathon. So I wasn't peaking, but at the same time I did some volume and more volume ah at Wings for Life pace.
00:08:48
Speaker
And it also worked out ah pretty well. So I think the two the two different ways to to to prepare for the for the race worked ah for me. And then of course you have some ultra runners who also run the race and they're used to to running.
00:09:04
Speaker
races that are sometimes 100k and for them it's not it's not that long. So yeah, it depends little bit. and and yeah And the top four guys I saw, like the winner was seventy one k right? so Yeah.
00:09:18
Speaker
top four guys were within, you know, you finished at 67 in a bit, so within about four kilometers of each other. um so is it difficult to gauge where you are? Like, what's the strategy like when you don't know? Like, do you first of all, do you know who's competing in the race?
00:09:35
Speaker
Not really. Yeah. and and then And then, like, do you know where the others are in the race when you're running? or do Yeah, not really so. You know where you are.
00:09:48
Speaker
ah For me, it was in Breda. So I knew who was competing against me in Breda. um And we started the race together. So I knew, OK, this guy one of the guys that I'm going to be fighting with ah for the win.
00:10:02
Speaker
And one time, some some guy on the bike came came next to us and he said, yeah, I think you guys are seven and eight in the world at the moment. And he said we were coming from, I think, place 15.
00:10:15
Speaker
So we are actually making making some good moves. And he just said, yeah, keep going because you might ah catch some some more people. ah But when I finished the race, I asked the guys in the car, yeah, do you know what what place I got worldwide?
00:10:30
Speaker
and even them, that they didn't know at the moment. I think five minutes after some interviews, they said, yeah, you finish fourth. um So, yeah, so my goal was to to win Breda, try to run further than the year ran, the distance i I did last year.
00:10:50
Speaker
And I was just, okay, you know, the the world ranking is a bonus. yeah Because I'm still kind of new to to to the distance and and I didn't really...
00:11:01
Speaker
going with the mindset, okay, I'm going to go to Breda and I'm going to win the whole thing. ah So I was more, yeah, I want to win Breda and then we'll see ah cherry on the cake is ah is to have a ah good worldwide finish.
00:11:15
Speaker
Right, exactly. and And what was the most you ran previously to that since you're more training marathons? You mean the biggest the longest distance in training? right Yeah. the Last year, actually, during the race, I ran 66.6.
00:11:34
Speaker
And this year, I ran 67.4. So that's the two longest runs that I've done in my life. What I changed a little bit this year is, instead of as I said, instead of peaking for a marathon in April, I did two marathons in March.
00:11:52
Speaker
with like three weeks. ah They were three weeks away from each other. ah Pretty tough marathons. One on the Formula One, the racetrack in Belgium with more than 800 meters in d plus ah where I ran like 234, like kind of tempo. i was I wanted to run a little bit on Wings for Life tempo.
00:12:18
Speaker
And I also did one at the end of March where I ran 228, also with like some big hills, also more...
00:12:30
Speaker
like a training. um I pushed a little bit more than the the previous one, but I didn't go a lot. um So i wanted to like, yeah, trying to have like some some good kilometers in the legs before the the Wings for Life.
00:12:45
Speaker
Sure. and And so like to just me me, it sounded more like an ultra build than than more than a marathon build. But how was the, like, I know for the virtual stuff that we set up, we did like loops of like six or seven k I know in Zug here in Switzerland, they did like a a loop and then they did a you ran out.
00:13:05
Speaker
Is that how they set it up in, um, in Breda also? I'm just curious how the courses do change. In Breda, you have three, uh, I did three loops of 20K. Okay. So it's, yeah, you, you really have loops.
00:13:18
Speaker
Uh, so loops of 20K, um They make sure it's long enough so that you don't ah have people that are still running that you have to come by pass by, you know, or the the car. So it's ah it's actually pretty pretty well organized that, you know, you're never going to have anybody in the way of the car in the way.
00:13:38
Speaker
Because if they do shorter loops, then you're going to catch up with the car because the car doesn't drive very fast at the start. Okay. And I guess, did you have a time to lap people?
00:13:51
Speaker
in that moment or is 20k like long enough for most people yeah okay no you don't have time by the time you finish the first lap the car uh has already caught up with a lot of people and they're out of the race and the you don't come back to the car uh from behind so it's okay nice um so for for anybody right running the race what would you say is like a good strategy for for this type of race, you know? um Yeah, think no- Because that's also something like, they get they get like a 30 minute head start, you know, or from the car. Yeah, so you get a 30 minute head start. And then what I like is, yeah, it's a bit mathematics. You can just go on the on the website or you go on the app and you can set up a goal and you know exactly the distance that you can cover and the time and the speed ah per kilometer until the car catches you.
00:14:45
Speaker
ah So that's what I do for my strategy. I just put in a goal, like I think it was 67 kilometers and I knew, okay, it's 339 per K and I'm going to be running for ah four hours and six minutes, something like that.
00:15:03
Speaker
Okay. So you're pretty you were pretty bang on. Yeah, yeah yeah was I was lucky enough to to be able to to keep up with the pace because last year I started also around the same um um average speed, but I yeah i think the last 10k were a bit more difficult.
00:15:22
Speaker
I was but running more around like 355 the end. um This year I was able to run almost even splits. um But like this year I had also a a few friends that wanted to run also because they saw me last year and they said, oh, it's it's a nice concept I want to to try, but not really runners, you know just people that run maybe one one time a week.
00:15:46
Speaker
ah yeah My advice was just yet go on the website, check what do you think you can run um based on on the speed and and and the distance, but don't try to start too fast. actually It's actually like a and any typical race that you would run on a Sunday.
00:16:04
Speaker
ah You don't have to outrun the car. You don't have to speed up. You just have to run even splits and try to be in control as long as possible. who That's it. Yeah. yeah good Good advice for sure.
00:16:18
Speaker
And what about the nutrition? How did that look? Were you able to keep all the nutrition on you? Did you have, because you were doing loops, did it, was there opportunities to pick up more fuel along the way? Yeah. So the elite athletes from the race are able to also to drop off some some nutrition on the course, or you can also have someone who carries your nutrition on the bike.
00:16:42
Speaker
They cannot give you the bottles of the gels when they are riding the bike, but they can stop on the road and they can hand it to you. So that's what I did. So I had some some guy from Red Bull Belgium um who came along for some content.
00:17:01
Speaker
And ah he stopped every 5K. I asked him to to give me a bottle of Orgel. And that's also something that really helped me this year is I was able to have really my nutrition on point.
00:17:16
Speaker
I took all the gels because I always make like a nutrition goal ah that I want to follow like during the race. But what realized is even for the marathons after kilometer 30, it's sometimes difficult on the stomach.
00:17:32
Speaker
to ah to to get all your nutrition in. And sometimes you just take like half of a gel or you just have one sip of ah of of your your drink that you prepare.
00:17:43
Speaker
And I was really surprised because it's the first time this year that I was really able to drink every 5K and to take a gel also 5K. So I did 5K, 15, 25, 35, with then 10, 20, 30, and with the gel.
00:17:54
Speaker
fifteen twenty five thirty five and so on with liquid and then ten twenty thirty and so on with ah with the Wow. Okay, nice. And and what do you what what are your goals for nutrition?
00:18:07
Speaker
Because I know it's it's a topic that a lot of athletes talk about now. it's ah It's super, super important. I think athletes are really grasping that more than ever in terms of like how much intake they need per for hour, let's say.
00:18:21
Speaker
Obviously, it depends on the intensity of the sport that you're doing. But what what do how do you look at that now? Yeah. Yeah. I don't really look at it like I have to have a certain amount.
00:18:35
Speaker
ah like i don't I don't calculate amount per hour, ah but I really try to to take what I'm used to in training and to do that during the race.
00:18:47
Speaker
Of course, in the training, i often consume less. Because, you know, the gels, you have to have a lot of gels if you want to ah to to do the nutrition every key session.
00:19:02
Speaker
um But yeah, what i i what I do is I just try to to really ah get enough in every 5K from the start that I know that I'm not going to have some troubles at 30K because I missed the the first few sessions.
00:19:21
Speaker
drink stations. And yeah, I'm more like experience based. So I know from my experience from the various marathons that I've done in the past, ah the previous Wings for Life ah competitions, and being in the sport for a long time,
00:19:37
Speaker
I know what I need and how I feel when I take the gels. And um' orbi I base myself on my own experience rather than what other people do or what I can read ah in articles.
00:19:51
Speaker
I know what works for me and what works for me is the strategy that that I just told you. Yeah, exactly. Well, it's good. You got to do what works for you. And that's the most important thing, how the body reacts to the effort levels that you're getting.
00:20:04
Speaker
Any other reason for doing Wings for Life? Like, how did you, like, find out about it? where Were you associated with, like, because it's a Red Bull charity, of course, like Wings for Life.
00:20:15
Speaker
Yeah, so... um A bit like you, it's ah it's a race that I've followed for quite some time now. um And I've always been attracted to to the concept and and I've always liked the fact that it's like very unique and and you all run together in the world and And I really love it.
00:20:37
Speaker
ah But I didn't participate until three years ago because I had other goals. I was more focused on the track, on the half marathon. And I always thought, yeah, you know, why would I go run 60 or 70K right now if if I'm like a 5K runner or a 10K runner?
00:20:58
Speaker
And then the same, I moved up to the marathon, And then I was like, if I'm running a marathon, maybe I should focus on the marathon instead of having fun on this race.
00:21:09
Speaker
um But at the end, yeah, I just decided to include it in my in my training and my racing schedule after a big marathon because I really wanted to try
Charity Races and Personal Growth
00:21:23
Speaker
it.
00:21:23
Speaker
And I had some some good contacts with some people at Red Bull. um um So i was lucky enough to... to to be actually the Belgian athlete who would be featured um on the on the Red Bull Instagram, on the social media. So when I told them that I was interested in the race, ah they immediately said, okay, you know what, we're going to come, we're going to film it, we're going to make some...
00:21:51
Speaker
some fun content when you run it. um And that's also why I like the races because I have a lot of support from from them. um And I like the brand. I like what they do.
00:22:04
Speaker
So, yeah. What is there through that? Was there also opportunities to meet anybody? um You know, they have a lot of athletes who have been affected by spinal cord injuries, stuff ah stuff of that nature that they maybe like, I know I got to meet a few that like kind of open your eyes to the sport and kind of give you a sense of gratitude ah just towards movement in general.
00:22:29
Speaker
ah Still in touch with a few of them today from Canada. Yeah, and also um I went to the Paralympic Games also um because I'm running with a...
00:22:42
Speaker
visually impaired runner. So we went to the, we ran together at the Paris Olympics, Paralympics in August last year. ah So I was in the team with Belgium, with a lot of people ah in in wheelchairs.
00:22:57
Speaker
And so I'm also like kind of in the Paralympic team for my role as a guide. And so I've i've had the opportunity to to talk with them, to to to share, to love, ah to spend the week with them in the Paralympic village.
00:23:12
Speaker
And also ah with the connection with Red Bull in Breda, I'm also invited before the race ah to to go and meet other athletes. And we run for someone in Breda who had wild the ski accident, who is always there also, and who also likes to do a little speech and share his story. And so we are connecting and also before the race.
00:23:40
Speaker
I mean, yeah, it's incredible what some of these athletes have gone through. with like How would you say that's impacted you? do you Like, I know it's it's touched me for sure. um Having been a part of it, like you got you get to meet these athletes ah being part of the Olympics too with a Paralympic athlete. Like, how would you say that impacts you as ah as a person, as an athlete?
00:24:02
Speaker
And why do you like to, you know, why do you like to give back in that way? Yeah, you know, it's ah first of all, i think it's very inspiring what they do when when you see at the Paralympic Games, for example, or or my friend, because now it's it's really a a friend who is ah yes has 10% vision.
00:24:22
Speaker
And waszib what he's able to do is is really amazing. He he runs a 2.32 marathon. ah So it's yeah it's it's it's crazy. ah And so, yeah, when when you're with When I'm with him, i don't even see that he has disability.
00:24:40
Speaker
And that's something that I i really like also. it's We just laugh about everything. ah we we We really connect. And it doesn't matter if if you have one leg or if you have ah one arm, you you're still a great human.
00:24:55
Speaker
And that's something also that I like. And I think the they also... have the same sense of humor and sometimes sometimes they're even more funny because because they had something that happened to them and they can laugh about it.
00:25:09
Speaker
yeah Yeah, it's amazing actually that that the spirit their spirit is so strong. That's something that always... surprises me. Like you, when you meet them, maybe at first you feel bad or you feel like that this is like some sense of misfortune that, you know, that something's bad happened to them, but then their spirit is the thing that like always surprises me the most, how like positive and how how kind and how funny they are towards like this very thing that affected them so profoundly, you know, it's special. Yeah, it's crazy.
00:25:45
Speaker
And so do you train with them regularly? Like I've always been curious, like how does that work when you have to, you know, they have to trust you and you have to yeah lead the way, you know? So now with my friend that I went to ah to Paris with, um ah we the connection is is really smooth.
00:26:04
Speaker
um So when we run together, Yeah, we we still have to practice a little bit, but we it's like riding a bike. you know you we We got it.
00:26:15
Speaker
ah the the arm ah ah The arms are good. The legs are good. ah we We know the signals. We can communicate. i know what I have to do.
00:26:28
Speaker
I know the obstacles that he sees, the obstacles that he doesn't see. ah So I don't have to talk all the time either. I know for the bottles or also know his weaknesses.
00:26:39
Speaker
um But at the start, ah to be honest, yeah it was it was pretty pretty tough because the guide really has to adapt to the style of running of the athlete and not the other way around because you want the athlete to perform at its best. And when you're the guide, it doesn't really matter how you feel, it's the athlete first.
00:27:00
Speaker
um So I was really trying to to yeah to run like him. And we were a little bit pulling, and and it wasn't very smooth. um And actually, fun story, he contacted me. I already knew Martin before.
00:27:19
Speaker
the the before last year but he contacted me actually in june for uh the paralympic marathon in in september because he said yeah i need you uh i need a new guy on my team um so We have ah three months, basically, ah to get ready for ah for Paris. And I was like, OK, challenge accepted. Let's do it. so game The first two runs were a bit tough.
00:27:43
Speaker
And after that, I think we went the the third run. We went like on a two-hour long run together. And at the end of the run, we were like, okay, we got it. We didn't pull on the rope. It felt really like like we had the connection, but it took like ah two hours of ah of ah two two times, two hours before we we got it. So I think we got it quite fast.
00:28:10
Speaker
um And also the fact that I have a better PB, I can more control ah the pace and I can more control um the the the body movements and his body language.
00:28:23
Speaker
And I can adapt myself and still be quite fresh when I'm running the race so that I can help him, guide him and give him his bottles, his chills.
00:28:35
Speaker
So I'm really trying to to to give him the full service, you know? Yeah, yeah. I was going to say, like, who does that? But I assumed it was you. I just... but Because they it must be like such an added pressure like if you don't have that practice in. that like This guy is depending on you to a certain extent. to like He's got the ability to to do it, but you really have to... like i mean the The word guide, I think, is the best word for it. Yeah, and and you have one chance. You know you have the the bottle on the table, and if you don't grab it for him, then he misses one of the...
00:29:06
Speaker
one of the the stations. so And you know in the marathon, you don't want to miss any bottles. ah So you kind of have the pressure because he's not going to grab it. So you have to grab it. um So yeah, it's a but it's fun. And then you actually, what I love about it is Yeah, it's it's a team, you know.
00:29:25
Speaker
It's a team effort. um He doesn't go to the games without a guide. And actually, you don't go either without him. So it's really like ah like ah a great story.
00:29:36
Speaker
And on top of that, I asked him and the other guy, because he has two guides for the games, I asked them to come to Breda. And they actually paced me together ah for the first 40k of the Wings for Life.
00:29:49
Speaker
Wow, that's cool. That's amazing. who We did the food circle. and So, yeah, that's special. That's special. Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's and it's like through that passion of running, right? Like, yeah, of course.
00:30:03
Speaker
You see, you know, you don't have to see the sport the same way, I guess, um to put it that way. ah to be able to enjoy it with somebody and experience And we all have our own goals and we have our individual goals, but we can still find some some ways to to train together, to to do some races together.
00:30:24
Speaker
um so yeah, it's a really great collaboration. And no, it's it's just my friend, you know, it's not the it's not an athlete anymore. It's just just my friend. Yeah, amazing.
00:30:34
Speaker
Very, very cool.
Valentin's Running Journey
00:30:36
Speaker
So maybe, ah Valentin, tell us, ah you know, we talked about Wings for Life and stuff, but I always like to go to back to the beginning to figure out, you know, where do you come from? Like, how did you get involved in sports? Were you athletic as a kid?
00:30:48
Speaker
How did running come into all this? How did it become a part of your life? So I'm from ah Belgium, first of all. and the south speaking part but now i live in in the northern part um so i speak french and and dutch um i started playing sports i think from a really young age uh some tennis first and then i played some field hockey uh very popular in belgium uh our national team is is amazing the they were yeah European Olympic world champions.
00:31:21
Speaker
So very popular sports here in Belgium. I played like, I think for 10 years ah from my, yeah, from like five to 15.
00:31:33
Speaker
And that's about the time that in the team, we started to have some ah guys that would go up to the next level, like the ah regional team or the national team.
00:31:44
Speaker
uh, I would get a bit frustrated because some of my very good friends would be selected and I wouldn't. And I would always like be the guy just not good enough.
00:31:55
Speaker
So i I think I was good, but just not good enough to to make it to the next next level. And at the same time, my brother who was three years ah three years older than me, was doing athletics.
00:32:06
Speaker
So when I didn't have practice for field hockey, I would sometimes go run with him and... um I think a few times I went to ah tour to a race, um and I think the the first two races that I did ah without really any training, just from from my condition in field hockey, I won in my age category.
00:32:27
Speaker
And then I was like okay, you know, maybe maybe I'm better at running than than playing hockey. And um I started to to to go to the club as well, to the athletics club.
00:32:38
Speaker
um And for one year, I did both. So I did some field hockey and running. And um after I just quit with playing hockey and i was focused on on athletics.
00:32:51
Speaker
So I think when I started really... I was like around 16 years old with some track. So 3K, 1,500.
00:33:04
Speaker
But 18, I started doing some 5Ks. And then I got recruited to go to the States. So I studied in ah in the States. i went to a college between New York and Boston for my first year.
00:33:20
Speaker
And then I transferred and I went to Georgia State University in Atlanta. um So I had scholarship to represent the school in the NCAA Division one
00:33:34
Speaker
And yes, so i i think I went like, when I when i left for the US, I was running about, yeah, like,
00:33:44
Speaker
14.55, something like that for the 5K. And then when I came back, I was running like 14.15, something like that.
00:33:55
Speaker
um so I graduated. So I really stayed the whole... ah time of my university. so the the four years I graduated, came back to Belgium. I wanted to have a degree ah in Belgium because, you know, the degree in the States was good, but it was still not something from Europe. So I wanted to have a piece of paper from ah from Europe.
00:34:19
Speaker
So in the States, I graduated with business administration and economics. And then I also ah I studied sports marketing for one year in Brussels to have a Belgian degree as well.
00:34:34
Speaker
Still running, but I wasn't the most focused runner, I would say, back in the days. So I would go out. I would sometimes not be at practice.
00:34:46
Speaker
on Sunday or um on Saturday morning. So i i would I would be quite consistent, but more talented than hardworking. ah But I would still do some some good times and i would I was serious most of the time, but it wasn't like I was fully dedicated to ah to my sport and I would only live for my sport. So it was always a mix.
00:35:11
Speaker
sports and friends a little bit enjoying life at the same time. And I think that's also something that helped me because I'm now 33 years old and I'm still passionate about the sport and I'm still running every day.
00:35:27
Speaker
And I see a lot of people that were running maybe faster times than me when we were about 18 to 21 who all stopped because they just, yeah, it was too much, you know.
00:35:40
Speaker
they didn't They never went out. um They tried to combine with some studies, ah but at the end of the day, they were not happy because running was taking all the time they had um and they just quit. And I think they had a lot of potential.
00:35:56
Speaker
So I'm happy that I was able to ah to to mix both um because I think it's contributed to the fact that I'm i'm still around right now.
00:36:08
Speaker
um And then, yeah, what when I graduated, i had moved to to Australia for a year. So I lived in ah in a van, some surfing, traveled also to to New Zealand, kind of stopped running a little bit ah for a year. And then when I came back,
00:36:30
Speaker
um yeah, I had to start working. So I started working full-time and then I was like, you know what, I'm going to run full-time as well. So I'm going to give it my all.
00:36:42
Speaker
um And then I was a lot more serious. So I think the fact that I was also ah working full-time helped because, you know, you don't go out and on a Thursday when you have work on ah on a Friday.
00:36:54
Speaker
And not that I was a big, like, big person who will go out all the time but uh i i just had a more uh focused lifestyle for work and and sports um and then i was like yeah maybe not why not try the marathon but i wanted to to first uh run a sub 30 10k and a sub 14 5k because these were a little bit my goals um and i was able i i ran like
00:37:27
Speaker
2930 before the carbon shoes. Uh, and i also ran 1355, uh, on the track, uh, 5k. And then i was like, okay, goals achieved. Uh, now I move up to the Martin because I always knew from an early age, age that my focus would be the Martin.
00:37:46
Speaker
Uh, my coach always said, you know, are you're going to be a marathoner later. But when you run 5K or 1500, you don't want to hear that because it's a lot of kilometers that you have to run. But I kind of knew ah from the from the start of my athletics career that I would be doing long distance. And...
00:38:04
Speaker
and um That's cool. I'm coaching a high school kids now. So it's funny to hear you say that because, man, it's hard to get them to do an 800 like repeats, you know, like at the most, at the most, even 400s. Yeah, yeah. oh um It's to come at the end. You're going to be some doing some longer stuff.
00:38:26
Speaker
and then i'm Honestly, like I'm super like surprised with how how quick they are. like On a 200, they can knock out 33 seconds. like like Really i mean impressive speed for for kids. you know like At 14, 15, it's incredible.
00:38:44
Speaker
Whether they like to do it or not, you know um obviously the longer things get, the harder it is because they just don't have that the endurance base So and when I'm feeling mean, I take them out for a 1K or something. yeah And then I can finally keep up. Yeah, so Valentine, so who who would you say saw the potential first? Was it yourself that saw your own potential, even at a young age in high school?
00:39:09
Speaker
Or was it maybe a coach that or mentor that maybe saw that potential? You mentioned the he said you would be a marathoner later on. Yeah, I think the um I saw the potential when I was already playing sports from a young age and when I went to the first races that raced with my family.
00:39:30
Speaker
um But yeah, it wasn't my passion. My passion was playing field hockey. um And then really the potential for the marathon and the longer distances was my coach.
00:39:43
Speaker
At the time, we really said, okay, you you're going to be a marathon runner, but first we got to get you fast on the track so that you can run a fast marathon. um And after that, when I was, I think like 25, we have a very, very popular race in Belgium. It's the 20K of Brussels.
00:40:02
Speaker
So in the capital, it's like the biggest race you have in the country with more than 35, I between 35 and 40,000 people running it.
00:40:14
Speaker
running it um And my coach pushed me to to to go around the race and test a little bit what I was capable of on a longer distance. And I think the first time I i ran, finished fourth in the race.
00:40:29
Speaker
um And I was a bit like, OK, maybe I can do something. Because, you know, running a fast 5k or it doesn't really mean much. um But like on the bigger stage, like on the road race ah stage and and the fact that it's really a national and a very big event. And actually everyone knows someone running in the race. So it speaks to everybody in Belgium.
00:40:56
Speaker
We are a small country and and and this race is so popular that the bibs numbers now they sell in seconds. So it's really crazy. Okay.
00:41:06
Speaker
The sport is very popular at the moment, of course. um But yeah, I know so many people running it. um And I finished fourth and I was like, okay, my goal, podium, I want to finish on the podium of this race.
00:41:19
Speaker
Yeah. And then i it became really like an obsession. I want to ah to to to to do good. um I would run a bit faster than I did ah my first year, but I wouldn't end up playing like the the podium ah position. So I think I did like fourth and then six, seven, six again.
00:41:43
Speaker
and in 2019, I was having like the best season of my life, really like the breakthrough season. And I won the race. Oh, wow. So yeah, like but that's, it's my, i think my biggest achievement are in the sports, I would say.
00:42:03
Speaker
ah something I'm really, really proud of and something crazy. Like everyone, when I go to to to to meet with friends and there's someone in the room that I maybe don't know,
00:42:16
Speaker
I don't know why, but people introduce me and they say, yeah, you know, you won the 20K of Brussels. And people look at me and they're like, it's not possible. You know, it's there is no human being who who wins this race.
00:42:29
Speaker
and and then um like And then my friends are like, yeah, you know, you won in an hour and 30 seconds. um And so, yeah, it's ah it's really something that when I won the race, I was like, okay, maybe now I can even do greater things.
00:42:45
Speaker
And then I started focusing more on the marathon. Do you know why you broke through? does does that Does that make sense to you? you put the train Yeah, i I was really focused.
00:42:58
Speaker
um i was I started running twice a day also. would do some some good quality workouts on the track. and Yeah, I think it's... a a little bit of everything, but the the right moment for me, for sure.
00:43:18
Speaker
Also for the longer distances, I was 27, so the good age. The only thing that was a bit difficult is I was already working full time.
00:43:28
Speaker
um So it's not i yeah apart from my year that I did abroad where I didn't really run a lot. Uh, I would study, i studied, i went abroad and then I started working and and focusing on running.
00:43:43
Speaker
um So i never I've never not worked at the level that I am now. um And maybe that's something that I don't know how far or or better I can be with just running, you know?
00:43:58
Speaker
who And was that ever, was it always for you work and sport or did you ever consider going like and into a professional route?
Balancing Work and Athletics
00:44:09
Speaker
I thought about it, ah but it's not like I really had the opportunity because um I started working. i moved in with my girlfriend, so we got an apartment.
00:44:23
Speaker
um Then I got my breakthrough season. But you know before you start getting sponsorships, and it takes a little bit of time. and so i I needed my job to live and to pay for for my apartment and to go on vacation also and and to have some some some good times.
00:44:45
Speaker
And then I started getting some some some small, some some kind of of partnerships in in the sports. um not enough to keep up with the lifestyle that I had ah from working full-time and from having also some revenues from the sports.
00:45:05
Speaker
um And it's just a choice I made. I was like, okay, you know i'm I'm fine with it. I can still perform and and and work at the same time. And I also, because, you know, I'm not going to the Olympics, and I don't think I have the level to medal at a European championship either.
00:45:22
Speaker
So I was like, um if I quit my job, Maybe I'm going to run like a minute faster or 30 seconds faster for the, let's say 30 seconds faster for the 5K, a minute faster for the 10K or few minutes for the marathon.
00:45:41
Speaker
But it's not going to change my life, you know. I'm not going to sign big sponsorship deals. I'm not going to not have to work when when I finish training my career.
00:45:54
Speaker
And I didn't want, because I already started a career in in the work on the workforce, I didn't want to have to start from zero again in a few years.
00:46:07
Speaker
So for me, it was just always yeah trying to to combine the best of both worlds. Um, I did try to, to work part time at a time, but, uh, I'm working actually right now in the event and, uh, and the sports industry.
00:46:22
Speaker
And, uh, it's a demanding job and, uh, it's not easy to, uh, to, to work part time when you work in, in the sector. So it wasn't possible with my, uh, with my employer. Um, but yeah, I can go in training camps. And so, so I'm, I still have some facilities, you know, uh,
00:46:40
Speaker
it and you And you achieved the most important thing ever, which was the 20K there. and Yeah, but you know, then you you start dreaming and you want more. ah yeah Yeah, sure.
00:46:52
Speaker
So like I tell the kids now when I'm coaching the track and field, that they'll be happy, like, that, first of all, they're lucky to have a program like they do here where they're training twice a week and everything. But also, like, when they're, when they, like, I didn't have this kind of exposure when I was a kid.
00:47:08
Speaker
You did. Not all all kids do. But even people who start running now, you know, they jump up to the marathon. But having this background in speed is so valuable when you get to the marathon into achieving the goals you want to achieve to give you, like, proper form, proper warm-ups, proper, you know,
00:47:27
Speaker
like allowing the body to be able to do that thing. Like how valuable do you, like, can you speak to that? i mean, clearly like you were running fast, shorter stuff when you were younger, but now it's translating to like speedier long stuff.
00:47:40
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. think Is that what you tell people? Like when they're thinking about jumping to a marathon after maybe two years of running? Yeah. It's, it depends a little bit how you view your goals, what you want to achieve in the sport.
00:47:55
Speaker
ah If I have a friend right now who's like 30, 35, who says, I want to run a marathon in two years, not to be badly speaking, but he's not going to run 220. So it's more like a bucket list, or maybe he's trying to reach his full potential that he has now.
00:48:15
Speaker
Maybe it's like a sub three, but with the background that he doesn't have from a young age doing athletics, he's not going to run 220, you know? So... you know so ah For me, it's not it's it's okay to go straight to the marathon when you when you have a certain age because you are attracted to the distance, ah but you have to keep some some so your your feet on the ground and you you have to set up a goal and that is realistic.
00:48:42
Speaker
and you have to you You still can do some some speed and some some good interval training, which are very important and and and you need to include in in your marathon training.
00:48:55
Speaker
ah But I think... Yeah, I don't think if I didn't have the background that I that i have ah with track from from a young age, I wouldn't be able to to perform the way I performed and how I'm performing now.
00:49:09
Speaker
I don't think I would be able to run 60 7.4K at 339 if I didn't run a lot of around ease. And for me, like 339 now, like or some case at two forty five two fifty when i was younger ah be kind of at ease and ah for me like three thirty nine no it's like It's easy.
00:49:34
Speaker
you know it's It's like tempo stuff. For some people, they're running a lot because they didn't work their body to suffer at 250 or 245.
00:49:45
Speaker
ah two fifty or two forty five Facebook, yeah. No idea. like You got to work both ends of that, right? So um I was also going to ask you, like, is it super common for people from Europe to go to the States to study? Like, was that something like how did that happen for you? Like, is it something you had on your mind? Did your parents kind of encourage that? You know, it seems it's far from home, right?
00:50:08
Speaker
So, yeah, I've always been. wanted to to travel a little bit. um I've always been attracted to other cultures. And right now, so with with my wife, we like to to go ah to some places out of Europe.
00:50:25
Speaker
ah So I think that's always been like in in my DNA that I wanted to to to to go abroad. And i also wanted to learn English after high school.
00:50:37
Speaker
So my first idea was, OK, I'm going to do one year of high school in the States. um And then I'm going to come back and i go I'm going to go to university in Belgium. But I got recruited by someone who went to the States ah playing tennis.
00:50:55
Speaker
He came back to to Belgium. ah And he started his own company to send athletes and to facilitate all the paperwork, ah the contact with the universities.
00:51:08
Speaker
ah So that's the person who recruited me ah was of east from from Belgium. um And I think he just looked at the ranking from from athletics, from the young yeah the young runners between 17 and 18 years old ah were about to graduate high school. And he contacted them and and and said, yeah, would you be interested to to go to the States and study there um on a scholarship? And i was i immediately said, yeah, um I want to do it.
00:51:42
Speaker
i was planning on going. So yeah, for me, it was a perfect opportunity. That's amazing. Yeah. what What a chance that is to to go abroad and to be a young man and try live somewhere else. Was it a difficult transition for you? Did you miss home? like you know You said you like you were quite social too, not so focused maybe on the sports side of things. But I can see that when you're so far and you're making new friends and you know you're trying to find your way.
00:52:09
Speaker
I think it's very, very young, you know, when you're 18 and you you go like that on, um it's it's the other side of the world. um I think the the support system in the States is good because, you know, we had the coach, we had some some academic teachers that were like really following us, the international athletes, um to make sure that everything was okay.
00:52:38
Speaker
um um Of course, it was difficult because you have all your friends here at home and I have some very good friends that I've been friends with since I'm like three, four years old and we're still friends now.
00:52:55
Speaker
So yeah, would miss a lot of friends. parties, birthdays, ah because I was abroad. But at the same time, every time I came back, it was like I had never left.
00:53:07
Speaker
um So I would come back twice a year. um But yeah, I think it, i Now, when I look back, um I think it was amazing.
00:53:19
Speaker
um I think if I would go now, I would be a completely different athlete um because I would really see it as an amazing opportunity to improve on on on my running.
00:53:33
Speaker
And we had access to some... and great facilities. You know, I, I could go to the physio every day. i could take an ice bath every day. I could go to the, to, to the, to the gym every day. We, if we wanted to, to run twice a day, they would take us anywhere to run.
00:53:53
Speaker
Um, you, you could take ice bath every day. i would, I would never go, you know, show up, show up to training, do the, to the training, go back to my apartment, uh,
00:54:05
Speaker
And now I'm like, I wish I could have a bad flat right now after a long run. Or I wish I could just go on a Sunday no matter what time in the day to the physio and have a massage. No, it's not the case. you know I have to book an appointment with my physio and most of the time his schedule is full.
00:54:27
Speaker
ah There I could just walk in, say, hey, can you give me a massage? And they would there will just yeah do treatment on me. So like you're treated like you were treated like a ah real professional.
00:54:41
Speaker
yeah Yeah, it's amazing. Really, the the yeah the kind of service that we had was was amazing. But I didn't i didn't really seize the opportunity back back then because I was young and I wasn't i was I was focused on the sport, but it wasn't my my priority, you know.
00:55:01
Speaker
Sure, yeah. So, you know, I mean, I think that's that's normal for someone your age. and It's something that I think switched a lot now with social media and and and um the way that you can look up to athletes and see their routines.
00:55:17
Speaker
And I see now because I'm still following the sports in the States and and and I still see the results. And I have the feeling that the... the 18 years old, the freshmen now in college are a lot more serious about their sports than when I was ah doing the sports. And I think you can also see it in the results.
00:55:37
Speaker
Now, if you want to qualify for the mile NCAA level, you have to run like 352, 353, which is crazy. And you can only only do that if you if you train like a professional.
00:55:49
Speaker
And I think now it's really the case. what What's some advice you would give to a younger Valentin? Yeah, it's it's something that I've... I think it's the first time that someone asks me the question, but I've already tried to think about it.
00:56:04
Speaker
what What would I change, you know? um It's... It's difficult because I'm really happy where I am now.
00:56:15
Speaker
um I love my job. I love the fact that I can run ah at a very high level and still have a normal life. um But maybe i would I would say to the the the younger Valentin to try to reach his full potential.
00:56:34
Speaker
ah Maybe make a bold move and then and say, okay, you know what, I'm going to go. I'm going to start earlier and I'm going to be serious, I think, yeah from from my 18th birthday and really try to make it in the sport instead of ah doing a little bit of everything.
00:56:56
Speaker
and Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's, it's fun to reflect on that, you know, and and it might not be even advice for yourself, but for somebody else who you're, who's looking up to you or who asks you the same question, you know, like when I'm talking to these high school kids again, like you try and give them some like nuggets, maybe that they're not listening right now, but maybe something sticks or something stays. them and Because I, I really think, I do believe I could have gone pro if I,
00:57:25
Speaker
had started being serious from the younger age. Do you think that you've always had like a positive ah connection to the sport or like what was the more, what were the the bigger challenges for you?
00:57:40
Speaker
What I find really difficult is um you never have a break in running. So it's every day of your life ah because you know, we can run 14 times a week if you want to.
00:57:55
Speaker
ah Some people even do sometimes three runs in a day. um I have some some good friends that are still playing field hockey at a very high level, ah top of competition in in Belgium, some national team.
00:58:07
Speaker
It's not the same. you know they They can really take a break from from running. ah Sometimes they have rest days, multiple rest days in the week. ah It's not the case for our sport.
00:58:18
Speaker
So it's that's something I find sometimes very difficult is It never stops. And if you want to perform, okay, it's it's good to have some rest days to to let the body recover. But yeah, everything evolves around running. You go in the morning, you go back in the afternoon, then then you rest a little bit.
00:58:39
Speaker
And it's, yeah, it's, I wish I could have done a sport on a competitive level with ah six or seven trainings a week.
00:58:50
Speaker
you know? Yeah. i Yeah. Cause it's not the case in, in running. And if you want to be yeah performance athletes, you really have to do a lot of mileage and, uh, and, and even,
00:59:03
Speaker
Even when you go on on vacation, you know, if you want to go on vacation, you have to go, you have to grab your running shoes because you don't go two weeks without running unless you have a really, really great season and you can really take some time off. But that's once a year. Maybe for some people after track season in September, they can take two weeks off.
00:59:23
Speaker
ah But if they go abroad with ah with some friends or with the family in in February, you bring your shoes and you go train before everyone wakes up And that's something that I find sometimes difficult.
00:59:37
Speaker
I do it because I want to be competitive and I want to, to because I have ambition. So i I force myself ah to do it and I do it with with pleasure. Otherwise I wouldn't be in the sports anymore.
00:59:50
Speaker
But yeah, it's something that i i think look forward to when i when I will stop competing at a high level just to to be able to not grab running shoes everywhere I go.
01:00:04
Speaker
Yeah, no, for sure. I feel that 100%. I'm always bringing the running shoes with me. Maybe run every second day just so we can sleep in day as well um I'm still every day. likes to go yeah It's part of the routine, right? so Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:00:20
Speaker
But it sounds like you have a lot of balance too. So how do you, like with work and with running, like how do you set realistic goals for yourself? like how competitive are you actually? Like, is it more with yourself or or are you really focused on like and on winning also certain races?
01:00:40
Speaker
Like, what is that? What is, how does it, what does a fulfilled relationship with running look like in terms of goal setting when you know they have to work, let's say 40 hours a week?
01:00:51
Speaker
Yeah. um I'm really trying to to look at it like,
01:01:00
Speaker
I have like ah the times that I want to run. ah For example, in the marathon, I would like to run 2.12. I think I'm capable of running 2.12 with a full-time job.
01:01:12
Speaker
um So that's a little bit. what I'm aiming for and and I put in the work to to to get to that level. At the same time, I'm 33 years old. I've had some success in the sport at my level, of course. I'm proud of what I did and what I was able to to achieve.
01:01:32
Speaker
um And I want to have fun also. So running the Wings for Life, for example, for me is also very important.
01:01:43
Speaker
And I think at the end of the the the journey, when I look at at what I've achieved, I think I'm more impressed and I will be more happy with ah with the Wings for Life than with a 212 marathon, for example.
01:01:58
Speaker
um so But i'm I'm trying to set realistic goals, not based on others, because we don't all work or some some people don't have the same lifestyle ah or make other choices.
01:02:11
Speaker
But yeah, I'm just trying to reach my potential. But of course, when I show up to a race and I know I'm capable of of competing and winning it, I'm going to go all in.
01:02:23
Speaker
yeah sure Like the wins for life. I came to Breda for the win. I trained for the win. ah Just... But I know you know it's it's not only running that I did this week. I also worked in the weeks before.
01:02:38
Speaker
But I'm going to be sharp when when I'm on on on the start line. And i'm going to I'm really going to push myself to to get away with ah with the win. Yeah, and I guess your story is... I mean, I think there's a lot of athletes like you who do perform at a high, high level and also work full-time jobs. Yeah, of course.
01:03:00
Speaker
But, you know, from an outsider perspective, someone might be like, yeah, sure. He runs a 215. The guy works, you know, they'll make assumptions about people um and say, oh, yeah, he's ah like a pro and whatever, this and that, which is not the case for you.
01:03:13
Speaker
So what would you say, like, are some are some tricks that you use to be able to get your training in to maintain a social life, to maintain that balance of yeah perform at the the job like.
01:03:27
Speaker
I think for me, the um COVID, I think really, really helped. because I can work two through two or three days a week ah in the week I'm i'm at home.
01:03:41
Speaker
um So I plan my big sessions when I'm at home so that I don't have to take into consideration that I have to go to work, come back from work, and then have be tired from my day at work and then have a big session.
01:03:56
Speaker
So all my big key workouts, I do them when I'm at home. ah When I have more time, i can wake up. a little bit later also so can i I can have more rest. um I'm able to to do what I do also because I run to my work when I go to my work. So I plan my easy days so when I go to work and I run to work.
01:04:20
Speaker
So it means, for example, um have like a 10-kilometer jog to go to work. um When I'm at work, I can change. i've i've ah Yeah, I have some clothes there, so I don't have to carry my laptop. I can grab a laptop at work.
01:04:37
Speaker
and So I just leave my house at 8 in the morning. I do my 10K job. I take a shower at 9 o'clock. I'm behind my desk, ah behind my computer. Same if I leave work at 5.
01:04:48
Speaker
At 6, I'm home and I've done 20K in the day. and I have time to rest because I don't have to go to training at seven at night. I can actually ah have the whole night of the whole evening ah to to to have some good time and and to rest and to to balance with ah with my wife or with my friends or my family.
01:05:11
Speaker
um And that's something that I think it's very important is that I'm actually for running on my own bus. I... i decide I am self-coached so I know which days I can go hard based on my work schedule, ah which days I have to take easy.
01:05:31
Speaker
um And also, yeah, if I run doing before work or during my lunch break, when I stop working, ah for example, at 5 or at 6 p.m., I'm done. I've done my two jobs.
01:05:49
Speaker
And i can I can rest. I don't have to to to go run again. And I think that's something that helps a lot also in the long term because I have a lot of evenings that are free and I can just do what I want.
01:06:03
Speaker
ah Yeah, some something that's sometimes a bit difficult is when you go run for an hour, an hour and a half ah during your lunch break and and you push a little bit, ah you don't have a mental break because you actually work two jobs. You have your work, your realtor your real job, and then you have your running job. And and it's not like I'm taking a break to... a to to go run. no When I run, I'm also focused. I have some times that I have to wait.
01:06:34
Speaker
ah So it's it's not like your kind switch concentration level drops down. So you actually, the whole day, you are fully focused. Yeah, exactly.
01:06:45
Speaker
You be mentally sharp all around. And what are you doing for work? I mean, you're working in sports. I i understand. Yeah. So I work for AG Insurance. We're actually the biggest insurance company in Belgium.
01:06:57
Speaker
Um, and I'm working on a sponsorship coordination and a brand activation. So basically what I do is I work in the running, walking and cycling industry, ah sponsoring events ah for people to to run or to work or to cycle.
01:07:20
Speaker
um And my role is to make sure that we have the best visibility as ah as ah as a company that our logo is the most visibility for the people on the event or on television.
01:07:33
Speaker
um And I also activate the events. ah So I'm going to have some people doing an activation for the people that are running before or after the race.
01:07:44
Speaker
um And also the communication around the event, social media campaigns that we want to do from the sponsor point of view. So the insurance company.
01:07:58
Speaker
So as an athlete, that must be a pretty fun job also, right? Yes. Yeah, and that's that's also, I think, one of the reasons why I'm doing both is because I i really, i found like, if you would have asked me 10 years ago, what job do you want? It's the job that I'm doing right now. So I'm super lucky.
01:08:19
Speaker
It's really, it was was my dream job and I was able to to to to find it and and I want to keep it, you know? And I think if I... maybe if I had a job that I didn't like, um I would have stopped working to focus maybe more on running.
01:08:37
Speaker
But now I'm like, you know, if i if I stop working, yeah, am I going ever find a job that I like this much? um And i think I think it's also,
01:08:48
Speaker
very important to to to to to have a job that you like. And it helps me also with my running because I'm just happy in life. and and And that's very important to combine both.
01:09:02
Speaker
Yeah, and also like, yeah Listen, you could have gone in a direction where you focus more on running, where you went more the professional route, but then who knows where that leads you in terms of your career now. Yeah. You know, you you got an education, you kind of thought about the future,
01:09:20
Speaker
before it happened? You know, you were preparing yourself, setting yourself up for success for life after maybe competing? Yeah, I think there's no bad decision. You know, if if you want to go pro, it's great. If you want to ah work full time and stop running, it's great. If you want to to to do both, do it.
01:09:39
Speaker
ah You just have to be sure that you follow your heart and and that you do it for the right reason. And that's a little bit what I feel now is I'm i'm very at ease with the decisions that I made ah to combine both and and and and to try to to take the best of out of the out of the two worlds.
01:10:00
Speaker
And for me, it it works and i'm I have no frustration. So I'm not like, every we day I wake up and I'm like, oh, you know, I have to go around 10K. Then in the afternoon i have to run 15K, but at the same time i have to to work.
01:10:12
Speaker
No, I don't complain. it's It's a choice that I made. and And if I would be complaining about it, then wouldn't be doing the right thing and I wouldn't be happy. And no, it's not the case. so I don't ask myself too many questions.
01:10:25
Speaker
I know I'm happy the way that I shaped up my my career and and the the years that I'm doing, uh, athletics and working.
01:10:37
Speaker
Yeah. Amazing. And what do you like to do when you're not running? but What are your, you have any other hobbies or? um Yeah, don't I don't have a lot of time for for other hobbies. I like spending time with my friends, ah with my wife.
01:10:52
Speaker
like As I said, I like to go on vacation, also to travel. um So yeah, we've been so to some some quite cool places already.
01:11:03
Speaker
And um yeah, I like to go to to bike a little bit. I like to watch sports on on television. Uh, so I'm, I'm really big, uh, sports fan.
01:11:14
Speaker
Um, and, uh, yeah. Belgian, Belgian beer is pretty good. don't know if you, uh, I like, I like some beers too. And, uh, and of course not two days or three days before a race, but, uh, but I, I would, if we, if we see each other in real life, will definitely grab a beer.
01:11:34
Speaker
Amazing, amazing. and How about the running? You said you went some places, like nice places on vacation. What are some like nice running destinations that you have your list? So I think i so one of the coolest is ah I went to Rhenion Island to run a relay, marathon, not an ikiden, but like we were a team of 10 people.
01:12:02
Speaker
running the distance of a marathon. ah So that that was pretty pretty awesome. We got to spend some days on the on the island. I think also when you can combine with the with the marathon in nice cities like Paris or Valencia, also fun.
01:12:23
Speaker
um What I did because I was in the States also, um we really traveled around the States. I did some some great competitions in in the US and I was also able to travel to like ah Canada or Central America as well, not for running, but just because I was there, i had the opportunity to, to go explore some neighboring countries.
01:12:50
Speaker
um Yeah. Where in Canada did you get to visit? I went to Montreal. Nice. That's where I'm from. So that's, ah you got to experience some, some of the joie québécois.
01:13:04
Speaker
yeah um it's still home Yeah. yeah and You enjoyed the city. Yeah. I enjoyed the city. I went for Thanksgiving. So it was pretty pretty chilly.
01:13:14
Speaker
I think it was snowing, but it was a very very nice city. yeah and Amazing. What's that? La Poutine. Oh, did you try Poutine? What did you try think of that? It's good. I like it.
01:13:27
Speaker
Yeah, amazing. yeah and what is that what is I went to Kenya as well. I forgot. Where'd you go? To Kenya. Oh, yeah. And did you get to run with with
Insights from Global Training Experiences
01:13:36
Speaker
them there? Yeah, yeah. yeah i was in a I was staying at the training camp and sharing some workouts with other Europeans or also Kenyan runners.
01:13:49
Speaker
um So, yeah. what's What's the biggest takeaway? I mean, you mentioned Kenyan. They're they're some of the best runners and in the entire world, some of the best champions. what what are Is there anything that you were able to take away from the way others train in other parts of the world that maybe you you didn't view it the same way until until you met them kind of thing?
01:14:10
Speaker
um
01:14:14
Speaker
I think there are some some mistakes that you want to you don't want to do. For example, in in the States, my first year, I felt like the coach wasn't really taking into consideration that we were all different individuals.
01:14:29
Speaker
ah So he would give the same training to all the group, the almost the same intensity. And that's something that I've tried not to replicate now is really based my training on on on how on how how I feel and and and my own capabilities.
01:14:48
Speaker
And if you have someone who is running a 210 marathon, ah yeah, maybe it's not the right training partner for you if if you run 215. um But also, yeah, you can learn a lot from from others.
01:15:00
Speaker
So I think it's great when you go on a training camp like in Kenya. And I was with ah with some really high-level athletes. um And yeah, I think you you learn a lot lot from them, ah the way that they they they train, um what the the key sessions that they do. also You can also share a little bit about the lifestyle that they have, um the nutrition also. It's also something that you can learn from from them.
01:15:29
Speaker
so I think, yeah, it's it's great to to be able to to exchange and especially now with the social media, you know, you you follow some athletes and you only see the the big hard sessions that they do because that's what people share on on on on social media.
01:15:47
Speaker
ah But when you are on training camp and and you all eat together, for example, at the hotel. And we all have a a pretty solid Sunday long run.
01:15:58
Speaker
You have a really strong guy who has run a two or five marathon, who was also, I think, a bad day. ah Well, you you know that it's not always sparkles in training and and that everybody has highs and lows.
01:16:15
Speaker
Is there anybody you look up to up to in the sport, would you say? Or anybody that you like to follow in the sport?
01:16:26
Speaker
Not really. No? Or maybe you're a fan? You're not a fan of anybody? like Ingebrigtsen. Yeah.
01:16:37
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I like what what they have done from a really young age trying to to push and the the science and and and really push the body. um So I like the performance that he is able to to to put in reality and then that shows up to races and it really means business.
01:17:00
Speaker
And of course, you can see some failures like in in Paris. I don't know if you if you want to call it a failure, but it's Yeah, if if you are the favorite, you want to win gold. It's still an amazing result. But yeah, you see that it can happen to to to everybody to to have a lesser day.
01:17:20
Speaker
um
01:17:23
Speaker
But yeah, no, I'm just a fan of the sport in general. i don't really have an outspoken favorite. I like to watch the races, to to look at the the splits, to look at the tactics. and And at the end of the day, if it's one or the other that wins the race, yeah, it's not changing my life.
01:17:45
Speaker
i But yeah, I like to to follow a lot. And it's an exciting time to be a fan also, I think, with like the Netflix series and and it's way more televised now. There's way more like podcasts about the sport and you can really follow it much, much easier and see, you know,
01:18:04
Speaker
and events all of i mean I live right in front of a ah stadium where they do the Diamond League event here in Zurich. And it's so much fun. to you know I got to go to an event where the Olympians were racing right after the Olympics um right here. And it was it's really cool to see the the athletes at that level and how much work they put on. What I also love is that you...
01:18:27
Speaker
Like I'm a marathon runner now, but I love to watch Duplantis do the pole vault. Oh, yeah. I love to to watch Warholme do the 400 meter hurdles.
01:18:40
Speaker
So I'm more um more attracted like to the to the to the big personalities and to the show that they put rather than the the discipline that they that they do.
01:18:51
Speaker
But I think it's also it's also nice that you yeah you Because it to me, it's still another sport, like someone who does the the pole vault and someone who is running the marathon. It's it's okay. it' It's under the same umbrella of athletics, but it's different sports. you know Totally. So what does this year look like for you? What do you have lined up in terms of racing?
01:19:13
Speaker
This year?
Future Goals and Ambitions
01:19:15
Speaker
Yeah. yeah um Yeah. I'm planning to run my first Oh my God. Yeah. oh my god yeah
01:19:24
Speaker
We're almost there with almost 70k right there at the Wings for Life. Yeah, so um in September, normally the the first in the in the du Netherlands. ah My goal was to run my first one here in ah in June, but unfortunately they canceled the race.
01:19:42
Speaker
So I had to find another one. um It would have been perfect because, you know, I had the Wings for Life. Then like a week or two weeks, a little bit easy, then I could start training uh again and then run the one hundred k and still have like the body remember the effort of the wings for life so now i have to do another cycle and and and do a full preparation uh towards september it's not the period of the year that i like the most because it's right after the summer um but yeah you know i'm i'm gonna go for it and uh and hopefully uh i can i can run a good time
01:20:22
Speaker
for For my first one, i would like to to run the standard for the World Championships. um There is a world championship 100k in 2026. I don't know which times they're going to ask yet, um but I think I can run around 640, 630.
01:20:44
Speaker
six thirty um Of course, everything has to to go as I plan, but I think it's it's possible for for the first one. um So it's a bit under four minutes per K. Okay.
01:21:00
Speaker
and And how are you going handle the elevation there? Like, I guess you you said Dolomites, right? No, no, no, in the Netherlands. Oh, Netherlands. Okay. It's quite flat. No, no, flat, flat, flat. Okay. I thought you said dull um Dolomites. I was like, okay, it's pretty hilly. No, no, no. Never, never.
01:21:19
Speaker
No, no. Okay, okay. I'm not planning to run a train or anything. Okay, sounds good. Netherlands, hopefully no wind, 10 kilometer laps.
01:21:31
Speaker
So, yeah. Did you ever think that you would run 100K? No, no, never. um I really thought that my max would be the marathon.
01:21:44
Speaker
um But you know yeah you run a marathon, and then you sign up for the Wings for Life. And then you see, actually, that maybe you have some potential ah to do a one hundred k And that's a little bit how it turned out for me.
01:21:57
Speaker
When I see that I can run sixty seven k at think I could be able to run it hundred k at three fifty five you know it's it's kind of the same the same logic um So yeah, we're going to try and see you see what happens and hopefully have a lot of fun. And I would like also to run a marathon or two, maybe after the 100k, but not really for a time or trying to win win a race or two.
01:22:30
Speaker
um Maybe we try to to win the Brussels Marathon, something like that. It's not like the most competitive race, But it's always nice to to be able to to have it on your resume.
01:22:44
Speaker
ah Being from Belgium, having won the 20K, if I can add the the marathon, I think it would be around 217 to 18. to seventeen to eighteen It's not pancake flat. So, yeah.
01:23:00
Speaker
That's very exciting. It's awesome that you're still finding ways to push yourself, even though you've accomplished so much in the sport. Yeah. I'm discovering what my body is is capable of. and And I think there is still a lot a lot that my body and that my mind can do.
01:23:18
Speaker
So i want I want to try and then see see how it goes. Yeah. Yeah, why not? i mean, it's better to push yourself and challenge. so So where can people find out more about you?
01:23:30
Speaker
oh on Instagram.
01:23:34
Speaker
that's where I post most of of my highlights and then what happens in training, competition. i'll also try to give some insights on my more private life. So it's not only a ah running account. I try to share a little bit of monthly recaps with my friends, with some stuff that I like to do.
01:23:57
Speaker
ah But the main focus of my account is, of course, running and it takes... most of of my time and and that's where what I share the most. But I try to also give some some insights of the daily life.
01:24:11
Speaker
And what would you say running has given to you in your life so far? um I think the people I met the friendships that i that i and I've been yeah able to to make.
01:24:28
Speaker
I think from the sports, of I know I have like friends for life.
01:24:33
Speaker
And that's something very, very important for me. So it's not, at the end of the day, I don't think I really care. i care, but it's I'm not gonna look back at the ah the the times, but more the experiences and and what I was able to to, the people that I was able to meet and and and keep in in my close friends circle is is, I think, the most beautiful thing that I that i had from the sport.
01:25:06
Speaker
Yeah, I appreciate that too. Thanks for sharing. I couldn't agree more. It's more about the people and experiences by the sounds of it. Yeah, and and at the end of the day, like, you know, the um for example, the Wings for Life,
01:25:20
Speaker
I think maybe if you ask me in 10 years, i don't know if I'm going to be able to tell you that I ran sixty six point seven k in but I'm going to remember that um we took a bus with my family and my friends um the day of the race and that we left Belgium to go to Breda with the bus and that they were cheering for me like crazy people and that we all got back in the bus to go back home and that we celebrated all together and and the memories that we created and then the close moments that we had.
01:25:56
Speaker
At the end of the day, that's really what what matters. and And I'm sure if i if I had come second or third, and if I had run 60K, it would have been the same. you know It would have been ah the people in my corner. And and that's really important for me.
01:26:12
Speaker
Yeah, I'm glad you got to share that with them. Well, thanks so much for your time today, Valentin. It's been amazing and pleasure speaking with you. And I i wish you all the best for this upcoming season Thank you.
01:26:26
Speaker
Yeah. And I'm sure you'll kill that 100K. So all the best and take care. Thank you very much. You too.
Coaching Services Introduction
01:26:33
Speaker
Ready to crush your next goal? With 15 years of experience across endurance sports, from 5Ks to ultras, over 10 marathons with a personal best of two hours, 45 minutes, including Boston, New York City, and Berlin, plus two Ironmans, I know what it takes to achieve real results.
01:26:51
Speaker
But training for a race is about more than just logging miles. It's about training smarter. And that's where a coach makes all the difference. As your coach, I'll create a personalized week by week plan tailored to fit your unique goals, lifestyle, and schedule. You'll also get guidance on race day strategy, nutrition, pre-race routines, and the insider tips that can transform your performance.
01:27:16
Speaker
With a coach, you're not guessing through training. you're following a proven customized roadmap with support every step of the way. So if you're ready to train smarter and reach new levels, email me at justin at justinstridepod.com and let's make those goals happen.
Listener Engagement and Podcast Team
01:27:33
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to the Just In Stride podcast. I truly appreciate you taking the time to listen and I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. Please take a minute after this to rate and review our show on Apple Podcasts.
01:27:46
Speaker
With your feedback, we'll be able to make the show even better and it'll help us reach new listeners too. You can also find us on Instagram at Just In Stride Pod for all the latest episodes and updates.
01:27:58
Speaker
Of course, this show wouldn't be possible without a solid team behind me. With logo and design by Vanessa Pugliese, as well as audio, music, and editing by Forrest McKay, a huge thank you goes out to both of them. Guest outreach, social media, writing, and advertising are handled by me, your host, Justin Pugliese.
01:28:18
Speaker
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