A Conversation with Simon “Woody” Wood of Sneaker Freaker

A Conversation with Simon “Woody” Wood of Sneaker Freaker

This year marks a massive milestone for the OG of print sneaker media: the 24th anniversary of Sneaker Freaker. Born in Melbourne in 2002, the publication has evolved from a passion-fueled fanzine into a global authority on footwear history and design. We sat down with the man behind the brand, Simon Woody” Wood, to discuss the industrys current "reset," the art of making 280,000-word books, and why the future of the culture belongs to physical media.

Noirfonce: After 24 years in the game, how do you view the current landscape? It feels like we are in a moment of significant transition.

Woody: Yeah we are definitely in transition mode but there’s a lot of ways to describe how dire the current sneakerscape is. I haven’t seen the industry hurt like this in my time, the only comparable moment was 2010 when the US economy cratered and everyone wanted to dress like lumberjacks. Saying that, things are arguably more ‘interesting’ now than they have been for a long time because theres an appetite for change and space opening up for new ideas. The retro sneakerhead formula worked so well for two decades that it trapped the industry into a lazy loop of same-sameness. I mean, I‘ve only been predicting this exact scenario would happen for at least 15 years!

Right now, every brand is wondering ‘whats next?’. Sitting around waiting for the next big thing to energize the market makes everyone nervous and unsure which way to go with product roll-outs and marketing concepts. I think this flat period – as brutal as it is – will turn out to be a positive in the long run. Brands will just have to work harder, take some bigger risks and lower their expectations.

Noirfonce: Youve mentioned that Nike, specifically, is at a crossroads.

Woody: Nike’s situation is well documented and I think there’s a certain schadenfreude at watching the biggest player in the game get kicked in the nuts. Everyone in the industry – and that includes their major competitors – want Nike to be successful because they create category energy like no other brand. But it seems to me that Nike has lost their magic touch and that a generation of kids just don’t seem to think their shit is the shit anymore. But don’t write the Swoosh off just yet, they’re still a $50 billion behemoth with a huge arsenal to rotate. I look forward to seeing how they reconnect the dots and bring some fizz to the game.

Noirfonce: Lets go back to the beginning. What was the original spark for Sneaker Freaker in 2002?

Woody: Honestly, I just wanted loads of free shoes. But more than that, I just thought a magazine about sneakers seemed like a good idea. Id worked in fashion, motion pictures as a graphic designer and in the advertising industry, which was soul-destroying. One day I just had an epiphany… I can make the entire magazine myself so let’s just do it. The arrival of the first digital camera meant I could shoot fast and work cheap and that was transformational. Right from the start I saw Sneaker Freaker as a DIY fanzine in the great tradition of home-brew music titles – it was just one persons expression of their idiotic love for shoes. Admittedly the first issue was chaotic and pretty raw, but I was intentionally not trying to look too professional, which helped as I made the whole thing in about a week. Over time, every single issue was redesigned with new looks and fonts, though we always kept the same compact A5 size.

Your recent work has moved into massive, archival books like The Ultimate Sneaker Book and the TN 25th project. Is that where you find the most joy now?

Woody: Im the happiest person in the world when Ive got a big book to work on. The Ultimate Sneaker Book has sold 500,000 copies, which is phenomenal for the industry. Its a big-ass wordy book, I think I wrote about 280,000 words. I spent months and months and months working 12-hour days just to make it as perfect as possible. Often there’s deadlines and budgets and constraints with client projects, but I never looked at the clock or thought about anything other than making that book fucking awesome. The TN 25th book was another passion project, one that took ten years to come to fruition. Nothing beats the thrill of getting that first copy back from the printers.

Noirfonce: Weve noticed a trend at our store: younger consumers are becoming obsessed with physical experiences and tangible media. Is the printed magazine coming back?

Woody: I hope so, that is encouraging to hear, maybe it works like the revival of vinyl records and film cameras. The magazine was a bit of a victim of the COVID era and shipping costs just made the business model really tough. Since the downturn in print media, I have remained committed to the quality of the magazine. We never thinned it down or used shitty paper or cut back on anything. We kind of got stuck due to a whole host of reasons, mostly the big book projects, but Issue 50 will come out in late 2026. And it’s gotta be done just right because its such a momentous number. If the younger generation is interested in books and getting their faces out of their phones, it can only lead to more creativity and energy.

Noirfonce: Its been a while since weve seen a Sneaker Freaker footwear collaboration. What are your thoughts on the current "collab" culture?

Woody: The collaboration space has changed more in the last 18 months than in the previous ten years. What used to work just doesn't cut it anymore. That’s just facts. People have always said there are too many collaborations, but I just think there are too many boring half-assed ones. I mean, Sneaker Freaker will  never put out an all-white or all-black colab, the world doesn't need more of that, though I don’t get mad when CDG do it because they legitimately own that space. But I hate to see brands and stores just dial in safe designs because they’re too wimpy to have a go. When you have the chance to go nuts on a shoe, why wouldn't you?

Noirfonce: Without giving too much away, what is the "Crystal Ball" telling you for 2026 and beyond?

Woody: Personally, Im currently working on my biggest book project yet. Its much more collaborative and involves hundreds of interviews from all around the world. Its been years in the making and still won't be seen for some time. As for the industry, the sneaker world is always going to be an amazing place to sit back and watch the action. Things may come and go, but kids will always want cool shoes to impress and one-up their mates. I certainly haven't lost my love for it and still get that FOMO feeling bad when I know I have to hustle. Thats never going to change, though I probably still buy more shoes than most.

--

Massive shout out to Woody for his time, for coming by the store and the entire Sneaker Freaker team for continuing to add fuel to the fire of this culture that is so dear to us. 

Peep some pics below. 

Check out some great Sneaker Freaker products here and here

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Beyond the Streets Paris More than an exhibitio...

Walking through the endless halls of Beyond The Streets Paris feels less like visiting a museum and more like moving through the collective memory of a culture that has spent decades refusing to be confined. Graffiti, photography, music, fashion, skateboarding and hip-hop don't appear as separate disciplines here, they coexist exactly as they always have in the real world. This is not an exhibition about street culture. It is street culture. What immediately becomes apparent is the absence of hierarchy. A freight train photographed in the early 1980s carries the same weight as a contemporary installation. A handstyle commands as much attention as a gallery-sized canvas. The exhibition understands something that institutions have only recently begun to appreciate: graffiti was never simply painting. It was language. Identity. Competition. Community. Few embody that evolution better than the artists of MSK. For decades, Risk has remained one of the defining figures in American graffiti, proving that letterforms can evolve without ever abandoning their roots. His transition from freight trains and freeways to monumental canvases never feels like a departure. Instead, it demonstrates that graffiti's vocabulary is capable of existing in any environment without losing its authenticity. Alongside him, Revok continues to redefine what abstraction can look like when it emerges from the discipline of writing. Beneath every layered composition remains the instinct of someone who understands walls before galleries. His work carries an energy that feels impossible to replicate through formal training alone. It has been lived before it has been painted. Beyond the artists themselves, the exhibition reminds visitors that graffiti has always relied on those willing to document it. Without photographers, much of the culture would have disappeared long before social media or digital archives ever existed. Few names resonate more deeply than Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant. Their photographs have become foundational documents, preserving a movement that was never intended to last. Subway cars disappeared. Walls were buffed. Pieces faded beneath weather and time. Yet through their lenses, entire generations can still experience those moments exactly as they happened. Their work doesn't simply record graffiti: it legitimises its history. The same can be said for Maï Lucas, whose photography captures the intimacy surrounding the culture as much as the action itself. The portraits, the environments, the quieter moments between painting, all contribute to a broader understanding of what this community has always represented. Elsewhere, Estevan Oriol reminds us that graffiti never existed in isolation. His photography documents Los Angeles not through spectacle, but through honesty. Writers, tattoo artists, musicians, lowriders and neighborhood life become part of the same visual language. Looking through his work, it becomes impossible to separate hip-hop from graffiti, or graffiti from the communities that shaped it in the first place. One of the exhibition's strongest moments arrives through fashion. Curated with extraordinary care by Driss (from Maison Mere in Marseille), the archive of original hip-hop garments serves as a reminder that clothing has always communicated belonging long before luxury brands embraced streetwear. Vintage jackets, jerseys, tracksuits and rare pieces tell the story of a generation whose uniforms were built from necessity, creativity and identity: not marketing campaigns. It feels less like looking at clothes than reading a timeline. Then there are the moments that quietly steal the show. A reconstruction inspired by the Paris Catacombs transforms one of the city's most mythical painting locations into an immersive experience. For decades, the underground labyrinth has represented one of graffiti's most legendary canvases—hidden from the public yet deeply embedded within the mythology of European writing. Bringing that atmosphere above ground without reducing it to spectacle is no small achievement. Throughout the exhibition, that balance remains remarkably consistent. Nothing feels over-explained. Nothing feels sanitised. The imperfections remain. The scratches, the photographs, the sketches, the clothing, the trains, the voices—they all coexist with the same rawness that made the culture compelling in the first place. Perhaps that is what Beyond the Streets achieves better than anything else. Rather than asking whether graffiti belongs inside museums, it quietly demonstrates that it always belonged within the broader story of contemporary culture. Not because institutions finally decided to recognise it. But because the people who built it never stopped believing in its value. The walls may have changed. The message never did.

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Still Loyal: The relationships that deserve to last

Still Loyal: The relationships that deserve to ...

Loyalty has become an increasingly scarce currency. We live in a world that celebrates the next thing. The next drop. The next collaboration. The next algorithm telling us where our attention should go. Switching has become second nature. Remaining has become the exception. Yet the strongest relationships are rarely built overnight. They are built through repetition. Through trust. Through returning. That is precisely why Saucony's Still Loyal campaign feels so timely. The ProGrid Ride 1 isn't simply returning because archive footwear is fashionable once again. It returns because some products earn their place over time. They don't demand attention. They quietly become part of people's lives, proving their worth every single day until loyalty becomes instinctive. When we began thinking about how to tell that story, the obvious routes immediately presented themselves. We could have spoken about our own loyalty to the industry. Eleven years of believing in culture before it became convenient. We could have celebrated the brands and partners who have trusted Noirfonce along the way, or reflected on the people who have been part of our journey since day one. All of those stories would have been true. But they also would have been expected. Instead, we looked somewhere much closer to home: The barber. Few relationships are built on trust quite like the one between a person and the individual who has been cutting their hair for years. You don't simply walk into any chair. You return to the one that already understands you. Conversations evolve. Milestones are shared. Life happens between appointments. What begins as a service slowly becomes ritual. Being loyal to your barber isn't questioned. It's understood. That is why partnering with Docklands felt inevitable. Like Noirfonce, Docklands believes that details matter. Craft matters. Experience matters. Neither of us simply sells a product. We create something designed to make people feel better when they walk back out into the world. Whether that confidence comes from a fresh haircut or a well-designed pair of sneakers is almost beside the point. The feeling is what remains. Together, we wanted to celebrate loyalty through a lens that everyone could recognize. Not through nostalgia, but through everyday rituals that quietly shape our lives without demanding attention. Because perhaps loyalty doesn't need dramatic declarations. Perhaps it simply looks like returning. Returning to the same barber. Returning to the same community. Returning to the same people who have consistently shown up. And sometimes, returning to the same shoe. The Saucony ProGrid Ride 1 reminds us that the products worth remembering are often the ones we never truly leave behind. Much like the people we trust, they become woven into our routines, proving that longevity will always matter more than novelty. In a culture obsessed with what's next, Still Loyal feels less like a campaign and more like a quiet reminder. Some things are worth staying with.

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Still Loyal: The relationships that deserve to ...

Loyalty has become an increasingly scarce currency. We live in a world that celebrates the next thing. The next drop. The next collaboration. The next algorithm telling us where our attention should go. Switching has become second nature. Remaining has become the exception. Yet the strongest relationships are rarely built overnight. They are built through repetition. Through trust. Through returning. That is precisely why Saucony's Still Loyal campaign feels so timely. The ProGrid Ride 1 isn't simply returning because archive footwear is fashionable once again. It returns because some products earn their place over time. They don't demand attention. They quietly become part of people's lives, proving their worth every single day until loyalty becomes instinctive. When we began thinking about how to tell that story, the obvious routes immediately presented themselves. We could have spoken about our own loyalty to the industry. Eleven years of believing in culture before it became convenient. We could have celebrated the brands and partners who have trusted Noirfonce along the way, or reflected on the people who have been part of our journey since day one. All of those stories would have been true. But they also would have been expected. Instead, we looked somewhere much closer to home: The barber. Few relationships are built on trust quite like the one between a person and the individual who has been cutting their hair for years. You don't simply walk into any chair. You return to the one that already understands you. Conversations evolve. Milestones are shared. Life happens between appointments. What begins as a service slowly becomes ritual. Being loyal to your barber isn't questioned. It's understood. That is why partnering with Docklands felt inevitable. Like Noirfonce, Docklands believes that details matter. Craft matters. Experience matters. Neither of us simply sells a product. We create something designed to make people feel better when they walk back out into the world. Whether that confidence comes from a fresh haircut or a well-designed pair of sneakers is almost beside the point. The feeling is what remains. Together, we wanted to celebrate loyalty through a lens that everyone could recognize. Not through nostalgia, but through everyday rituals that quietly shape our lives without demanding attention. Because perhaps loyalty doesn't need dramatic declarations. Perhaps it simply looks like returning. Returning to the same barber. Returning to the same community. Returning to the same people who have consistently shown up. And sometimes, returning to the same shoe. The Saucony ProGrid Ride 1 reminds us that the products worth remembering are often the ones we never truly leave behind. Much like the people we trust, they become woven into our routines, proving that longevity will always matter more than novelty. In a culture obsessed with what's next, Still Loyal feels less like a campaign and more like a quiet reminder. Some things are worth staying with.

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Fête de la Musique 2026: When Paris Became the Dancefloor

Fête de la Musique 2026: When Paris Became the ...

Some cities host festivals. Paris becomes one. Every June 21st, the French capital rewrites its own rules. Streets close. Sidewalks disappear beneath crowds. Music escapes venues and spills into every square, boulevard, café and hidden courtyard. There is no single stage because the city itself becomes one. Fête de la Musique has always been about democratizing music, but in 2026, under relentless summer heat, it felt bigger, louder, and more alive than ever. This wasn't simply another edition. It was a reminder that the strongest cultural moments rarely happen behind ticket barriers. They happen when thousands of people move through a city with no agenda other than following the next sound system. Among the countless moments that defined the day, Big Shot Coffee delivered one of the most thoughtful. Celebrating the Philippines through an exclusive capsule created alongside La Pmilya, the activation blended food, design and community into something that felt deeply authentic. Rather than borrowing from culture, it created space for it, proving once again that the strongest collaborations begin with people. A few streets away, Patta transformed its corner of Paris into another pilgrimage. Partnering with Marshall, the Amsterdam label hosted a block party that perfectly captured what both brands do best: bringing communities together through music. The soundtrack never stopped. Neither did the crowd. Elsewhere, Sonny's Pizza quietly assembled one of the day's strongest lineups. With performances from Trash Talk alongside an eclectic mix of artists spanning genres and generations, the tiny venue became one of those places where you arrived for a slice and stayed for hours. The kind of event that reminds you why independent spaces remain the backbone of every great cultural city. Perhaps that is what makes Fête de la Musique so special. It isn't about one headline act. It isn't about one neighborhood. It isn't even about music alone. It is about allowing an entire city to become a shared experience. Under scorching temperatures, with sweat replacing small talk and strangers dancing together long after sunset, Paris once again reminded the world that culture is at its strongest when it belongs to everyone. For one unforgettable day, every street became a stage. Every corner held another discovery. And the city danced as one. Peep some of our favorite pics below. 

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Fête de la Musique 2026: When Paris Became the ...

Some cities host festivals. Paris becomes one. Every June 21st, the French capital rewrites its own rules. Streets close. Sidewalks disappear beneath crowds. Music escapes venues and spills into every square, boulevard, café and hidden courtyard. There is no single stage because the city itself becomes one. Fête de la Musique has always been about democratizing music, but in 2026, under relentless summer heat, it felt bigger, louder, and more alive than ever. This wasn't simply another edition. It was a reminder that the strongest cultural moments rarely happen behind ticket barriers. They happen when thousands of people move through a city with no agenda other than following the next sound system. Among the countless moments that defined the day, Big Shot Coffee delivered one of the most thoughtful. Celebrating the Philippines through an exclusive capsule created alongside La Pmilya, the activation blended food, design and community into something that felt deeply authentic. Rather than borrowing from culture, it created space for it, proving once again that the strongest collaborations begin with people. A few streets away, Patta transformed its corner of Paris into another pilgrimage. Partnering with Marshall, the Amsterdam label hosted a block party that perfectly captured what both brands do best: bringing communities together through music. The soundtrack never stopped. Neither did the crowd. Elsewhere, Sonny's Pizza quietly assembled one of the day's strongest lineups. With performances from Trash Talk alongside an eclectic mix of artists spanning genres and generations, the tiny venue became one of those places where you arrived for a slice and stayed for hours. The kind of event that reminds you why independent spaces remain the backbone of every great cultural city. Perhaps that is what makes Fête de la Musique so special. It isn't about one headline act. It isn't about one neighborhood. It isn't even about music alone. It is about allowing an entire city to become a shared experience. Under scorching temperatures, with sweat replacing small talk and strangers dancing together long after sunset, Paris once again reminded the world that culture is at its strongest when it belongs to everyone. For one unforgettable day, every street became a stage. Every corner held another discovery. And the city danced as one. Peep some of our favorite pics below. 

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Race Day Diary: Blindfolds, Empty Streets, and the Desire to Be Remembered - Oier

Race Day Diary: Blindfolds, Empty Streets, and ...

At 2:00 a.m., the alarm went off. I had slept barely three hours. Under normal circumstances, that would have been a problem. But the previous evening had been one of those dinners you remember long after the trip is over. We had gathered at St Clement's Café and somehow what was supposed to be dinner turned into hours of conversation. Running, work, life, ambitions, experiences. The kind of discussions that enrich a trip far beyond the event itself. So while the lack of sleep was real, there wasn't even 1% regret. At 2:40 a.m., after getting ready, I headed down to reception. More runners were already there waiting. Nobody seemed fully awake, yet everybody seemed switched on. That's when things got interesting. We were told we'd be travelling by minibus to the start. Blindfolds were handed out. Immediately, Squid Game came to mind. The journey wasn't short. Some people used the opportunity to get a little more sleep. I couldn't. By then I was fully invested in the challenge. My mind kept trying to piece together what was coming next, despite having almost no information to work with. Eventually we arrived. One hundred runners. Different countries. Different ages. Different backgrounds. All gathered for the same challenge. I'm pretty sure everyone had different objectives, but personally I knew one thing: I wasn't there to simply participate. I wanted to test myself against some of the best people in the room. After the briefing, we received our equipment and headed towards the start. There was a silence hanging in the air. The kind that mixes nerves, tension, and excitement. Nobody looked tired anymore. The rules were simple. Reach a checkpoint to receive a clue leading to the next one. Complete the sequence correctly and eventually you'd find the finish. Then we started running. The pace was fast from the beginning. Maybe because of my background in running, I resisted the temptation to follow. Instead, I settled into my own rhythm. I knew there would be a time to push later. The first three checkpoints were chaos. Inside Epping Forest, every shortcut looked promising until it didn't. Every trail felt capable of leading somewhere useful or leaving you completely lost. It felt more like navigating a maze than racing through a forest. Luckily, at that stage, many of us were still moving together. For over fifteen kilometres, I shared the route with six other runners. Different nationalities. Different generations. Yet united by the same ambition. After all, there's probably a reason you're running through empty streets and forests at five in the morning. We shared route ideas, race impressions, and encouragement. It became a small temporary team. That lasted until checkpoint four. There, everything changed. We were handed two different destinations: Checkpoint 5A and Checkpoint 5B. Both had to be completed before reaching the finish, but the order was up to us. The group immediately started debating routes and calculating options. I thanked them, wished them luck, and left. Perhaps because I was the youngest, they didn't expect it. But I wanted to experience the challenge on my own. And if I was going to reach the finish line, I wanted to get there completely empty. From that point onwards, the race truly began. Thirteen kilometres remained. Just me and London. The city felt surreal. Long empty avenues stretched into the distance. Entire streets without a soul in sight. At times it felt like I was running through the set of The Walking Dead. Around kilometre twenty, my legs started to complain. The strange thing was that I kept getting faster. During those hours, a lot of thoughts crossed my mind. I thought about the decision to move to Madrid. About taking risks without knowing where they'll lead. About how saying yes to one opportunity can open doors you never expected. About the people around me in this race and the professional success many of them had achieved. I thought about how badly I wanted to build something meaningful myself. I thought about how much I wanted to belong in rooms like this. Eventually, after more than thirty kilometres and having crossed a huge portion of London, I spotted a building covered in Nike branding. The finish. As soon as I crossed the line, applause erupted. I wasn't expecting it. For a moment I genuinely didn't understand what was happening. The team was cheering. Other runners were cheering. People were congratulating me from every direction. Then I started talking to some of the participants who had already arrived. That's when it clicked. Fifth place. And by far the youngest runner there. The truth is, the position itself wasn't what mattered most. What mattered was that I had enjoyed every moment and given absolutely everything I had. But if I'm honest, the result did mean something. Because throughout the race I'd been thinking about one thing. I wanted these people to know I was serious. I wanted to prove that I belonged there. And perhaps most of all, I wanted them to remember me. The day ended with an incredible post-race recovery experience. Breakfast, hydration, recovery protocols, and conversations with runners as they crossed the finish line one by one. Looking back, those conversations were almost as memorable as the race itself. Real stories. Real people. The kind of moments that remind you why running continues to open doors I never expected to walk through.

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Race Day Diary: Blindfolds, Empty Streets, and ...

At 2:00 a.m., the alarm went off. I had slept barely three hours. Under normal circumstances, that would have been a problem. But the previous evening had been one of those dinners you remember long after the trip is over. We had gathered at St Clement's Café and somehow what was supposed to be dinner turned into hours of conversation. Running, work, life, ambitions, experiences. The kind of discussions that enrich a trip far beyond the event itself. So while the lack of sleep was real, there wasn't even 1% regret. At 2:40 a.m., after getting ready, I headed down to reception. More runners were already there waiting. Nobody seemed fully awake, yet everybody seemed switched on. That's when things got interesting. We were told we'd be travelling by minibus to the start. Blindfolds were handed out. Immediately, Squid Game came to mind. The journey wasn't short. Some people used the opportunity to get a little more sleep. I couldn't. By then I was fully invested in the challenge. My mind kept trying to piece together what was coming next, despite having almost no information to work with. Eventually we arrived. One hundred runners. Different countries. Different ages. Different backgrounds. All gathered for the same challenge. I'm pretty sure everyone had different objectives, but personally I knew one thing: I wasn't there to simply participate. I wanted to test myself against some of the best people in the room. After the briefing, we received our equipment and headed towards the start. There was a silence hanging in the air. The kind that mixes nerves, tension, and excitement. Nobody looked tired anymore. The rules were simple. Reach a checkpoint to receive a clue leading to the next one. Complete the sequence correctly and eventually you'd find the finish. Then we started running. The pace was fast from the beginning. Maybe because of my background in running, I resisted the temptation to follow. Instead, I settled into my own rhythm. I knew there would be a time to push later. The first three checkpoints were chaos. Inside Epping Forest, every shortcut looked promising until it didn't. Every trail felt capable of leading somewhere useful or leaving you completely lost. It felt more like navigating a maze than racing through a forest. Luckily, at that stage, many of us were still moving together. For over fifteen kilometres, I shared the route with six other runners. Different nationalities. Different generations. Yet united by the same ambition. After all, there's probably a reason you're running through empty streets and forests at five in the morning. We shared route ideas, race impressions, and encouragement. It became a small temporary team. That lasted until checkpoint four. There, everything changed. We were handed two different destinations: Checkpoint 5A and Checkpoint 5B. Both had to be completed before reaching the finish, but the order was up to us. The group immediately started debating routes and calculating options. I thanked them, wished them luck, and left. Perhaps because I was the youngest, they didn't expect it. But I wanted to experience the challenge on my own. And if I was going to reach the finish line, I wanted to get there completely empty. From that point onwards, the race truly began. Thirteen kilometres remained. Just me and London. The city felt surreal. Long empty avenues stretched into the distance. Entire streets without a soul in sight. At times it felt like I was running through the set of The Walking Dead. Around kilometre twenty, my legs started to complain. The strange thing was that I kept getting faster. During those hours, a lot of thoughts crossed my mind. I thought about the decision to move to Madrid. About taking risks without knowing where they'll lead. About how saying yes to one opportunity can open doors you never expected. About the people around me in this race and the professional success many of them had achieved. I thought about how badly I wanted to build something meaningful myself. I thought about how much I wanted to belong in rooms like this. Eventually, after more than thirty kilometres and having crossed a huge portion of London, I spotted a building covered in Nike branding. The finish. As soon as I crossed the line, applause erupted. I wasn't expecting it. For a moment I genuinely didn't understand what was happening. The team was cheering. Other runners were cheering. People were congratulating me from every direction. Then I started talking to some of the participants who had already arrived. That's when it clicked. Fifth place. And by far the youngest runner there. The truth is, the position itself wasn't what mattered most. What mattered was that I had enjoyed every moment and given absolutely everything I had. But if I'm honest, the result did mean something. Because throughout the race I'd been thinking about one thing. I wanted these people to know I was serious. I wanted to prove that I belonged there. And perhaps most of all, I wanted them to remember me. The day ended with an incredible post-race recovery experience. Breakfast, hydration, recovery protocols, and conversations with runners as they crossed the finish line one by one. Looking back, those conversations were almost as memorable as the race itself. Real stories. Real people. The kind of moments that remind you why running continues to open doors I never expected to walk through.

Lire la suite