There are just over 200 meters left to cross the arrival arch Carolina Nistico Gonzalo, his partner and Anton, his son just 9 months old. The young woman is about to complete the 13 miles from Run Altas summits – which ran on Saturday March 26 in Clavero Mine, Cordoba– and he does it with his little one. Her legs and arms feel the exhaustion. Caro comes from competing in swimming, 1,500 meters on Friday, and on Sunday he will have to run 82 kilometers in Vuelta Altas Cumbres mountain bike. But he doesn’t care. She takes her baby in her arms and crosses the finish line. “There were a lot of emotions together. I swear I did not expect it, ”she assured while the public presents does not stop congratulating her.
Many people question the relationship between physical activity and motherhood. “You have to take care of yourself”, is one of the phrases that pregnant women hear. Even a significant number of health professionals support this theory and recommend having the least and most controlled physical activity possible. during a pregnancy. But that didn’t stop Carolina from stopping doing what she loves the most: sports.
sport and pregnancy
“When I found out I was pregnant, I asked Sofi to give me the number of her obstetrician. And it was key”, explains Carolina. “Sofi” is Sophia Cantilo, the Argentine ultra trail runner with many podiums in her history, a reference in the sport who ran until almost the moment of her daughter’s birth. It was under the supervision of this medical professional that Caro not only never stopped playing sports, but she was encouraged to run her first race when Anton (born by caesarean section) was not yet 3 months old.
A genius or a madman? The reality is that professionals who care for athletes ensure that, as long as nothing is put at risk, it is best to maintain activity at levels consistent with what is possible. “If you never ran you are not going to make it pregnant. It is different with people who have always played sports, because you know your body, you know how to listen to it and you are aware that when the body tells you this far, it’s this far. One is not going to commit anything crazy, and the doctor knew that from the moment he had the first talk with me ”, Caroline explains. And that is perhaps the key to everything. In other words, neither genius nor crazy, realistic.
Overboard, dear
This year, Clavero Mine premiere “High Peaks Experience”a 3-day event that began on March 25 with an open water swimming competition and continued on the 26 with trail running and on the 27 with the classic Back High Summitscareer of mountain biking which celebrated its 11th edition. And Carolina was one of the almost 4,500 athletes, of all ages, who filled the streets of the city of Cordoba.
Minutes before the driver marked the start, Caro was still finishing settling down. “I arrived, like almost all competitions, settling in because I always wait until the last minute to breastfeed. Anton. So later I can compete calmly. Of course, I arrive and I have to look for him because he immediately wants to come with me”, he says and clarifies that everything is easier thanks to his partner, Gonzalo, and his parents, with whom they travel to almost all the races together .
were more than 150 participants those who enjoyed the calm and crystalline water of the The Vineyard Dam, on an incredibly ideal day for swimming. And there was Caro, who at the end of it all she could think about was her son and that the next day 21 hard and fast kilometers of trail running awaited her.
To run has been said
There are minutes left before the clock strikes 7:30 am. and Caro finishes breastfeeding his son and, in a hurry, finishes preparing to start her trail race. Her idea is to run calmly, but for her, like the rest of the competitors, the beautiful and provocative circuit will lead them to put more rhythm on it.
The 21 kilometers They were perhaps the distance that everyone talked about the most. In the first row are almost all the members of the trail team, which promised a more than attractive race. Earlier they had covered the longest distances (60 and 42 kilometers) and later the 10 and 5 kilometers.
“The time I am running I fully enjoy it. I also have to admit that the organization was in every detail: the well-armed and super complete hydration stations, the people with a lot of enthusiasm and happiness and the landscapes that are incredible. And the circuit with those fast and hard-working variants make you enjoy the race even if you are agitated”, Carolina maintains that with her son the dynamic is very different from when it was just her and her partner. “With Anton everything is more complex, more chaotic. Butwhen you love what you do, you find a way to accommodate yourself and do it the same”, he reflects.
The surprise was given Gonzalo, that she went with Anton to wait for her about 200 meters before the arrival arch and that when Caro saw them she was speechless. “We are going to finish it together”, she told her partner while she took her son in her arms, in the same arms that they had the day before. swam 1,500 meters.
The three of them passed through the arch and soon after they were in the cabin trying to rest. The challenge was not over yet, because the next day both Caro and Gonzalo had to compete.
The last effort
If the way of organizing is more chaotic with a child, having a parent to leave it with, imagine how much more complex it can be if both parents are going to be gone for several hours.
“Gonza started earlier (he was running the distance of 120 kilometers of MTB). And I arrived giving Anton the torch and, when I realized it, he had put on Gonza’s shirt and hadn’t checked the tire pressure. It was already said and I went to the start, ”he recalls with a laugh.
It was not an easy race for anyone, but even more so for Caro. Tiredness made itself felt in a race that is very uphill. “The landscapes of the MTB circuit are incredibly beautiful. But I went up and up and said “I don’t give more”, but luckily I’m mentally strong and, in addition, I ran with the ideal ratio (plate and crown) for me, which Gonza put together for me. To the point that I passed guys I know who I can’t even reach on the street, not even crazy, ”she explains.
Caro and her partner were part of the more than 2,500 cyclists who competed in the different distances offered by the race: 32, 82 and 120 kilometers. But the young woman went one step further and finished third on the podium of the “Ladies A” category of the combination of disciplines Swim + Run + VAC.
The mega event not only offers various swimming, trail running and MTB distances, but also rewards those who participate in the combined competitions Run+VAC (21K of trail running and 82K of MTB) and Swim+Run+VAC (1.5K in open water, 21K of trail running and 82K of MTB), in the latter he participated Carolinaa woman who also works and raises her son who is barely 9 months old.
“We always liked the idea of proposing something different. We define ourselves as runners, but we are fans of MBT and we swim to complete the training. We like to challenge ourselves, look for new goals that take us out of the comfort zone and we know that most athletes feel the same” he explained Agustina Taglewho together with Ricardo Gragliadirects Run High Peaks.
The thing is “High Peaks Experience”like most of the big events in the interior, is not only a sporting event but also a great tourist proposal that moves thousands of people, as marked by the Mayor of Mina Clavero, Claudio Manzanellithe opening day.
So much so that the event brought together elite and amateur athletes from all over the country, who came to the city of Cordoba with the purpose of celebrating adventure sports in all its forms. And among them was Carolina, a young mother who made it clear that pregnancy, motherhood and sports can coexist without any inconvenience. Making life healthier and more fun.
