The next stop on the surprise Tokyo 2025 bronze medalist’s marathon journey turns the former Great Britain international, who now plays for Uruguay.
Julia Paternein’s jaw dropping when she was told she had secured third place in the women’s marathon was one of the lasting images of last summer’s world championships in Tokyo. His careful management of the hot and humid conditions landed him a place on the world podium behind Kenyan winner Peres Jepchirchir and Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, which changed his life and opened the door to a new level of recognition as well as competition.
The 26-year-old admits it has taken some getting used to, but one welcome development he has brought is the opportunity to compete in this month’s London Marathon. For a woman who was born in Mexico, now competes for Uruguay (where her parents are from) but grew up in England and ran for Cambridge and Coleridge in her youth, it will represent a full-circle moment and a journey back to where it all began.
The dual English Schools 3000m winner and former Great Britain player finished second in the under-17 race at the 2017 Mini London Marathon and will fulfill his teenage ambitions by moving on to the full event.
Paternain has also run for Penn State and the University of Arkansas in the US and spoke to AW from his base in Flagstaff, where he is trained by Jack Polerecki of the McKirdy Trained team and was making his final preparations to return to British soil.
How are your preparations going for London?
I am excited about London. It was hard to adjust to life after Japan, I guess. I had the experience of my life, which was really, really great, but also a whole new area that I’ve never had to manage before, so dealing with the mental aspect of it was a new challenge, but I think it’s going well now. My long run training is starting to click and it’s getting more real too. Now it’s like. “Okay, I actually do.”
How much of an influence did Tokyo have on you? Was it hard to get back into the routine and start your running again?
I took a two-week break and then I really wanted to get back into it because everything felt so unusual that I just wanted to be normal. After all the interviews and travel, jet lag, everything, I was like, “I just want to run, go practice and do what I’m used to.” It was really easy to get back into things at first, which I think was almost a blessing and a curse because I went a little bit too early and got injured around January.
It was just hard to deal with it. “I’ve got a little bit more pressure on me now, but now I’m dealing with the first injury I’ve had in a while,” and figuring that out. Then I had a very humbling return to fitness. Looks like I finally got the hang of it in terms of training and getting used to a new lifestyle. There have been many new things to navigate.
What doors did the world championships open for you?
I, for one, have never been asked to do a podcast before. I’m also now able to run a lot of different races, which changes the calendar and timing of what I’m preparing for and what my goals are. The other thing that changed was that now I can go for a run or a pro meeting and people know who I am, which wasn’t the case before, which is kind of weird because I’m just me. The same person.
Do you like it or would you rather just be a face in the crowd?
I’m not someone who likes to have a camera on me. I’ll never be able to be a YouTuber or anything like that. I respect them so much, but it couldn’t have been me. But at the same time, I’m a big sports nerd and I really enjoy being able to talk about it and share my experiences.
I think transparency in this sport is something that is a little lacking with some professionals. I feel like you get a very vanilla background of their lives and it’s not always very inspiring, so I think it’s nice to be able to share my story and hopefully show that it’s not always just a super linear progression.
One of the doors open to you is the London Marathon. How much of a full circle moment is it for you and how do you feel about coming back?
It’s been one of my main motivations for the past few months. I’m excited to go back and just reminisce about my entire running journey. I ran the mini marathon in 2017 and it was probably one of my best races as a junior. I mean, it was my first road race as well, so to be able to have that full lap moment is really exciting. I haven’t been back since about 2021 so I’m just excited to see all my close friends.
What memories do you have of that mini marathon?
I remember being so honored that I was even chosen. Those big competitions feel really big, so I was really excited to be there. The whole experience was so professional. the way they transported us to the race and where they would keep us before the race, everything was just very professional, which was really cool at that age.
The winner of the race was Erin Wallace (now a member of the M11 Track Club) and I think she overtook me by about a kilometer. He was running for Scotland and I remember everyone in the crowd shouting: “Let’s go to Scotland.” It was such a great experience. It was such a great race. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people watch me run, so I absolutely loved it. I had a great time. And I remember thinking. “When I grow up, I want to run a full marathon.”
As for the memories of running regularly in England, I had spent so much time growing as an athlete. I feel like most of my development happened back in the UK.
What will make you successful in London?
My main goal is to just run as fast as I can. I’ve run 2:27 twice now, and I think I was in much better shape than when I ran it in Japan. it was just the heat and the conditions. It’s taken me a while to get back into shape but by the time London comes around I’ll hopefully be ready and I think a PB is well within my reach.
But really, I just want to get more experience. I am still relatively young at the marathon, it happened after Japan. “Let’s back up a little bit and not get too far ahead of ourselves here,” because that’s when the pressure kind of got to me. So it is (about). “Let’s get more experience and try to build a long career,” rather than going for something monumental every time I step on the starting line.
You will again be on the starting line with Peres Jepchirchir and Tigist Assefa. How do you feel about re-entering that environment?
It’s an honor to stand on the starting line with these women. Even in Eilish McColgan’s race. i’ve been looking at him for years. He has been phenomenal and consistent for so many years, so to be on the starting line with him is an honor in itself.
But I’ll deal with it like I did with Japan, because I can’t control what other people do. I can only control what I do and the effort I give. They are phenomenal athletes and if I can even be close to them I will be over the moon.
Running is now your thing, but are you an athlete who also uses it for your well-being? Is it part of who you are?
Yeah, and I attribute a lot of that to my upbringing at UK, because I know a lot of athletes who come to the NCAA and then they graduate from the NCAA, and they’re like, “I’m going to have to do it.” “I never want to run again.” For them, running is very much a way to go to university or get a scholarship or something. I have always thought. “I want to run, and it’s really cool that it’s opening these doors for me, but regardless, I’m still going to run.” And I got that from the UK club system.
Tuesday night I was going down to the track, everyone was of different ages. People who just wanted to run for fun and just run for sport. I go crazy if I can’t run. I’m definitely someone who does this for my own well-being as well.
