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My name is Luis Jover. I’m from Barcelona and, although I have had the chance of living in five different countries, I still feel most lucky to live here. I am married to a great woman named Elena and we have a wild baby daughter named Gabriela, as well as another one on the way. I am an industrial engineer and currently Associate Director at IESE’s MBA Admissions Department. This position takes me to Canada, UK and Ireland, the Nordic countries, and Eastern Europe quite frequently. In my spare time, besides reading, traveling and spending time with my family and friends (despite the cliché, it is quite true), I very much like running.

For a long time now, I have wanted to start my own blog. The idea behind this was simply sharing my traveling adventures around the world with anyone who is up to reading them. These trips are the cause and consequence of my work developing IESE and recruiting the best talent from the countries up above.

There has been, though, a catalyst that has finally encouraged me to begin writing: In two months I’m going to run a marathon in Barcelona, ​​my first marathon. And since at the MBA we aim for excellence, the goal I chose had to be just as demanding … if I reach it or not, that’s another story ;D: 42km and 195 meters through the streets of Barcelona on March 13 in less than 3 hours.

In this blog I will share with you my trainings and my trips, or rather, my trips and my trainings, since the later essentially depends on the former, and not vice versa. Hence the challenge!

This week I started with a half marathon in Sitges, a town near Barcelona quite famous for the beauty of its waterfront and beaches. It was a cold dawn (for Barcelona standards, of course) and somewhat windy. Here is a picture of me with a group of friends before the race.

For those who don’t know me yet, I am third in from the left.

I took a progressive approach for this race, starting from less to more intensity, and I got a good feeling. The final result was quite satisfactory: 1h20’55’’, which is 3’50’’/km.

This week is also very intense workwise. Round 2 just finished and there are many applications to review. For those of you who are not familiar with the process, in order to apply for our MBA there are different deadlines and key dates in which the candidate must submit a series of documents for the School to be able to proceed with the evaluation of a candidacy.

Amid all this work, I manage to find some time early in the morning or in the late afternoon. Both options are tough during wintertime, mainly because it is dark, but it is a necessary effort since I manage to at least run 50km per week. And in my case, the more the better.

Next Sunday l run a 10km race, the Cursa de Sant Antoni, around Sant Antoni neighborhood, a district which is well known for its small shops and the hospitality of its neighbors. According to my coach (yes, to try finish my first marathon in less than 3h I need one, and a good one too!) the plan is spend the first 36 minutes without too much suffering. We’ll see if that happens. And to top it off, after the race I have to give him 5k more…!

With this I say goodbye for now, but until next time, any comments or training partners will be more than welcome.