Estefanía Unzu Ripoll, better known as Verdeliss on social media, won this Sunday for the first time in Bilbao and did so in her 21st marathon in a year and a half. In fact, it is his third in three weeks, after chaining Logroño, Chicago and Bilbao. At 39 years old, the Navarrese has strongly returned to athletics, which she practiced in categories at the Ederki club, and after making her debut in May 2023 in Vienna, she has already won six victories, after having won in San Juan (Argentina), Hesbaye ( Belgium), Báscones (Spain), Helsinki (Finland), Logroño and Bilbao.
Verdeliss, a renowned influencer mother of eight children, recounts her performances in marathons on social media and after enjoying her experience in Chicago, she did not hesitate to embark on a new adventure, that of enjoying running at night in Bilbao and also becoming a the winner of the marathon. Unzu passed the middle in 1.24.31, which predicted great things considering that his best mark is 2.55.
The Navarrese kept the pace until in the last 5 kilometers she began to suffer and lost the advantage she had to establish a personal record. At the finish line the time was 2.55.33, 17 seconds away from the best mark he had established in Logroño. Of course, his victory was not in danger at any time.
“I am very happy, I have enjoyed it a lot, and I loved the atmosphere, running and the people cheering me on so much, it has been wonderful to run in Bilbao,” explained the champion after her victory. «In addition, a woman told me that I was an inspiration with this effort of doing marathons and it fills me a lot that I can be a reflection and that it can be seen that after 40 you can continue doing things, as I am demonstrating with these marathons.
When questioned about her ability to link one marathon to another, the Navarrese acknowledged that “in addition to having a great recovery capacity, I think it is because I do not go in search of great brands, but rather by sensations, I listen to my body, I dose and I enjoy, which is what it’s all about, every marathon, every competition. And this one in Bilbao, being able to run at night with this animation, seemed amazing to me.
Verdeliss does not stop here, the challenges continue. «I want to complete the six majors. I have four, on November 3 in New York I will do the fifth and I have Boston left, which is in April and for which I already have a number,” he explained to this newspaper. And continue enjoying this journey through athletics.
