Ten years ago he had barely taken a step. Now they call him Kilian Jornet de Tàrrega. But Raül Arenas, about to turn 46, does not compete in competitions. The fight against the chrono and the comrades brings him nothing, he says. He runs, and runs, and runs. He runs tirelessly like Jornet, or like Dustin Hoffman in Rain man, and feeds on the energy of solidarity. The athlete, a mason by trade, is preparing his eighth charity challenge: a macromarathon between the legendary Canfranc railway station, in the Aragonese Pyrenees, and Tàrrega. 300 kilometers without a break for the benefit of Aina Godoy, an eight-year-old girl with Paddas syndrome.
With his previous challenges, which began in 2016 with the acquisition of sports equipment for an association of people with disabilities, Arenas has managed to raise 21,500 euros for different causes. Now she hopes to raise money so that Aina can have a special wheelchair. "A year and a half ago he started to have scoliosis [spinal deviation] and he can't stand in a normal chair," explains his mother, Espe Priego. Paddas syndrome is characterized, among other things, by developmental delay, intellectual disability or ataxia. No more than three cases a year are detected in the world.
Arenas hopes that his feat will help Aina and, incidentally, raise awareness of this rare pathology. That's why he will sell T-shirts and collect objects, invitations or products donated by commercial establishments in Tàrrega and the surrounding area that will be raffled off at the finish line: "My reward is seeing the family's happy face, it's the best trophy I can receive . I stopped participating in races because I wasn't motivated. This is what motivates me. If I set myself a challenge, I am already motivated to train and take responsibility. It's something I had inside and didn't know, and I'll do it while I can. Then, we'll see."
The athlete will leave Canfranc at ten o'clock at night on November 9 and expects to arrive in Tàrrega on Sunday the 12th at noon. Mecagonsena! (an exclamation he uses assiduously). To most mortals this is madness. For him... it will be hard too. But he looks ready for it. Two Saturdays ago he left Tàrrega at nine o'clock at night and ran to the Ares pass: 84 km with 1,700 meters of positive gradient. "Sometimes I get up at half past three in the morning, go for a run for two hours and go back to sleep," he explains.
It all started with a knee pain that bothered him when doing masonry work. "The doctor told me to try walking or running to strengthen my knees. I started running with five kilometers, and it motivated me so much that every day I wanted to run another kilometer. I kept setting goals until I ran the first mountain race, of 12 kilometers”. It was 2014. And from here, on the ultra trail, on the long distances. "One day, on a peak, I thought about how lucky I was and about the people who couldn't get there. I thought I had to do something for disabled people or people who need it", he recalls.
This is where the first solidarity challenge arose: sports equipment for the Alba association, in Tàrrega. Arenas ran 473 kilometers in five intermittent stages starting and ending in Montserrat. "I saw that everyone was pouring into it. When I first arrived in Tàrrega there were so many people that I got excited and thought, mechagonsena! , this does not end here'". He raised 3,200 euros.
In the different initiatives, all under the motto "Sever forward", he has won everything. From a bicycle to clothes from former international footballer Joan Capdevila, through Christmas baskets, hairdressing lots or restaurant invitations. In his talks – he would like to spend more time in schools – he holds out a banner with the six values that he says he aims to convey with the challenges: solidarity, will, sacrifice, responsibility, altruism and effort.
Father of a boy and a girl, he joined Tàrrega City Council in the municipal elections in May. His candidacy, Junts, won the elections, but with an insufficient result to govern and become Councilor for Sports, a position from which he intended to organize a large and original sports fair in the capital of Urgell The challenge remains on his mind.
