“Cory said let’s run this 100km. It is a Western States qualifier, so I said why not?”
Andrei, from Romania, now living in Taipei, Taiwan will be running his first ever 100km in Thailand next month. He will run The North Face 100km as “training” for another even tougher race next May in Indonesia, The Rinjani 100km.
It is rather interesting as to why now Andrei will be running his first 100km when not long ago, less than a year, just the idea of running a 5km was a dread. Nevertheless, it is not that he just woke up one day and decided I am going to do this. For the last 11 months Mr Maeir has been on the podium for every single race he has run. He got 5th place on Formosa Trail 37km with no training, then he in second place for Action Asia 50km, right after Petr Novotny, and also won second place in Action Asia 27km.
When asked why the decision of going from 0 to 100km in such short period of time he mentions that without his fiance Jen,he would not be running the way he is running now. “She believed in me and then I just started training.” Right when he found he could run, he discovered Strava segments. “I just wanted to go out there and take on those segment records.” Now he does not care so much about the records but instead finds more joy in just exploring the mountains and what they have to offer.
Motivation can be difficult to maintain sometimes so how does he keep motivated?
As we all know maintaining motivation can be difficult at the best of times. Andrei states “Reading, meditation, and working with what is available” keeps him motivated. Recently he has been reading Running with the Legents by Michael Sandrock. Andrei comments that he not only gets inspired but also learns a lot from how other great athletes were training some years ago. Mindfulness is also a big part of Andrei’s life, this allows him to focus on his goals and to maintain a positive attitude towards others and himself. Lastly, he recommends a vegetarian diet to keep healthy and strong.
I look forward to seeing what Andrei is capable of achieving in his first 100km race.
What advice would you give Andrei for his upcoming The North Face Thailand 100km race?
To get in touch witg Andrei you can add him on Facebook: andrei.maier.90
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