Photo: Imanol Mujika
Mobel: How did you get started in the world of sport?
Beñat: Like almost everyone, when you're a kid you start playing football, after giving it up I started cycling and little by little I got into the world of duathlon/triathlon. I've been doing it for more than a decade now.
M: What do you feel when you practice sport?
B: Freedom.
M: How many hours do you train per day?
B: Between 1 and 2 hours, on weekends I can train up to 4 hours.
M: Where is your favourite place to train and what is the best time of day to train?
B: Where I live, in the Basque Country. We have all kinds of profiles for cycling and as for the traffic, there are areas where you can avoid it, although in general the cyclist is quite respected. Training times... I have to combine training with my professional work and my family, and it's not always easy, but with everyone's cooperation we manage to get our times in. I try to train on the bike first thing in the morning and the run later in the day, and for swimming I make time at midday.
M: After a hard day of training, how do you usually relax?
B: With my child in the park! There is not much time for absolute relaxation since Amets arrived.
M: The moments before a race are often the most nerve-wracking. How do you feel minutes before the start of a triathlon? And when it's over?
B: Nervous, of course. But once I've heard the starting horn, everything is forgotten, I put my nerves aside and concentrate on the race. When it's over... the feelings can be mixed, depending on the result or how my body has responded.
M: What motivates you to continue practising sport?
B: The group of friends that I have to train with help a lot; the training sessions are very enjoyable and the matches that arise motivate us to keep training day by day and to improve ourselves.
M: What is the one food you can't go without in your diet?
B: I'm addicted to rice pudding; it doesn't matter if it's made with cow's milk or vegetable milks, such as oat milk, etc... And at home it's my speciality!
M: Well, we'll have to try it! Heh, heh, heh.
M: There are many hours and days dedicated to training, in which different situations are experienced. Any funny experiences to tell?
B: Anecdotes, thousands... the group of friends I train with will have a few to tell about me; I am quite absent-minded and become the main actor in such anecdotes.
M: Any advice on how to encourage young people to take up sport?
B: They should start slowly, stage by stage, i.e., taking triathlon as an example, they should start by trying out short distances and increase kilometres over time. Please don't jump straight into an IROMAN distance.
M: Although every day is different, people always follow a routine. How would you sum up your day to day life?
B: I work shifts, morning or afternoon. If I work in the afternoon, I get up in the morning, take Amets to the ikastola and use the two hours he is there to train. After training, I go to pick him up and we have lunch with the grandparents; I take the opportunity to thank my mother-in-law, who prepares lunch for us so that I can train. If I work in the mornings, I train in the afternoons; in this case, I combine the schedules with my wife. It's all a question of organisation.
M: As you know, life takes many turns but, even so, we always have plans for the future. How do you see yourself in 10 years' time?
B: I guess I will continue to do sport, not at the same level, but I will continue to compete in triathlon races or something like that.
M: Apart from sport, do you have any other passions?
B: My wife says no (laughs).
M: Some people have a lucky charm that brings them luck in the most important moments of their lives. Do you have one for the races?
B: I'm not one for charms, although lately I draw a ghost on my hand, as I promise my son that I will kiss the ghost every time he crosses the finish line.
M: Everyone is different and therefore has different ways of approaching sport. Could you tell me what your 10 commandments about sport would be?
B: I wouldn't be able to list 10 commandments. It's clear to me that this is leisure and that triathlon doesn't feed me; that's why the main things are health, family and work, even if it sounds very typical. Within sport, I would highlight three in particular: patience, perseverance and enjoyment.
M: If you had to define yourself as a person in one word, what would it be?
B: Restless and big-headed ass.
M: Before you got into the world of sport, did you have an idol, a person to follow?
B: I look more at the guys close to me, the ones in the peloton, the ones I train with and compete against; after all, they are the ones closest to me and we all make great efforts to maintain these levels.
