Cerebral palsy didn’t stop this runner from finishing Barcelona marathon
His marathon time was 5:50:51, but it was never about the time. It was all about finishing the race.
Mr Alex Roca – a 32-year-old who has had two-thirds of his body ravaged by cerebral palsy since he was six months old – completed the Barcelona marathon this week in what has been lauded as a superhuman feat of endurance and determination.
He ran 42km in 5 hours, 50 minutes and 51 seconds. For a man his age, the average completion time is 4 hours and 10 minutes.
But being “average” was not the point.
Even before he could walk, Mr Roca had always been falling behind, always trying to catch up.
Yet, he also would – always against all odds, and never mind the time – cross the finish line. That was all that mattered.
“The limit is up to you, and if you want to achieve an objective, whatever difficulties you have, with attitude, willpower, perseverance and resilience, you can achieve everything you propose,” he told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
“And if you do not achieve it,” he added, “you will have given everything and must feel gratified.”
At 6 months old, Roca had herpetic viral encephalitis that left 76 per cent of the left side of his body with cerebral palsy.
He has since been suffering through impaired movement and exaggerated reflexes, reducing the range of motion at various joints of his body due to muscle stiffness.
He communicates through sign language.
Yet, to prepare for the Barcelona marathon, he managed to run seven half marathons.
Earlier in 2023, he ran the Granollers half-marathon, finishing in 2:45:16. A month later, on Feb 19, he completed the Barcelona half-marathon in a personal best time of 2:38:28.
He had also been in five triathlons and one aquathlon.
Mr Roca is currently an ambassador of the FC Barcelona Foundation and is the only Nike-sponsored athlete with cerebral palsy.
“I am passionate about challenges and love trying new sports... With my example, I want to show people that limits are set by us individually,” Mr Roca said in an article that ran on the website of the tennis equipment maker, Wilson.
Wilson had also tapped Mr Roca as an ambassador.
Mr Roca, the company said, represents the principle that in any sport, “everyone, regardless of their gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, or ability, deserves equal treatment, opportunities, and to feel included”.
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