Sports
Why Che Fanti Chose the Buenos Aires Marathon
After New York and taking time off for her wedding, the runner weighed costs, logistics, and training time to map out her next race cycle.
After crossing the finish line in New York and celebrating her wedding, Che Fanti had to plan her upcoming race calendar. In a conversation on Girls Who Run, she breaks down the key factors that led her to choose the Buenos Aires Marathon.
After finishing Berlin, Chicago, and crossing the finish line at the New York City Marathon with a time of 3:30—achieving her biggest dream in running—Marcella "Che" Fanti faced the classic question: what would be her next 26.2-mile challenge? With her wedding scheduled for the first half of the year and the need to balance expenses with daily life, setting her race calendar called for a rational process of elimination.
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Ruling out Majors and domestic races
Despite her long-term goal of completing the World Marathon Majors Six Star Journey, Che ruled out stops like Tokyo and London. Tokyo required extensive travel planning that didn't fit her current schedule, while London involved a steep financial commitment. After winning a lottery spot for the Sydney Marathon on the very day she arrived to run New York, she opted to request a refund on her entry, recognizing that traveling to Australia also demanded a budget and time commitment that was unfeasible right after her wedding.
On the Brazilian race calendar, the Rio Marathon fell too close to her wedding date, making it impossible to complete a consistent training block. Che had logged very low running mileage between March and April while focusing on the wedding and honeymoon. Other domestic options were considered, such as the Curitiba Marathon, whose hilly profile presented a tougher challenge, and the Florianópolis Marathon, which would have cut her training cycle two to three weeks shorter than ideal to rebuild her mileage base.
The appeal of the Argentine capital
Against this backdrop, the Buenos Aires Marathon emerged as the choice that balanced feasibility and motivation. The destination offered straightforward logistics: a flight of around two and a half hours from Brazil, no time difference, and travel costs significantly more affordable than major Northern Hemisphere events.
In addition to a straightforward registration process—with spots open until about two weeks before the race, avoiding the stress of Major lotteries—visiting a city Che had never been to and having running club friends join made a big difference. The mostly flat Argentine course and the extra preparation time paved the way for a concrete goal: using the training cycle to chase a Boston Marathon qualifying time.
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