Elite runner Diego Estrada is no stranger to long journeys. In fact, he runs every race with one particular journey in mind.
“I see running a marathon as a long conservative approach and it takes a lot of patience and it just reminds me of the journey I took to become an American citizen,” he said. “It did not happen overnight and just like this training it is not happening overnight.”
Estrada came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was just 13 months old, his mother crossing the Rio Grande with him in her arms. More than two decades later, after much work and sacrifice, he proudly became a citizen.
“To become a citizen it is not easily given. It gives me a different appreciation to being an American,” he said. “If we were to go to war, I would fight for this country, so that is how I feel about representing my country on a global stage.”
The pressure of the global running stage is nothing new for Estrada. In 2012, before his US citizenship was finalized, he competed for Mexico in the London Olympics. In 2015, he captured the US Half Marathon Championship, posting the seventh fastest time ever by an American.
“My best event seems to be the half marathon, but it is not an Olympic event, so it is either the track or the marathon and I really enjoy the roads more so I want to see if I can become a marathoner,” he said.
Diego is hoping to make two countries proud as he races through the streets of Chicago, in his first major marathon.
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“An opportunity like this only comes once in a lifetime,” he said. “I do not want to waste it so I want to do a good job so when they announce my name I will try to contain my emotions.”
