Acclaimed Hollywoodbets athlete Carla Molinaro reveals her incredible journey of taking up running purely as a hobby to now being a World 50k champion.
This is Carla Molinaro (40) a long-distance runner and Hollywood Athletics Club Elite Runner.
Molinaro said she never intended to have a career in athletics but she has always been involved in doing it as a hobby.
“I am very lucky that I have progressed through the sport and it has turned into a job. It kind of happened as a happy accident,” she said.
She started her career as a triathlete, competing at three World Championships and winning her age group at the European Duathlon Championships in 2008, before moving her focus solely to running.
In November last year, she was crowned the World 50km champion in Hyderabad, India.
She continued to excel at what she does and made history this year when she became the first Hollywood AC Woman to win a Comrades Gold Medal in a time of 06:12:01 finishing fourth. It was also her first on the up run.
On the two previous up runs, she obtained Bill Rowan Medals. In 2017, she ran 07:55:10 and improved in 2019 with a time of 07:51:05.
Talking about her journey and how she prepares herself for marathons, Molinaro said every day is different because of the different training that they do.
“The biggest challenge living in Cape Town is the weather. However, we are flexible with the training and if one day looks horrific we will move our sessions around to make sure that the quality sessions are done in the best conditions possible.
“I also have a great group that I run with and living in Cape Town with amazing scenery, sunrises and sunsets it makes getting out and running very easy,” he said.
She encouraged aspiring women athletes who dream of becoming an Elite Athlete to do the races that make them happy and excited.
“If you pick races that you enjoy, you are more likely to have fun and then succeed. Just keep on chipping away and build that consistency don’t rush the process.”
Molinaro added that she will be participating in the Valencia Marathon in December in order to improve her Personal Best in the Marathon. Valencia is one of the fastest marathon courses on the global circuit and is therefore the ideal race for Carla to chase her new PB.
She’s looking to eclipse her previous PB of 2:46:10 set in the 2022 Sevilla Marathon.
