Every session has a reason.

When I joined the team in December 2009, I was completely out of shape: running for 30 minutes was basically impossible.

What I’m proudest of is having made a healthy life and a healthy mind my lifestyle. And in triathlon, the main goal: finishing the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona in 2024.

The most important part of the coaching is San’s individual attention: care with every detail and precise adjustments. And understanding that sport runs parallel to life: enjoying the social side as much as the athletic one.

“Anything is possible. Follow your dreams and finish what you commit to. Stay humble, stay hungry.”

I reached out to San in 2014: after running a marathon, I wanted to start triathlon. I was training with running plans from magazines, but I realized I couldn’t do triathlon on my own. What I understood later is that I couldn’t do running on my own either!

I’m proud of my top 10 at the World Triathlon Long Distance World Championships, but not for the placing: I broke my foot 10 weeks before the race, respected the recovery and managed a consistent race, including the run. I wish every race went like that!

And also my DNF at 70.3 São Paulo. It’s easy to talk about PRs and podiums, but knowing when to stop is part of the sport. An endurance race isn’t only physical preparation: it’s also a process of self-knowledge, of noticing when things get out of control and could become risky. With all the teaching and support, I was able to make that decision calmly.

I learned to respect and value rest. As a flight attendant, understanding the importance of rest and sleep was a turning point that let me keep training in a healthy, consistent and injury-free way after so many years.

“Just start and have fun! Enjoy every stage of a sport that can take you places you never imagined.”

I arrived with the dream of doing an IRONMAN 70.3 at 49, scared to death, but trusting that with people helping me I would make it. A year earlier I had run a marathon after a traumatic build-up, and I got injured. So I told San and Carla: I want to do the IRONMAN, but healthy, and with a healthy routine.

My proudest moment was finishing my first 70.3 strong and healthy. Even more, it was fitting triathlon into my life in a way that doesn’t stress me out, doesn’t hurt me and makes my life healthier.

It’s great to have San, who is technically brilliant, looking at me individually and caring about my development. And Carla is an idol: having her close, training and racing with us, is an important reference and, above all, an inspiring one.

Next dreams: racing a 70.3 as a guide for my friend Marcos Rossi, who has no arms or legs, and a full IRONMAN in 2027. I race to raise awareness for the humanitarian cause of the Karimu Foundation.

“Believe in the dream, believe in your potential and take the first step. Set a goal and go after it.”

I joined the team after a few frustrating attempts at running, especially the marathon: I blew up in both races I tried. Sport had always been part of my life, but I no longer saw progress. I turned to triathlon as a way to learn something new and, maybe, find my motivation again. I had already done my first 70.3, but I was still looking for that energy and that love for running.

My biggest achievement was rediscovering myself as an athlete. I still remember something San said: “Bruna is rediscovering herself in running.” And he was right. I didn’t just discover what I’m capable of physically, but also how far our mind can take us when we believe in ourselves and trust the process. The results are very special, but I’m even prouder of the athlete I became along the way with this team.

The team gave me back my energy and my love for running and triathlon. I learn every day from the athletes around me, and I have an extremely invested coach: he shares the emotion with me, celebrates the wins and knows how to say what needs to be said, even when we don’t always agree. In the end, we share the same goal: a better athlete and, above all, a better person. No one builds this journey alone.

“Sport has the power to transform lives. We just have to be willing to give ourselves a chance.”

When I joined CMTeam, I was running with no direction and no specific training. I would run one day, then work got busy and I stopped. Then I would look for a program, lose interest, get injured and start all over again. I lacked structure and consistency. And I ran 10K at most.

My biggest achievement is having finished 3 marathons and many half marathons since then. Today I consider myself a real runner: I plan my life around training, sleep and nutrition.

San and Carla work magic: they don’t just build the workouts, they help you get past the obstacles with their experience. If you trust the process and respect the training and your body, anything is possible.

“Trust the process, be patient and remember: being able to train in the sport you chose is a privilege.”

I joined the team on my physiotherapist’s recommendation, after two injuries typical of an “over-excited” beginner runner without proper coaching. I had always been very averse to exercise and, after years devoted only to motherhood and work, I realized I needed to do something for my health, something I could finally stick with. I chose running. The limits of my work as a doctor, with exhausting on-call shifts, stopped being a barrier once I learned to set priorities and get organized.

Finding a passion in running, and from there making room for everything that sustains it (strength work, nutrition, rest, meditation), was the big change in my life. I achieved things I never imagined: I ran a marathon, discovered the fascinating world of trail running and did several races, plus long-distance hikes of 200 to 300 km. Endurance in nature is now the key to my mental health and, I dare say, my spiritual health too: a powerful tool for self-knowledge and a lighthouse showing what we are capable of in every area of life.

The way San and Carla work goes far beyond preparing an athlete, whether an amateur like me or a high-performance one. Their competence is unquestionable, but the care, the personal dedication and the attention to the whole person, considering dreams, demands, difficulties and the bumps along the way, are for me what truly sets them apart. These two are true partners!

“Going farther and going faster may go together to some extent, but they are not the same thing. Going far takes patience and time, plus the confidence of having someone to hold your hand.”

I started training with CMTeam less than a year after getting into triathlon. I had been running for seven years, but only had professional coaching in the last one. My physical therapist recommended the team after I developed early tendinitis when I started increasing my running intensity and volume.

The biggest change we achieved together was learning to fit training into my life, not the other way around. Through all of life’s changes, comings and goings, keeping a healthy mind and body is something I owe largely to sport: it is my point of balance and strength. And beyond coaches, I gained real affection and friendship, built over the years and over dreams we made come true together.

It made all the difference in every phase of my sporting life. Even with a routine that doesn’t always let me train as much as I’d like, the method and its careful adaptation took me to things I never thought possible: I’m going back to Boston next year, ten years after my first time, qualified six minutes faster, and I’ll get to live it alongside my sister. It’s one more dream I owe a lot to San and Carla.

“Believe in your dreams, but have the maturity and wisdom to surround yourself with people who can truly help you. Trust the process, not the shortcuts, and the result will truly surprise you.”