After years of sedentary lifestyle punctuated by drunken evenings and outings in techno nightclubs, Maxime Lopes decides to leave his native France to settle in Quebec for a year, with the aim of getting his act together and finishing his baccalaureate. in psychology.
Shortly after his arrival, his new roommate invited him to running training with the cross-country team at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). “I came to Quebec to change my life, so I said why not? »
The competitive spirit immediately grabs Maxime, who finds himself among the worst runners on his team. “It hurt my ego a bit,” he admits in retrospect.
But it is above all the quest for excellence that motivates him. “I told myself during my first race that I could be one of the best in Quebec. If you don’t go in with that mentality, you’ll never make it. »
And in his case, the improvement is rapid. After only a few months of training, he covered 10 km in 35:45, a result that many runners take years to achieve. “It’s good, but it’s far from a good level,” he adds. But it gave me hope.”
The year in Quebec turned into a decade. Today, Maxime finds himself among the best athletes in the province. At the same time, he completed his doctorate in psychology at UQAM and managed RunWise, his business and YouTube channel which has 37,000 subscribers. He presents training sessions, advice and podcasts, where he invites renowned actors from the world of running.
Constant progress
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MAXIME LOPES
Maxime Lopes
Although he is still far from the world record of 2h35 held by the Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum, who died tragically in mid-February, Maxime Lopes has never stopped his progress.
After five years in the Citadins de l’UQAM team during which he competed in several events, from the 800 m to the 10 km, he embarked on the marathon in 2019. His personal best over this distance increased from 2 h 27 min in 2019 to 2 h 19 min in 2021 before he improves it, to 2 h 15 min 20 s last December.
According to him, he owes this progress to his training volume. From his second season, in 2016, he ran a total of 5,000 km, the equivalent of Canada from east to west (an average of 100 km per week). In 2023, it would cover 7,500 km per year.
The path has not been linear, however. During his early years, Maxime made “plenty of beginner’s mistakes,” including overtraining which led to injuries. He also had eating problems. Originally, he kept his figure to be lighter and run faster, but that turned into an obsession with his weight. He was able to extricate himself from it after years of malnutrition.
The 32-year-old considers these errors beneficial. To become stronger, “it’s important to push yourself hard,” he thinks.
And for 2024?
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MAXIME LOPES
Maxime Lopes in training
Maxime Lopes recently flew to Barcelona, where he is training before heading to Kenya for a training camp with the best marathon runners in the world.
He has two goals for the year. Symbolically beat the Quebec marathon record, held by Alain Bordeleau, who crossed the 42.195 km in 2 h 14 min 19 s in 1984 (Maxime not having his permanent residence, he cannot have the official Quebec record) . The second is to complete the Valencia marathon in less than 2 h 12 min
And the Olympic Games in all this? “I think about it, but I’m realistic. I am still far from the prerequisites (2 h 8 min 10 s). »
The fact remains that Maxime Lopes does not impose any limits on himself. “That’s what I love about racing. I don’t know how far I’m going to go. It’s a quest. »