Seven or eight years ago, Nikki Virtucio admits that she was living an unhealthy lifestyle. She was in her early 20s, but felt terrible. “ I needed to make changes ASAP,” says Virtucio, who lives in West Ashley and is the general manager at the Mellow Mushroom Avondale.
“I cut back on drinking, fried foods, and started running 1-2 miles every-other-day. Running slowly turned into a passion of mine and now here I am,” says Virtucio. Where she is exactly is an avid runner who lives a much healthier lifestyle.
“I’m not an Olympian or anything, but running is something I’m very passionate about,” says Virtucio, who now at the age of 31, is leaner and healthier than she was in her early 20s.
Virtucio has completed 21 half marathons and two major world marathons, Paris and New York City, and is about to run her third next month in Berlin, Germany. “I hope to compete in all six major world marathons in the next 5 years,” says Virtucio, who has placed in her age group seven times and twice placed in the top overall.
The Berlin Marathon is a city-wide road race where professional athletes and amateur runners jointly participate. First initiated in 1974, the Berlin marathon is one of the largest and most popular road races in the world. In 2016, the race had 46,950 entrants (41,283 runners, 5,445 inline skaters, 185 hand bikers, 37 wheel-chairers) from 122 countries, and more than one million spectators.
Virtucio is especially excited about running in the 2017 BMW Berlin Marathon. “I will also be racing in one of the biggest marathons with the top athletes in the world. You can’t put a price on something like that,” she says. “It’s crazy to show up at the start line with 40,000 other people, who majority speak another language.” She also admits she’s excited about trying the food in Germany.
However, for Virtucio, going to Berlin is more than about the food or a chance to travel to Europe to do what she loves. She is also raising money for the non-profit Team For Kids, which raises funds to provide free or low-cost health and fitness programs to kids who would otherwise have little or no access to regular physical activity. These programs serve more than 267,000 children each year in more than 1,000 schools and community centers in New York City and across the nation.
“I first found out about Team For Kids when I was researching organizations to run with in the New York City Marathon last fall. I found the most connection to their cause,” says Virtucio. “I never practiced really good eating habits or exercised until I was an adult. I think it’s wonderful to have an organization whose main focus is to educate kids on a healthier lifestyle, especially in communities where the funding for such programs is obsolete.”
Nikki Virtucio’s goal for this run is to raise $2,000 for Team For Kids. She is currently a little over halfway to the with only one week to go. Deadline for fundraising is Aug. 23. You can support her and Team For Kids by making a donation to runwithtfk.org/Profile/PublicPage/38787. Also, if you want an insider guide to what marathon training is like, follow Nikki Virtucio on instagram at @nikki_runs.
