Get to know Carlos Briseno!
Each month we feature different members of the Spewak Training family. This month we had the pleasure of chatting with Carlos Briseno. Carlos joined the Spewak Training team in 2016 and has been a staple member of our group ever since. He’s had a very positive impact on a lot of people and has an amazing running journey. Enjoy his feature below! CS: I have always been very fascinated with your running journey. Can you share with us your experience of how you got started running? CB: I came to the United States from Mexico to go to school at Notre Dame. I grew up playing basketball and didn’t have much experience with long distance running. The furthest we ran in basketball was when the coach had us do suicides. In college I started running to stay fit. However, I struggled in the cold South Bend winters. When I moved to St. Louis I lived right next to Forest Park. I figured a great goal would be to run to the Visitor Center and back which was 3 miles. I eventually ended up running around the park which was a huge accomplishment. I found consistency and was able to work up to a half marathon in the fall of 2012. CS: How did you view running in your beginning days of the sport? CB: Once I became consistent with my training in St. Louis, I noticed the running group Coach ran with and thought of them as the fast people of St. Louis. I felt like I was just a guy running in basketball shorts and with the wrong kind of running shoes. My dad was a runner himself. He always wanted to run 1:30 for a half marathon. I can remember cheering him on as a kid at his races but I never viewed myself as a runner. In the Go! Half I ran 2:00:07. When I realized I came that close to breaking 2 hours, I knew I was hooked. I knew at that point I was starting to be more than a guy just jogging in basketball shorts. Then, I ran 1:45 and really found my competitive spirit in the sport. I ended up running the Chicago Marathon, Seattle Marathon, and the Go! St. Louis Marathon. I ran a 3:47 marathon PR and realized I had a lot of potential since I was just training on my own. CS: What led you to joining Spewak Training? CB: The spring before I started working with Coach I went into Big River Running Company to buy a pair of running shoes. The person who sold me the shoes was Coach and then, when I went to google running coaches several weeks later, I found myself running into Coach again! Spewak Training popped up in the search and I was really intrigued by the team culture shown online. I can remember you showing up to our first meeting wearing nice clothes and having a portfolio that you never opened. My first race with Spewak Training was the Rooster Run and Coach ended up sending me out so fast that I got sick afterwards. I got to hang out afterwards with the team and knew it was the right choice joining Spewak Training. MS: Over the years, you have seen a lot of success in training with us. Do you have any experiences you want to share CB: After I ran my first race with the team, I found quick success. I ended up running a huge half marathon PR and 5k PR that first season. That was a great experience because it was my first time working with a running coach and being a part of a running team. Another great moment in the sport was the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon in the spring of 2018. Up to that point I had run several PRs with Spewak Training but I knew that I had a bigger breakthrough in me. Despite it being April, the weather was 30 degrees which was perfect for racing. I ended up breaking 1:30 for the first time in my career which was a huge PR. I also remember Coach and Sonny Ta going crazy at the finish line. I have had a lot of memorable races with the team but that one sticks out not just because of how fast I ran but also because of how exciting it was to run with other teammates and to see Coach enjoying my success just as much at the finish line. Side note, Coach was injured but ended up sprinting the last 100 meters of the race with me. He paced on the sideline while I kicked home. That was really cool. CS: In 2018, you finished your PHD at Washington University and accepted a job in San Francisco. Can you share how that transition was for you? CB: Leaving St. Louis was tough because I met so many amazing people over the years there. However, I was ready for the next step and ended up moving across the country to start my first job. The transition on the running front was hard. I was training for a marathon and I was living out of a hotel for the first month I lived there. Unfortunately there were fires that fall and I ended up getting injured. With that said, I ran a strong 5k in my early months of living there and then ended up eventually joining the San Francisco Road Runners Club. Coach had encouraged me to find people to run with which was a great decision because I got to experience amazing new places to run. I met my San Francisco Coach, John Brust through the club and he introduced me to my future wife, Margaret. So although running didn’t go as planned that first fall, I ended up winning a much bigger race in the long run! CS: After the fall of 2018, you were able to settle in and run some races healthy! Can you share some of those experiences? CB: After going through a scary situation with my heart in 2018, I really began to be more appreciative of the sport and my health in general. In San Fransisco I have gotten to run many great events. I recently ran a 29 minute PR in the marathon at the CIM where I got to experience that victory with our running club. 2019 was really my come back year where I ran a strong 10k and then got to run with Meb at a half marathon in the spring. He was pacing the 1:30 group. Although that race didn’t go as planned, he signed my bib and I get to say I ran with Meb. I have participated in the Kieser events in February the last few years and even featured rocked a Michael Jordan jersey while racing. Overall I have had the chance to race some great races here and am looking forward to what’s ahead. CS: Recently you broke social media because of the way you asked Margaret to marry you. Will you tell us how that all went down? CB: During the COVID-19 shutdown Margaret was heading home for two months because she had a planned sabbatical. I knew I wanted to get engaged before she left so I came up with the plan of asking her to marry me by drawing out, “marry me” on Strava. I ran the route by foot, then, took Margaret for a run, and had her best friend hide in the bushes so she could take photos. It was a picture perfect moment and was really cool to get attention from so many people. Running PRs and Boston is great but asking Margaret to marry me was the highlight of my life and running career. CS: You have built such strong relationships in St. Louis and San Francisco. You are a leader on our team and inspire so many. What do you love most about being a part of your running communities? CB: I feel incredibly fortunate to have joined Spewak Training and the San Francisco Road Runners Club. I have met amazing people through both organizations. Running communities everywhere are very similar. People have been very encouraging and have made the experience of running that much greater. I have run big races and have achieved PRs I never thought I would run but what I have enjoyed most are the runners who I have trained with in the process. CS: If one of your friends was going to St. Louis to visit, what would you recommend they do or eat while they are there? CB: Unfortunately you guys couldn’t keep Itap open. (A popular St. Louis bar for single folks and Carlos was in the Hall of Fame at Itap for hanging out there a lot in grad school.) St. Louis is an amazing city. I would tell them to visit the Arch, Forest Park, and to experience St. Louis Hot Riplets. The fried chicken is great and St. Louis bbq is fantastic as well. 