World championship medal-winner and Hills Road alumna Julia Paternain talks to us about her time at Hills Road and her recent experience at the World Championships in Tokyo.
“I was at Hills Road from 2016 to 2018 and studied Maths, History, Politics and Spanish. Whilst there I ran for Cambridge and Coleridge Athletics Club, so I’d bike home after College and go straight to training.
I loved my time at Hills Road – it was really special. It was great to do things on my own schedule, which really helped with running. I liked the freedom but also knowing support was there if you needed it. Most lunchtimes my friends and I would go to the Leisure Park across the road and sit on the grass catching up.”
“I'm still in shock I won bronze. Over two months later I’m still in disbelief. At the end of the race I was just exhausted and desperate to finish. I was terrified the finish line wasn’t the real finish line – in one of the videos I’m pointing at the ground to check!
When I finally stopped, a cameraman told me I came third and I just thought, ‘Oh, wow!’. It was relief, shock and confusion all at once – but pretty special.”
“My preparation and tactics paid off. My coach focused on training for the hills in the last 5km. On Saturdays, I’d run 20+ miles with the final miles up big hills.
I now live at altitude in Flagstaff, Arizona, which makes everything harder and builds strength. We also knew it would be hot and humid, so I went to the sauna three times a week to prepare. We planned to start conservatively so my core temperature didn’t spike.
There were ice stations every 5k, so I’d break the bag and put it on my head. As the race went on, I gained more momentum. All in all, our strategy worked.”
“I grew up in Cambridge and love England, but after moving to the U.S. I felt less connected to the UK.
My whole family is from Uruguay, so switching felt right. Great Britain has lots of big names in athletics, but Uruguay doesn’t, outside football.
I felt I could make more of an impact and be a role model, like Paula Radcliffe was for me. I’d already run for Great Britain, so why not run for Uruguay?”
“I'm really motivated to see what I can get out of myself. Hard work usually comes to fruition, and I like pushing myself.
Running is tough, but I enjoy doing something that scares you a bit.
For Tokyo, I treated it like any other race. I focused on the process rather than the outcome – staying true to what got me there.”
“I want to improve my PBs in the half and full marathon. I’ve run 2:27 twice now, and one of those (Tokyo) was in awful conditions, so I know I can go faster.
I’d also like to bring my half marathon PB down from just over 70 minutes to 68/69. I’d love to make the Olympics – that’s the goal for 2028.”
“It is difficult to balance GCSEs or A levels with running, but it’s doable – having a hobby is a good distraction.
And you don’t have to be the most talented. I wasn’t a naturally brilliant runner, but I could work really hard. It’s a cliché, but hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. People underestimate consistency – you don’t need to do extreme things, just show up day in, day out.”
Thank you for your time Julia and congratulations on your incredible achievement - the whole Hills Road community looks forward to seeing where your career takes you next!
Follow Julia on Instagram at @juliapaternain_
