Judging by the smile that never leaves her face, Nia Yotova is in a constant state of runners high. It’s hard to believe that Nia, who has been part of the ASICS Frontrunner team for five years, started running quite late and almost as a joke.

“I was 37, one day I had nothing to do and my husband suggested we run in South Park,” Nia recalls and adds “It turned out that running is not that easy, but after finishing I felt happy and toned the whole day and saw the world with different eyes.”

And so, little by little, running changed her life. So far, Nia has officially run 4 marathons (42.196 km) in her running career.

In her everyday life, Nia is not only a working lady and mother of two sons, but also a writer – in 2018 her first book “Lara” was published, and in 2024 – the collection of short stories “It’s Not Scary”, written together with her father. At this stage of her life, when her children have grown, it is not so difficult to combine the two passions in her life (running and writing) with her work in a technology company. The training program that she follows every day does not burden her, as she has accepted that it is part of her daily routine, just like brushing her teeth. Her writing is more chaotic, but she tries to write at least one hour a day.

Nia remembers her first participation in the Pleven Friendship Marathon in 2021. Then she and her husband, who is from Pleven, decided to run the 2*10.5 K relay.

“We really hoped to place in the top three, but a dad with a little boy outran us,” says Nia.

She participated in the Marathon as a solo competitor in the 10.5 K in 2022, where she took first place among the ladies and in 2023, when she came second.

“The atmosphere of the Pleven Marathon is very supportive, I always get great energy along the way, not only from the audience, but also from the other runners. This helps a lot when you are tired and every kilometer is difficult for you,” says Nia and remembers one of her most enjoyable runs, which took place in 2023, precisely in Pleven.

“I saw that there were four women on the starting list with similar abilities and the winner was not clear. We started running together and it was very easy for me, I got carried away keeping the same pace with the other ladies and forgot to get distracted and look at my watch. In the end, I came second,” says Nia.

While running, she realizes that good competition helps a lot to make a good run.

For those who are hesitant to start running, Nia shares her favorite Mark Twain quote, “In 20 years you will regret more the things you didn’t do than the things you did do.” and adds, “In the case of running, there isn’t even anything to regret – you have nothing to lose.”

The main race Nia is preparing for this year is the Berlin Marathon in September. It is part of the world’s major marathons, the so-called Majors – Tokyo, Berlin, London, Boston, New York, Chicago and Sydney (where Nia ran last year). Due to the huge number of applicants, participants in these marathons are drawn by lottery. Fortunately, Nia’s result was very good and she qualified to run in Berlin without having to rely on her luck. Her ambition is to run a good time – around 3:06.

And then? Who knows…she only has Tokyo, London, Boston, New York and Chicago left to complete her collection.

We wish her all the best!