Inspiration to the masses

Ramon Arroyo

Ramon’s life was put on pause after the diagnosis. He followed the doctor’s recommendation of taking life easy and staying home without doing anything. However, he was interested if there was anything that could be done to stop or decrease the speed of development of his condition, but the answer was "no". When Ramon asked his doctors if following a healthy lifestyle or practicing sports could be of help, the answer was again the same – "no". He was informed that his brain injuries would not permit him to run for more than 100 meters. Ramon Arroyo was an average person, devoted to a standard life, with no specific regard for a healthy lifestyle, and working as a Business Development Manager in an important transnational Spanish company. His life has made a 360 degree turn when at the age of 32 he was diagnosed with a Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

After 3 years of not doing anything but having depression due to the inactivity and the uncertainty of his future, Ramon decided to change his way of living with the condition. His first revolutionary step was the conclusion that practicing a controlled physical activity could never hurt anyone. He started running the "impossible" distance of 100 meters. It was hard, but he achieved it. Traditional medicine, which most of health professionals usually follow, does not recommend practicing sports with MS due to the inflammatory process that might cause a body temperature rise that occurs during physical activity, called the Uthoff phenomenon. Ramon learned by himself how to thermoregulate his body in order to keep practicing sports under safe circumstances, and he succeeded. Step by step and investing great effort, Ramon’s running distance was increasing, allowing him to run his first Marathon in Madrid, after 2 years of training. In the meantime, Ramon also started practicing short-distance Triathlons. Four years later, after 4 marathons, uncountable half and 10 km runs and numerous sprints, Olympic and HALF ironman, Ramon decided to participate in his first full-distance Ironman in Barcelona in 2013. The main purpose of Ramon’s participation was to raise awareness about the benefits of physical activity for the MS population.

As a snowball effect, Ramon became increasingly popular with the help of a TV show called "Informe Robinson" that dedicated a program to his life and achievements. His popularity allowed him to tell his story in his own words by publishing his biography and releasing a movie called "100 metros” based on the real events of his life. (note: the movie was premiered in November 2016 and starred the most popular Spanish actors of the period). Nowadays Ramon devotes his life to coaching and mentoring activities together with practicing triathlons and other endurance sports. He is mostly focused on helping others to improve their quality of life and on raising awareness about the social project which need support and visibility.