Running Gave Me My Job" — Sergio Mena on Winning Dallas, Cowtown & Life in DFW

About this episode

Sergio Mena shares his journey from Spain to becoming a dominant half marathon runner in DFW while balancing a full-time job.

Sergio Mena grew up running cross country in Spain, earned a full D1 scholarship to the University of Kentucky, got his MBA in Texas, and is now one of the most dominant half marathon runners in the DFW area — all while working full-time as an accounting manager. In this episode, Chris sits down with Sergio to talk about his journey from Spain to Kentucky to Texas, his years-long quest to win the BMW Dallas Half Marathon (which he finally achieved in December 2025), and how he followed it up with a win at the Cowtown Half Marathon. Sergio also tells the incredible story of how running literally got him his job — thanks to a Dallas Morning News article before the 2019 BMW Half. Topics include D1 college running, self-coached training, balancing racing with a full-time career, race strategy, and what keeps you lacing up when you've already hit your biggest goal. A great episode for DFW runners, half marathon fans, and anyone who runs because they just love it.

People in this episode

Host: Chris Detzel

Guest: Sergio Mena

Topics covered

• running
• half marathon
• athletic career
• training
• work-life balance
• personal journey

Keywords

• running
• half marathon
• DFW
• training
• career
• Sergio Mena
• Chris Detzel
• Dallas
• Cowtown
• University of Kentucky

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Kentucky, Dallas Morning News

Places: Spain, Texas

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