Vibrant runner died at Surfside. Her father, brother will run Miami Marathon in her honor.

Pablo and Martin Langesfeld will begin the 2022 Life Time Miami Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday with more than 200 uniformed first responders at the back of the 15,000-strong field, walking in solidarity with many of the police, firefighters, paramedics and others who searched for their daughter and sister Nicole “Nicky” Langesfeld’s body after she and her husband perished June 24 in the Surfside condominum collapse.

Nicky’s mother, Andrea, will be nervously waiting at the finish.

“All these things are really, really hard because it takes me back to when she was alive,’’ Andrea said through tears last Wednesday on what would have been Nicole and her husband Luis’s first wedding anniversary. “Nicky was a light, always smiling and always bringing joy.

“Now I live day by day.”

Pablo, 56, a business broker who grew up in Argentina, and Martin, 24, a commercial real estate broker born in Miami, have suffered along with Andrea. Like many runners, they will use the distance event as a way to honor others not as fortunate, an often painful journey that requires extraordinary physical, mental and emotional fortitude.

After the initial mile walking with the first responders, who participate to raise awareness to the high rate of suicide and trauma they endure, Pablo will begin running the half marathon course while Martin will tackle the full, 26.2-mile marathon. The father and son are doing it to honor Nicky, who was 26, and Luis Sadovnic, 28, as well as the other 96 victims who died at Champlain Towers South.

Nicky, known as a bright, passionate, vibrant young woman, earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and law degree from Miami. She was a commercial litigator at Reed Smith law firm. Luis, who worked sales and was part owner of Vysen Eyewear, grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, and was an avid golfer and former member of the under-17 Venezuelan national soccer team. He met Nicky at UF and earned his MBA from Nova Southeastern.

“One mile for every year of Nicky’s life,’’ said Martin, who normally doesn’t run, but took part in the 2019 Miami Half Marathon with his father and Nicky. She was a former Ronald Reagan Doral High soccer star, in-line skater and fitness enthusiast who competed in road races and ran or walked regularly. “I know I’ll be able to finish because of my purpose. Every time I want to stop or have a thought that it will be impossible, I’ll remember Nicky and the reason I’m doing this race.”

Immense challenge

The challenge will be immense. Martin, who lives with his parents in Doral, had been too engrossed fighting for a Surfside memorial and with other issues in the aftermath of the collapse to begin training until the third week of January. Most first-time marathoners begin training months in advance. Among his many outdoor activities, the 5-7, 150-pound Martin surfs, mountain bikes, sky dives and plays recreational soccer. He has run two half marathons, but has never run a full one.

Pablo was a regular running partner of Nicky’s, father and daughter traversing quietly through routes near the family’s home. He also water skis, is a windsurfer and played recreational soccer before he said he realized “my mind goes faster than my legs.’’

“The year we did the half marathon together was priceless,’’ Pablo said. “It was beautiful.”

Nicky finished the 2019 Miami half in 2 hours 22 minutes 59 seconds; Pablo, in 2:36:49; and Martin, in 1:51:02. Nicky also ran the 2020 Miami Half Marathon, and did countless 5Ks through the years. Her No. 4 soccer jersey was retired by Reagan High on Aug. 4, her school’s framed jersey accompanied by the words “Your smile & soul will always be in our hearts.”

Ricardo Calume, who is now retired and lives in Weston, coached Nicky all four years in high school. “As an athlete she was very skilled, one of the best defenders I ever had,’‘ Calume said. “She never let anybody get past her — never. Sweating all the time, highly committed, never-give-up mentality.

“As a person she was beautiful outside and inside. She had the kind of social skills that when we were on the team bus she would be singing, chanting, lifting the spirit of her teammates. The other players listened to her.’’

Calume recalls getting the phone call from former Reagan assistant Rubiel Vazquez this past summer about Nicky having been in Champlain Towers South during the collapse.

“I keep asking, ‘Why? How?’ I don’t get it. Nicky for me is still alive. She was exceptional.’’

Nicky’s father said he will push himself “one hour to the next” during his run Sunday. “It’s a mental thing that I relate to what we’re going through. We’re still campaigning for a memorial and will not stop until we find justice for the victims and the laws are strengthened and enforced so that people will not have died in vain.”

Personal reflection

But for father and son, Sunday’s event will be mostly personal, Martin said. It will provide an intimate way to reflect on Nicky’s life and their personal struggles more than it will be an avenue to promote their cause. The pain is still raw, and struggling through a marathon is cathartic. Nicky’s running medals are still in her bedroom, exactly the way she left them.

“She felt great when she did her runs,’’ Martin said. “It would relax her. That was the only time she had to herself. She was an attorney who fought for justice to make things right, and that’s what I’m doing now in her name. While I’m running I’ll think about everything in my life, good and bad. It’s a time I can be at peace rather than being angry and questioning everything.

“No technology, no phone calls, just disconnect from the world and get to know myself better.’’

Miami Marathon co-founder and Life Time chief running officer Frankie Ruiz, an accomplished runner and renowned Belen Jesuit high school coach, praised the Langesfelds and first responders — and all the marathoners running for others.

“I hate that sometimes these tragedies get forgotten,’’ Ruiz said. “It’s what is now the DNA of our sport, people putting themselves through something that is difficult, something that requires sacrifice and training to get you to the finish; People using our sport to bring light to difficult causes and situations.

“That’s not to say you don’t have a good time running and don’t celebrate with others, but runners know we do this because it’s not easy and things that are difficult fill the spirit greater than easy stuff. The sense of community that running events create are hard to ignore. This is a nice, gentle reminder that people are still in pain and that as a community we need to do everything we can to support them.’’

‘My therapy’

Pablo still trains on the same route he ran with Nicky. “Running is my therapy and helps me with anxiety, pressure, stress, you name it. On marathon day I’ll put all the legal stuff and everything else to the side. There’s not a moment I don’t think about Nicky, but having run that half marathon with her is a connection I’ll always have.’’

Martin acknowledged the “beautiful moment realizing what we had accomplished” when he and his father and Nicky converged at the marathon finish, after starting together, in 2019. “Nicky and I always talked about it.

“It’s a little scary thinking about doing 26 miles without much training,’’ Martin said. “But I know I won’t be alone. Nicole will be watching the entire way.’’

IF YOU GO

▪ What: Life Time Miami Marathon and Half Marathon

▪ When/Where: 6 a.m. start Sunday, Feb. 6, on Biscayne Boulevard outside FTX Arena; Finish is a bit down the street adjacent to Bayfront Park.

▪ Who: Combined field of 15,000.

▪ Note: Registration closed. Race sold out.

This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 10:41 AM.

Susan Miller Degnan

Miami Herald

305-376-3366

Miami Herald sports writer Susan Miller Degnan has been the Miami Hurricanes football beat writer since 2000, the season before the Canes won it all. She has won several APSE national writing awards and has covered everything from Canes baseball to the College Football Playoff to major marathons to the Olympics.