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On Sunday, Oct. 12, Brandeis student Stanislav (Stasik) Popov ’16 completed his first Boston Athletic Association half-marathon. Popov finished 1,802th out of 6,211 people. His finish time was 1:52:5.

“I just focused on getting through one mile at a time and just tried to take my mind off of running and just enjoy my music,” Popov said, in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot this week.

However, a completed marathon is not the only thing Popov has to be proud of. Upon entering Brandeis and finishing his freshman year, Popov had a drastic change in perspective. Upset about his weight and health, he decided that he would do whatever it took to get into shape. Since then, Popov has lost over 120 pounds.

“I started running in April of 2012,” he said. “I used to play sports in middle school and earlier, but then I became lazy and fat for most of high school.”

“I wanted to get in shape to feel more fit and attractive,” said Popov. Additionally, running a marathon was another long-term goal. With the half-marathon already under his belt, he has even bigger dreams for the future.

“I might try to run the full Boston Marathon at some point in the future if I feel up to it, but for now, I’m just gonna stick to running around Waltham,” he said. He also offered advice for fellow Brandeis students. “Running is definitely an easy way to burn calories and stress, and everyone should find some time to do it,” he said.

For his official marathon statistics, Popov reached the five-mile checkpoint in 42 minutes and 12 seconds. He reached the 10-mile mark in 1:24:40. A half-marathon is 13.109 miles total. The Boston Athletic Association also hosts the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. Distance Medley, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. Invitational Mile and the B.A.A. 10K.

In addition to running and exercising, Popov enjoys playing computer games. He is a chemistry and math major. “Algebra 100A was my favorite class, and my favorite professor was Ira Gessel,” he said. His hometown is Wayland, Massachusetts.