“There’s no way to train for as near long a distance as the real race,” Munoz explains. “So you don’t know how your body is going to respond.”

As the marathon progressed, he was able to improve from an initial 9:00 pace—thanks to his strong cardiovascular fitness—to post a time that is quite impressive for a first-time competitor.

However, all of Munoz’s life experiences and accomplishments don’t come across in his everyday interactions. To Munoz, his gap-year travel and Ironman feat are indicative of the diversity of accomplishments among his teammates and friends.

“I think he looks at these [experiences] more from the perspective of personal dedication, and he doesn’t need the recognition from other people to motivate him,” Stone says.

Though Munoz does not yet know about his future plans, he still hopes to maintain his spirit for adventure and conquering new challenges after graduation.

“I’d probably like to do something a little more adventurous and a little more unconventional [after graduation],” Munoz says. “I don’t want to be like everyone else. If something inspires me, I’m going to do it.”

—Staff writer Robert T. Hamlin can be reached at rhamlin@fas.harvard.edu.