Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): La terapeuta dice que aprender a cuidarse es como un maratón, no una carrera corta. - The therapist says that learning to take care of yourself is like a marathon, not a short race.

So terapeuta is the same form for both genders; the article (el / la) tells you whether the therapist is a woman or a man in this sentence.

Why is the verb dice (present) used instead of a past form like dijo (“said”)?

Spanish often uses the present tense to report what someone says or thinks when it’s:

A general statement, or
Something the person still believes or habitually says

So La terapeuta dice que… can be understood as:

“The therapist says that…”
“The therapist (always) says that…”
“The therapist (is saying / tells me) that…”

If the speaker wanted to talk about a specific past moment, they could use dijo:

La terapeuta dijo que aprender a cuidarse es como un maratón.
“The therapist said that learning to take care of yourself is like a marathon.”

Both are correct; it depends on whether you’re emphasizing a current/general truth (dice) or a past event (dijo).

Why is it aprender a cuidarse and not just aprender cuidarse?

With many verbs of learning or beginning in Spanish, you normally need the preposition a before an infinitive:

aprender a + infinitive = to learn to do something
- aprender a nadar – to learn to swim
- aprender a conducir – to learn to drive

So:

aprender a cuidarse = “to learn to take care of oneself”

aprender cuidarse (without a) sounds incorrect to native speakers in this context. The a is just required by the verb aprender when it’s followed by another verb in the infinitive.

What does the se in cuidarse refer to exactly? Is it “herself,” “oneself,” or something else?

Cuidarse is the reflexive form of cuidar (“to take care of”).

cuidar (a alguien) = to take care of someone else
cuidarse = to take care of oneself

The pronoun se here is generic; it can correspond to:

herself
himself
oneself
yourself (in a general sense)
themselves

Given the context, aprender a cuidarse is best translated as “learning to take care of yourself / oneself”—a general idea, not specifically only about the therapist.

Could you say aprender a cuidarse a sí mismo instead of just aprender a cuidarse?

Yes, but it changes the feel a bit.

aprender a cuidarse is natural and enough in most contexts. It already clearly means “learn to take care of yourself.”
aprender a cuidarse a sí mismo is more emphatic and explicit, like saying “to learn to take care of oneself” with extra stress on oneself.

In everyday speech, people almost always just say cuidarse without a sí mismo, unless they really want to highlight or contrast it (e.g. “not others, but oneself”).

Why is the infinitive aprender used after dice que, instead of a conjugated verb like “que uno se aprenda a cuidar”?

After dice que, you can have:

A full clause with a conjugated verb:
- La terapeuta dice que uno debe aprender a cuidarse.
  “The therapist says that one should learn to take care of oneself.”
Or a noun-like phrase (a subject) using the infinitive:
- La terapeuta dice que aprender a cuidarse es como un maratón.

Here, aprender a cuidarse is functioning as the subject of es:

aprender a cuidarse = subject
es como un maratón = predicate

Spanish often uses infinitives as nouns in this way. It’s simpler and more natural here than “que uno se aprenda a cuidar,” which would sound odd and overly complicated.

What is the role of como in es como un maratón?

como here means “like / as” in a comparison:

es como un maratón = “it is like a marathon”

So the structure is:

aprender a cuidarse → “learning to take care of yourself”
es como un maratón → “is like a marathon”

Putting it together:
“Learning to take care of yourself is like a marathon.”
It’s a simile, using como to compare one thing to another.

Is maratón masculine or feminine? Why is it un maratón and not una maratón?

In practice, maratón can be masculine or feminine depending on region and preference:

el / un maratón (masculine)
la / una maratón (feminine)

Both are recognized by dictionaries. In much of Latin America, el / un maratón is very common, which matches the sentence:

…es como un maratón…

So the choice of un reflects treating maratón as masculine here.

Why is it una carrera corta and not una corta carrera? Can the adjective come before the noun?

In Spanish, the default order is noun + adjective:

una carrera corta = a short race

You can sometimes put adjectives before the noun, but that usually:

Sounds more literary or poetic, or
Slightly changes the nuance (often making it more subjective or emotional)

Una corta carrera is grammatically possible, but it sounds marked and unusual in neutral speech. Una carrera corta is the normal, natural way to say “a short race.”

What does no mean in no una carrera corta? Is it the same no as in “no, I don’t”?

It’s the same word no, but here it means “not”, used to contrast with what came before:

…es como un maratón, no una carrera corta.
“…it’s like a marathon, not a short race.”

So no in this use:

Negates or rejects the second option (una carrera corta)
Functions like English “not” in “like a marathon, not a sprint.”

It’s not being used as a stand‑alone “no” = “nope”; it’s a sentence-internal negation.

Could the sentence also be La terapeuta dice que cuidarse es como un maratón… without aprender a? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you could say:

La terapeuta dice que cuidarse es como un maratón, no una carrera corta.

This would mean:

“The therapist says that taking care of yourself is like a marathon, not a sprint.”

The difference:

aprender a cuidarse = learning to take care of yourself (the process of learning)
cuidarse = the act of taking care of yourself itself

The original sentence emphasizes the learning process as long-term. Without aprender a, the focus shifts to self-care itself being long-term. Both are correct, just slightly different emphasis.