Roman Piątek – with history in the background
“Maybe a marathon?”
Something that back then I’d considered an irrational question. A marathon?
It was 2001, when my colleague offered me to run the Cracovia Marathon together. An interesting challenge and a new experience. But how was I supposed to do it? The first training sessions were just running and running, testing my body on a distance longer than what I'd ever run before. There is quite a difference between 1500 metres and 42 kilometres! The first race. A half marathon The return home after the race was not really pleasant. My legs hurt. Was it going to always be like that? After every single run? I kept thinking about that, but the satisfaction from the finished race helped me soothe the pain.
After such a test it was easier to go to the office of the “Z Biegiem Wisły” Foundation – organiser of the first Cracovia Marathon – and sign up. Back in the day, the race calendar for the next year was still in paper form, and Maratony Polskie was just starting out. Internet? It was almost non-existent.
And so it was. A small room, some posters, no queues whatsoever.
The decision was made.
Thus, on the 11th of May 2002 I stood on the start line of a marathon for the first time , with 42 kilometres awaiting me. I was surrounded by seasoned runners, discussing technical aspects, their plans, equipment, as well as beginners who, like myself, looked around tentatively. In order to look better I bought a running outfit during a fair. A t-shirt and shorts, to give me some much needed self-confidence and strength. I waited for the final countdown. There was a shot... And... I found myself running with everyone else. From the very start of the run, I was amazed by running on main streets of the city, closed to traffic by the authorities. From the very beginning I felt happiness from the distance covered, and it was huge. The route enabled me to see the leaders and the runners from the end of the group. Two loops along the Vistula with a finish line on the Market Square. Happiness, fatigue and belief mixed together.
Finally, I succeeded. The distance was covered. 3:27.57 – this is how much time I needed to cover 42 kilometres in my debut marathon. I finished 187th out of over 700 runners.
Later, the memories and the sentiment almost forced me to start in new editions of the run. And so it remains until today. I have run the Cracovia Marathon 14 times.
It is always nice to see the development of the race, starting from the beginning, the first steps, up until now. Every route – and there were many of them over the course of the years – brought new experiences. “History in the background” stopped being just about Krakow, as it went to Nowa Huta. One year, the organiser’s efforts to discover new running routes were foiled by a flood. In my opinion, the route through Ludwinów, Podgórze and Zabłocie became the most attractive, as it covered not only the majestic aspect of history, but also the common one.
Fourteen editions and fourteen finished races. From a total amateur I became an experienced amateur. This time I’ll have an opportunity to lead the run for the third time as a pacemaker. I’ll be able to share my experience with other runners, and to talk about the history of running, and to present the places we will be running through.
The 15th PZU Cracovia Marathon will be my 80th marathon.
I wish everyone completes the race and gets satisfying results!