September 2022 – Adrian Matei's blog

As mentioned previously, I wanted to participate in Copenhagen Half Marathon. It was my third race for this distance in 2022. It was also the race with the most participants I ever ran. The maximum number of participants was 25000, and the race was sold-out more than a week before the run.

This time I ran with Bobo and Cristi, my colleagues from “Trupa lui Fane”. That Sunday, it was perfect weather for a run. The temperature was about 12-13 Celsius, but not windy nor raining.

Obviously, at the start of the race, it was an immense crowd of people and it wasn’t easy to move. I did not like that friends or relatives of runners who were not running themselves stayed in the runners’ area despite officials asking them to leave. In all the other half marathons, only people who had bib numbers were allowed at the start zone. It was so crowded that it took us more than 12 minutes to pass the start line from when the officials gave the start. By the time we passed the start line, the first runners had already run more than 4km! This is not a problem because you are evaluated by the times you cross the start and finish line.

The race was excellent, with many people on the streets encouraging the runners. The race is flat and is suitable for speed. In 2019 a runner beat the world record in the half marathon on this route. There is no pollution in the city as people travel primarily by bike in Copenhagen.

I started with a pace of 5’30” for the first 10km, then went a little faster. I was tired after km 18 but recovered at the last km. In the final straight line, I started to run fast, but many people ahead were running slowly. There were so many people that it was impossible to run around them. For example, Bobo finished less than one minute ahead of me. Yet, in that minute, more than 500 people crossed the finish line. My time was 1:54:45. It was my 3rd half marathon this year, and every time I finished in one hour and 54 minutes.

However, I am happy with my time, as I was targeting 1:56. The reason is that I was not prepared well for the race, and I had no long runs over 13km in the last two months. In this situation, starting at a slower pace and increasing the speed in the second part of the race was expected.

The event was well organized and transmitted live on Eurosport 2. There was a mobile app that gave you all the needed info, and I received an SMS with my time once I passed the finish line. There were discounts on urban transport that day for runners and Hydration points at every 3 km during the race.

It happened by a rare coincidence that my sister’s family was visiting Copenhagen at the same time as we did. The day before the race, I had the chance to see her and my niece after more than one year.
I liked Copenhagen, and this half marathon is a race I recommend.

Every year in Krakow, on the first Sunday of September it is organized a major running competition for companies, Poland Business Run. This event aims to help people with muscle and bone disabilities using money from sponsors and registration fees.

Each participating company could enlist one or more teams of 5 people who run a 4 km course in relay format. For example, we had five such teams. The limit was for 2000 teams meaning 10000 runners. Besides the on-site teams, there was the possibility of registering teams of people that would run remotely. We also had one such group.

My experience with relay running was minimal, with only one race in 4x400m at an indoor championship in 2020. The context was that one team from “Trupa lui Fane” was short of a team member. They insisted on not letting them down, and eventually, I accepted, although I had no idea how to run a 400m race.

The experience was painful because to run 400m, you need to train a different set of muscles than for a long run. During that race, the competing teams consisted of people who ran 400m in 50 seconds. I still remember the speed they had when passing next to me. I have never before and since seen something similar. Although I was running as fast as I could, the feeling was that I wasn’t moving when they sped next to me.

On the other hand, the Business Run was not a typical relay race. Standard relays in athletics are 4X100m or 4x400m. There is also the Bacanic relay with 4 distances progressive 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m. You can see this relay at the Balcanic athletics championships.

Last year I was in Bucharest running a half marathon during the Business Run. They allowed runners remote, and I wrote about my experience participating in two competitions simultaneously in a previous post.

This year I was starting in a team of five with four other colleagues. Each team member was waiting for their turn in a designated area. Then we took the baton from the previous colleague, ran 4 km, and passed it to the next colleague. My average time was 4’49” per km, which is ok. I am slowly improving my running times each week.

My only complaint to organizers would be on how the exchange of the baton happened. Although we stayed in a specific area, too many people were waiting there, and it was very crowded. You did not know when your team member was going to show up. I’ve seen people who reached the area and shout for his following exchange to pick the baton.

I wrote this post because such an event could be organized in many cities worldwide. Companies pay for registration, and relay running is a team-building activity. People run and improve their health. In the end, everybody wins.

Small video with the event organized today

Month: September 2022

Copenhagen Half Marathon 2022

Poland Business Run