In the second ORLEN Warsaw Marathon, which will take place on 13 April 2014, the competition will be strong. The Ethiopians Tadese Tola, bronze medallist at the World Championship in Moscow, and Sisay Lemma Kasaye, winner of the last ORLEN Warsaw Marathon, and Henryk Szost, the fastest European at the Olympic Games in London, have already confirmed their participation in the 42,195-kilometre-long run.
In the second ORLEN Warsaw Marathon taking place in Warsaw, runners will compete at three distances: marathon, 10 km and 4.6 km. Among the runners, there will be plenty of famous names – the start line of the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2014 will see Tadese Tola with a personal best of 02:04:49, Kenyan Levy Matebo Omari (02:05:16) with splendid results in the marathons in Boston and Frankfurt, and Dmytro Baranovsky from Ukraine who came 7th in the last year’s OWM and who has won numerous marathons in Japan (02:07:15). At the marathon distance, we will also see Sisay Lemma Kasaye, the winner of the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2013, who set his personal best result of 02:09:02 last year in Warsaw, and Henryk Szost, a member of the ORLEN Sports Group.
The fastest in Europe
Henryk Szost, again a special guest of the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon, began his sports career when he was 17 years old when he competed in ski running. Already in his first marathon in 2007, Szost won the vice-championship of Poland. The European Athletics Association, which gathers national athletics federations, selected him as the athlete of October 2011 after he ran the marathon in Frankfurt am Main with a time of 02:09:39. Szost unofficially became the fastest European man at the Olympic Games in London 2012 where he came ninth in the general classification and the first among runners from the Old Continent. In his everyday life, Henryk Szost is a soldier of the Polish Armed Forces – in 2010 he won the world military marathon championship with a time of 02:12:28. In 2012 in Japan, he set the existing Polish record of 02:07:39.
Henryk Szost on preparations for the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon
We asked Henryk Szost about preparations for the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon.
When should you start intensive training?
Henryk Szost: There’re only few days left to the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon. It means that it’s high time to start running at race pace to get used to it. It means that you should reduce your distances and pay more attention to quality training, which means shorter but much faster running. Please remember that the very last days before the marathon should be rest days so that you are well rested on 13 April.
How many times and how long should you train?
Henryk Szost: It’s better to have three or four more intense training sessions every two days and rest for the remaining days than to run every day. I recommend that you focus on one long and one short pace run every week and at least one long run, which brings endurance necessary to run a marathon.
Of course, it is an individual matter for every runner. We have all got a lot of everyday duties that we have to combine with our training.
What exercises should you do to be well-prepared for the run?
Henryk Szost: We can’t forget that besides running, we should do stretching, strengthening and stabilising exercises. It is important mainly because it minimises the risk of injury. Try to go swimming or go to the sauna from time to time – it will help your body to recuperate after your workouts.
What running routes should you select?
Henryk Szost: As you all know, the route of the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon goes through the streets of Warsaw, but please remember to add variety to the terrain you run in. Sometimes it is worth going to a park or woods or doing exercises on a running track – you’ll give your joints some rest from hard asphalt surfaces.
What kind of diet do you recommend to marathon runners?
Henryk Szost: Diet is a very individual matter. For sure, if you want to run a marathon in a good condition, you should add high-carbohydrate meals to your menu on the days before the run.
Is it better to train alone or in a group?
Henryk Szost: It’s also a matter of individual preferences. During the week, it may be difficult to meet up with your friends to run together. However, on Saturday or Sunday, a group workout may be a good idea. Thanks to the support of other people, it’s easier to deal with hard moments; the distance seems shorter. Remember that a group is always stronger than an individual person and even during the marathon you can support each other.
Join the best runners – registration, accommodation and travel to Warsaw
Online registration for the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon is open until 8 April 2014 (http://www.orlenmarathon.pl/en). Marathon tourism lovers who follow the motto: “run and visit” will have no difficulties in planning their stay in the capital of Poland.
Warsaw has prepared accommodation for participants of the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon. Runners taking part in the marathon may stay in Warsaw sports halls for free. Applications should be sent via the website www.orlenmarathon.pl/en from the runner’s profile. The number of accommodation spaces is limited.
Moreover, all participants of the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon receive a 10% discount in the Best Western, Orbis and Start hotels in Warsaw by mentioning “marathon”. Detailed information and the list of hotels offering the discount may be found in the accommodation tab on the website http://www.orlenmarathon.pl/en/node/56.
The fact that the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon takes place in the very centre of Europe makes it possible to easily and quickly join the run. Warsaw is easily accessible from other European cities thanks to the well-developed road network built for the UEFA EURO Championship in 2012. Trains are an alternative means of transport for runners without cars – there are international connections with, among others, Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna and Kiev. In Warsaw and its surroundings, there are two airports: Ok?cie and Modlin. The Frederic Chopin Airport in Ok?cie offers connections by regular airlines to all European countries. The airport in Modlin is dedicated to low-cost airlines. From both airports, you can reach the city centre by train or by bus.