After my first marathon in Copenhagen, it's time to look at Ukrainian marathons. It is good that in Ukraine there are about 10 marathons in different corners of the country, so the choice was. Autumn starts in Dnipro, Kiev, Bila Tserkva, Izmail, Kramatorsk and Energodar attracted my most attention, now I knew what to choose?

I did not consider the top Ukrainian marathons that took place in Kyiv and Bila Tserkva. The reason is that the Wizz Air Kyiv City Marathon is part of the Run Ukraine Running League, which I plan to fully run next year. The "Belotserkovsky Marathon" also did not really want to run the first of the Ukrainian marathons. Eventually I stopped in Kramatorsk. Its main advantage is free participation. And I wanted to start my acquaintance with Ukrainian marathons from the notorious.

If I was systematically preparing for my first marathon, this time I didn't plan any special training. In addition, since August he has already managed to take part in three half marathons, one 10-kilometer run and had several runs in the park. Marathon "Our Kramatorsk" is free, has a circular track without any features and steep climbs, so it was decided to simply test your body for how it will start such a start without sufficient preparation. Well, to the distance of 42 kilometers, so far I am just trying - I am not making any hurry, so I have not set any goals for myself at the marathon distance yet.

Registration

Registration took place on the website athletic-events.com in the usual mode: you need to enter your details, if you could buy a marathon t-shirt.

Getting to know the city

He decided to come to Kramatorsk in the morning the day before the start in order to pick up his starting number and get acquainted with the city. The walk started from the train station and the train station area - the first impression was pleasant. The city seemed tidy and more or less clean, though later it turned out that the first impression still got me astray. The more I started to dig into the city, the more the picture changed for the worse. Although in the central part of the city everything was back to normal. The central square where we all had to start was pretty cool. In the middle, as in most cities, there is a city council, opposite - two rather pretty houses.

Run

After a little stroll around the central square of the city, he set off towards the start-up town, in which the starting numbers were issued, the delivery of which was scheduled for the 10th hour. In order to receive your starter pack, you need to complete an application, pay for your insurance, name your number, and show your ID. After that he went to the hostel slowly, in order to gain strength before the marathon. There I was joined by Vladimir Kovbasyuk, who also came to the race but took part in the 5-kilometer run.

The start of the marathon was scheduled for Saturday morning, so when we woke up, we immediately went to the starting point. Runners were already gathering in the central square and preparing for their distance. Approximately 100 participants gathered for a distance of 42 kilometers, with the largest number of participants having a distance of 5 kilometers - 1010 runners. Participants in the marathon, half marathon and 30-kilometer race started together at 10 o'clock.

Although the marathon track was circular, it was easy enough for me. The first part of the circle had a gentle descent, and the second - a gentle ascent. The circle had several hydration points (water, bananas and apples): two on the highway and one after the start.

The marathon itself started well, its first part flashed quickly.

After the 25th kilometer, I decided to drink Coca Cola as I began to feel that I would not be able to run for long. Several playgrounds were organized on the track with fans cheering on their energy. This time, I was a little lucky, because at the beginning of each new circle I had my own fan - Vladimir Kovbasyuk. Which filled me with strength and motivation to move on every time I ran past him.

By the 30th kilometer the marathon was quite easy to reach. If I overcome half in 1 hour 58 minutes, 30 kilometers - in 3 hours 01 minutes. The main problems began to arise with the left knee after 30 kilometers. By the 35th kilometer even more or less it was possible to keep at least some tempo, then further it was necessary to move on a step: the knee too strongly made itself felt. The body was very depleted, the body did not really want to run on water and fruits. We can say that he started to beg for some isotonic.

The last circle generally reflected some desire to run. When I overcame it (which is more than 4 hours of running), the track suddenly started to curl, which by itself made me disoriented. The question arose: "Is it worth running further?". However, I continued to run, but on some stretches of the road near me the cars started speeding as they had already started driving. I crossed the finish line after 4 hours 40 minutes of running.

Impression

Both the city of Kramatorsk and the marathon left a mixed impression.

Let's start with the city. Walking through its central part and the station area, the city is clean, tidy and with completely new roads. But as soon as you start to go into the city, everything goes the opposite. For example, the roads have been completely rebuilt and it is visible that they have been overhauled, but there are no markings on them yet, the sidewalks are also in a terrible state, there are no cycle paths, although many cyclists travel around the city. It was amazing to see this for me. Why, when making the road, only cars were taken into account, and pedestrians and cyclists were completely forgotten. Are they just not moving around the city? Interesting feature: you can walk down the sidewalk, which suddenly breaks off, after which you have to walk the trodden path when the completely repaired road lies on the side.

And there was a little positive, more precisely the police. It was unexpected that they would be fined at the station for smokers who smoke in non-designated areas. This is rarely the case at railway stations in Ukraine. And here I had every chance to get this fine.

The same can be said for running. I'll start with a good one. Overall, the organization was not bad: there were well-established points with fans, plenty of water and fruit. The run route was well chosen, despite the fact that it was circular, and the volunteers' support was quite good.

And there were many negative ones. First, the biggest distances started last, although it would be more logical to do the opposite (initially 42, 21 and 30 km, after which only 5 km). The race itself ended earlier, if the overlapping of the streets was critical, the start of long distances should have been organized at 8 or 9 o'clock, but not at all at 10. Secondly, after 4 hours of running began to turn off the track, which generally ruined the mood. Not only did they begin to collect it, they also opened it to transport - something that was not enough for complete happiness.

What can I say for myself? It seemed that the marathon was organized for the first 10 marathon runners, as no words were written in the regulation that the track was going after the fourth hour. It also states that the distance limit is 6 hours, which means that the route must be operational for 6 hours. If all runners are there for 3 or 5 hours, then they have to gather after the specific points have been overcome by the last participant. I would still understand that the last participants do not fit into the time limit, but when it is collected in front of you, it absolutely reflects the desire to keep running.

Summing up, I can say that the Our Kramatorsk marathon left two feelings. But this is often the case at small Ukrainian starts. I can not say that I am used to it, but I must be prepared for the kind of "raisins".