Aquarium on the move: LEO.RUN half marathon
We continue to inform you about sports events at the Aquarium, and our protagonist today is Alyona Semenchenko, a computer numerical control engineer and also a trade union member in charge of sports activities. She has managed to build an amazing athletic team representing the Primorsky Aquarium at marathons and other events.
Five fast and adventurous staff members from the Aquarium took part in the LEO.RUN half marathon in the Land of Leopard National Park on June 11. It was a trail running marathon, i.e. held in natural terrain, and our runners completed 21.1 and 10 km.
“It was our first trail race, and we were eager to participate,” said Alyona Semenchenko. “The terrain was difficult, with more than 900 m of uphill climbs. All the athletes did 10 km and one girl smashed the longest run. We all were enormously impressed, and we enjoyed the race a lot! Running along bridges or asphalt roads all the time got slightly boring.”
The team are go-getters: rigorous training, tough challenges and extreme conditions only spark their interest. They could not lose such a fantastic opportunity to push the limits and to prove that they can do it.
“During last year’s race Anya Bykova, Head of the Procurement Department, initially intended to run only 10 km but I persuaded her to complete 21 kilometers,” continued Alyona Semenchenko. “Since then she has become a half marathoner. Liza Davydova (translator’s note – Specialist at the Department of Tropical Marine Species) improves her trail running skills, training on her own on Russky Island. Slava Kaloshin (translator’s note – Senior Engineer at the Plumbing and Heating Division) is actually quite the sporty type: he devotes his time not only to running but also to swimming. We would like him to compete for the Aquarium in swimming races as well.”
A wide range of sports events take place throughout the year: in summer, they organize running and swimming competitions, and skiing contests are held during the winter months. Thus, our Aquarium athletes have set their immediate goals and are planning to stay the course.
“Another team from our institution will join the Race of Heroes (translator’s note – an annual obstacle race) scheduled for late June: these people are not keen runners but they want to test their limits,” explained Alyona Semenchenko. “We are also to take part in two swimming races ̶ a race between Skryplyov Island and the Primorsky Aquarium and X-WATERS that, among others, offers a swim called Embrace Russia. Participants in this swim complete a portion of the race distance in Vladivostok and then travel to Kaliningrad by plane to finish the distance there. After that, we will compete in the Galaxy Vladivostok Marathon. And then this ‘cycle’ will be repeated over and over again.”
If asked why they join such events, people will give different answers. But in case you have itchy feet and crave adventures, being a part of a large team whose members strive forward and having the chance to do the best you can do will bring you true happiness. Alyona Semenchenko is sure that participation in races makes life more interesting, beautiful and cheerful, as well as provides the opportunity to find out what you are really made of.
We congratulate those who covered the challenging terrain of the LEO.RUN and wish them much luck for upcoming competitions in 2022.