Aquarium on the move: Race of Heroes
The 2022 competition season is ongoing: on June 25, five staff members from the Primorsky Aquarium completed the Race of Heroes (translator’s note – an annual obstacle race), where they fully demonstrated their vigor, courage and stamina. We asked the participants to share their experience of the event with us: what they had found difficult, frightening and inspiring about it.
“While still at university, I wanted to take part [in the race] but, somehow, I did not get a chance to do it. And when I was invited to compete for the Aquarium, I felt it was only fitting,” said Egor Roslik, Engineer of the Electrical Department. “I liked the whole thing, and the event was well organized: though there were lots of people, there were never any queues, and everything was very swift and smooth. The obstacle course is, in itself, exciting but the race requires prior training. You initially think that it is quite easy to finish in first place but at the end of the course you lose control of your arms and legs, and your hands are full of blisters. But, basically, everything is possible.”
Maria Kokorina, Lead Specialist at the Procurement Department, told us that they made a great team. “We (translator’s note – the team’s female members) were worried about not being athletes and about failing some tasks but our lads put us at ease,” said Maria. “They were not adept at sports either, and we were just enjoying ourselves completing the race. The moment that impressed me most was when we had to jump from a three-meter diving tower into the water — actually, I am afraid of heights.”
“When you are there, you cannot think at all, you just believe that you are able to dive into this muddy pool and swim,” explained Margarita Gumenyuk, Lead Specialist at the Procurement Department. “While making our way through the tire obstacle, we were really scared of getting stuck in it. [During the course] I got rope burns on my palms, which still hurt. But we all helped each other out. Our team have already discussed [ the race, and we now know that] everyone is eager to do it again next year since everyone likes [the competition] so much!”
We express our admiration to our heroes for the amazing spirit they displayed throughout the race and hope that the sports team of the Primorsky Aquarium will grow even larger and perform even better next year.