The beginning of fall rolled in, and our bravest colleagues put their running shoes on in preparation for a big event – the 5th annual Chisinau Marathon. A courtesy of Sporter, it is a yearly running competition in autumn offering various distances for all ages and levels. Thus, every eager participant had the chance to choose their own pace and challenge – just right to have fun and become better at what they love. If you ever wondered what a marathon is and why it spans for 42.194988 km, then you should know that it is part of Greek mythology. Supposedly, a marathon commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield near the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. Pheidippides ran approximately 42km without stopping to announce the defeat of the Persians to Greek rulers.
This year, the 5th anniversary Chisinau Marathon was held on the 29th of September, and 17 of DevelopmentAid members decided to repeat Pheidippides’s feat. Nine of our colleagues chose to go through with the 1,5km Fun Run, five of them selected the 5km distance, two of them chose the 10km challenge, and one decided to tackle the half-marathon, running for exactly 21.0975km.
Interestingly enough, in an almost balanced manner, half of our runners ran in a marathon before, while half did it for the first time. Moreover, all of our participants had some previous experience running, however not necessarily on a professional level. This makes them even more applaudable, as they’ve gone beyond their comfort zone to challenge their expectations and possibilities. Some said they have always seen a marathon as an unattainable, professional experience. However, we could not be more proud that despite certain initial limitations, our DevAiders did it and ran the race!
All of our participants were very satisfied with the marathon, sharing their positive emotions afterwards. Here are some opinions: “this was fun, a lot of great energy”, “a great place to network & have a great time with family members”, “well-organized as usually”. As you can see, the marathon was primarily a healthy initiative, but also a great way to socialize and go beyond boundaries. Concluding, all of our participants would challenge themselves again, and would definitely recommend this experience to friends. Just through their recollections, we can feel the inspiration, motivation, and positive vibes they came back with. Undoubtedly, this will translate into a better health, mood, and workplace atmosphere.
We are very proud of our marathoners, and applaud their persistence! We are sure they will participate again, motivating more colleagues to join as well, while adding more km’s to their goals 🙂 We wish them lots of energy for future initiatives and lots of sports achievements. All the best!
