Martin Telepun and Branislav Klobošič shared their running experiences in a series of mini marathon stories in August. Today they will be joined by František Smriga from Division plant Cold Rolling Mill. He has been wearing "marathon shoes" for more than forty incredible years, and he can no longer imagine life without running.

I started running in my youth, when we lived in a village in Slanec. As in every village, there was a church and a pub. And everyone went for beer. I didn't want to spend my time in a pub, so I started running. I was 16 years old and one day in January I put on tracksuits and set off from Slanac towards Košice. I noticed the odometers on the road. I found the first one, the second one and was curious about the others. Until I ran five kilometers and came back. I later found out that the first kilometer started only four houses down from ours and I never noticed it. I haven't stopped running since that day.

The motivation of runners is different. What is yours?

From the very beginning, my only motivation was to improve my times. I've been writing a running journal since day one. You go once, the second time, you want to improve. It's like a drug. Improvement is not the result of chance, but of a very strong will. If you start skipping workouts, you can't work out. It is not enough that you run for a week and then live off it for a month. If you don't run for a week, you start from scratch. Regularity is the most important thing in running. I have always struggled with time. I took the race as a sharp test, I wasn't interested in placing, only if I could improve.

My second motivation is health. I am convinced that without regular exercise and a healthy diet it is impossible to be healthy even in old age and certainly not in old age, just look around you. The good news is that it's never too late. Your body and soul will repay you for it, you will feel healthier, younger, happier and you will extend your life. Sports and diet go hand in hand. I would eat rationally for nothing if I didn't move. Sport makes me eat healthy. If I want to run 20 kilometers, I can't eat bacon or fried food. On the contrary, I have to treat myself to quality food, lots of fruits and vegetables, regular drinking regime.

You have already run many marathons. But do you remember your first one?

I consider the marathon a royal discipline. That's the pinnacle of it all. I resisted the marathon at first, but after a few years I changed my mind and signed up for the Košice Marathon. I had respect as I had never run a 42.195 kilometer course before. My fellow runners warned me that a crisis was coming. It is true that the thirty-fifth kilometer is critical. Since I had no experience with a marathon, I ran cautiously, afraid that I would not be able to distribute my forces properly. I was waiting for that crisis, but it didn't seem to come. I still had enough power and started to accelerate. I remember that I passed a group of about sixty runners and neither fatigue nor cramps came. So I kept speeding up and when I ran from Mlynská to Hlavná ulica, there was a visible difference between me and the other runners. I had saved so much energy that I was sprinting compared to them. And the people around the road started clapping for me, backing up and cheering me on as if I should be the first to catch up. The finish line was at Lokomotiva stadium, they applauded me like a winner all the way. It was an unforgettable experience. Finally I finished in 3:14:15 h, which was an excellent time for me for the first time. And since I like to fight against the clock, I have set myself the goal of running a marathon under three hours by the next year.

How often do you run these days?

Now I run as much as my body allows. Enough to make me feel healthy, happy and satisfied. My knee does not allow me to train for a marathon at the moment, so I am preparing for a half marathon in October. I alternate shorter and longer routes, depending on how I feel. For example, in the evening I will run five kilometers on the new, two-hundred-meter oval on the KVP housing estate. I usually run longer routes on the weekends. In August, I ran a half-marathon as part of the Rajecký marathon. A week later I took part in a race in Čičmany. Eleven kilometers along forested, hilly terrain as part of the Run throuth the Woods series. I always set a realistic goal. I'm not racing anyone, I'm racing time, my watch. I don't adapt to others, I don't compare myself, I run at my own pace.

How do you eat before a race? And how does the body cope with marathon performance?

I try to avoid heavy meals before the race to lighten my stomach. A week before a marathon or half-marathon, I eat more moderately: lots of vegetables, fruits, lots of water. I don't eat fried, or meat with potatoes or meat with rice, I replace the side dish with vegetables. This also applies to training. If I know I'm going to run ten kilometers, I prefer a lighter diet the day before training.

After the race, after the finish, I feel excellent. I am happy that I did something for my body. It usually takes half an hour for the body to calm down. During it, I drink only pure water, I eat something, usually a cereal bar. The interesting thing is that the next day you feel so good that you could run twice as much. 

Muscle fever will appear two days after the race. If I don't "skip" the day after the performance, i.e. I don't run at a slow pace, then two days later my legs are really stiff and I can feel every step.

What advice would you give to people who want to start running?

Never start running because you want to run a marathon. And never run because you want to lose weight. It is necessary to start for the sake of health, weight loss is a secondary phenomenon. You want to have healthy lungs, heart, vascular system, good blood pressure, cholesterol, muscle mass. That should be the primary motivation. Improvement of physical and mental condition. And never skimp on shoes, quality "marathon shoes" are essential, it's good to get advice here. You have to start gradually, run for fifteen minutes and run back as long as you can. If I can't do it, rest for five minutes and come back - either by running or fast walking, depending on the condition. To make sense, you should train at least three times a week. Many people don't know that running slowly burns more fat than running fast. That's why I recommend slow paces.

However, a beginner who is very overweight should not start running right away. He should buy trekking poles and walk around. Five, ten minutes are enough, but regularly, every day. Come home from work, rest for a while, take your clubs and go for a walk.

I recommend keeping a diary, writing down the distance and time. After the fifth or sixth time, you will find that you are starting to improve. A common mistake of beginners is overeating after training. They release energy and immediately receive it back. The expenditure must be higher than the income. You should eat something within half an hour so that regeneration is not prolonged. That means some kind of bar, a piece of bread to fool the stomach. However, it will not work without a strong will.

What are your plans for the future?

I do everything to be healthy. You can also leave this world healthy and with a smile on your face. And that is my goal. I tell everyone that I want to live to be 112 years old and that I still want to work and run a half marathon when I'm 100 years old.

František adds with a smile. His passion for movement and a healthy lifestyle is contagious. Hopefully, on the first Sunday of October, it would "jump" to as many people as possible in the streets of Košice.