Krasnoyarsk’s local residents and participants from other areas of the country saw the summer off with an endurance running event, the Zhara marathon. Polyus played an active part in supporting the marathon, including as a sponsor.
This year’s Zhara marathon has once again brought together runners from all over Russia for the eighth running. This year due to the pandemic, the event was rescheduled to the very end of summer, on 29th and 30th of August.
Shorter races were also part of the event, which took place on the first day: 5 km for adults, and 1 km or 500m for children. On the second day of the marathon, more experienced athletes ran 10 km and or 21.1 km (a half-marathon).
Ilya Dyubin, a member of the Polyus team, shared his impressions of the event:“Everything was just great. I’m happy that this event finally took place in what has been such a difficult year where there have been very few running events. Of course, there were some online sports events, but these do not offer the same experience. There is no finishing-line tape, and your medal is sent in the post... It all seems a bit wrong when you compare it to normal offline running events, where we have music and event presenters. I am very grateful to the marathon’s organizers.”
Olga Gritsak, a Specialist at the Shared Service Center, participated in the Zhara marathon for the first time, commenting:“I love sport and running has to be my favorite; it’s good for my health, my figure and my self-discipline. I trained for the competition with the Polyus team. This was my first running competition and I wanted to feel the atmosphere of a real event. It was definitely worth it; it gave me a real thrill.”
Vitaly Malkevich, Head of Environmental, added:“My whole family took part in the race: me, my wife Elena, who also works at Polyus, and our daughters, 5-year-old Liza and 18-month-old Anna. This has become a family tradition, and Liza participated in her fourth Zhara half-marathon in her stroller. She then trained with me for two years and now is participating in the competition. My baby girl Anna has also run the distance, although I was carrying her in my arms. All in all, it is great that we’re able to continue our family tradition.”