Izabela Mesaroš: “Running is an activity without which I could hardly imagine my life”
Exactly 18 days remain until the 7th Subotica Half Marathon. As we approach 25 August, we are also nearing the end of our conversations with our past winners, who have marked our races so far. Less than a year ago our fellow citizen Izabela Mesaroš also triumphed in the streets of Subotica, the best woman at last year’s 6th Subotica Half Marathon.
At the start of our conversation Izabela reveals that the loss of her father, who for most of her life was her coach and taught her table tennis, over the course of a year spontaneously, slowly brought her closer to running. “Until then I had practised running as a sport sporadically, for fitness, and out of one loss a new love was born that took me over and consumed me completely, so in the end I hung up the racket and ran off into the unknown.”
According to her, besides the benefit of excellent fitness, running has brought her peace, given her the chance to get to know herself better, instilled courage and awakened a curiosity to test her own limits. In short, she considers running a sport that after every training session brings the right combination of hormones that makes her feel fulfilled. “The question of sacrifice is above all a question of the goal. If you set goals at the limit of your abilities, which is my case, then the sacrifices are big, but the reward you hope for should be proportional. Luckily, I am someone who enjoys the process itself, the training, so I don’t need constant participation in races for motivation. I manage to get the reward for the sacrifice almost daily, through training. Still, occasionally it is hard for me to give up treats like pancakes, which I adore, for the sake of fitness. I would add that, if we are talking about top results in anything, I think there is no balance. Without sacrifice, a clear plan, discipline and dedication there are no objectively good results, even if you are an exceptional talent.”
For our interviewee running is a combination of physical and mental strength, because, as she explains, the body is trained, it adapts to longer distances and higher speeds, and that adaptation must be accompanied by mental training. “By way of illustration, I believe that most of us runners, in races and even in training, go through phases from ‘this will be easy’ to ‘what, another 300 m to the finish?! I won’t make it!’ Crises like these are won by the head, not the body. It is great if in those situations you can remember to turn your attention away from the course ahead and let your eyes wander over the surroundings, the other runners, to shift focus from the torment you are going through, and I think this shifting of focus even has a scientific basis. Visualising crossing the finish line helps too.”
When it comes to the Subotica Half Marathon and the organisation of the competition itself, Izabela has only words of praise. “I think the organisation was good, and that the only objection, concerning the schedule, was met in an excellent and democratic way, by a vote on social networks, so I commend the organisers because they have an ear for criticism and act quickly.” And last year’s race, at which she also triumphed, she considers special, especially as she ran it for the first time. “To run in your home town, to see most of the cultural and historical landmarks from that perspective with the support and cheers of fellow citizens, where I must especially stress the support of the neighbours in the ‘Tokio’ neighbourhood who cheer so that you are overwhelmed with emotion, get goosebumps and feel a responsibility to fight even harder, and at the end of the race to hug my mum, well, that is something special.”
Izabela points out that the Subotica Half Marathon is important for our city for several reasons. “Firstly, because it has encouraged many people in Subotica to start running recreationally in order to take part in it; because it is an excellent promotion for the city in tourist terms, as it gives participants the chance to see the city just enough to intrigue them and make them explore it further after the race; but also because it gives us the chance once a year to host some of the best runners in Serbia, which could motivate future generations to try their hand at running.”
To everyone who perhaps does not dare to start running but would like to, or does not know how, our fellow citizen says: don’t hesitate, register today and start training. “The rush of adrenaline you will feel when the race starts will in itself be the reward for registering and preparing. Depending on how physically ready you are, preparation should start gradually. Run easy, enjoy the sunny day (not at noon, I beg you), the scent of the linden trees that half of Subotica smells of (come and smell them at the half marathon), invite a friend to join you, run a kilometre more than yesterday, run a kilometre faster than two weeks ago. In running we compete above all with ourselves. To put on your shoes, run, try to be better than last time, that is what we should strive for. If you have had a hard day, came home late from work and don’t feel like running, but you go running anyway, you have already won. You have beaten the you that had resistance and doubts. Let the session be weaker, but you didn’t give up. Repeat this habit a few times and I guarantee you will soon become a running addict. Stagnation, ups and downs in form, those are all things you should prepare for right away because they are inevitable. But the moment you cross the ‘finish line’ is a special story. Then you feel invincible. Running is specific in that all the credit is yours. So when you finish the race, pat yourself on the shoulder, give yourself recognition and have faith that from that moment on you will be more resilient and better prepared for everything that stands as an obstacle on your path through life. My advice to everyone is not to give up, to ‘play chess’ before the race, that is, to think ahead, come up with positive slogans and have answers ready for when the hard part of the race comes and the self-questioning of ‘why did I need this’, because with a lack of oxygen it is sometimes really hard to see perspective and be creative and rational. So, giving up is always an option, but let’s find the answer to the question ‘why should I keep going?’ before the race. I will conclude by saying that running is an activity without which I could hardly imagine my life. It has opened new horizons for me and let me feel free and untameable, like White Mane.”