On Sunday, 77,103 people across 104 countries came together to achieve what had seemed impossible in the current situation. They ran, walked or rolled simultaneously in the Wings for Life World Run charity run. Separated by distance but united in spirit, they raised €2.8 million for spinal cord injury research.

 

Nina Zarina of Russia won her second consecutive women’s Global Championship with 54.23 km. Michael Taylor of Great Britain captured his first men’s Global Championship with 69.92 km.

... At about the age of 25, seven years ago, Nina says she was thinking about her future and what she wanted her life to be like in 10 to 15 years.

She was living near Moscow at the time, working as a software developer and she said she didn’t want her life to stay the same with a “home and work life cycle with regular traffic jams, extra weight, TV shows at night. I didn’t want to just dream about an active, fulfilled, healthy life and a sport-shaped body. I felt trapped, so I started to run.”

 

Nina says that running was and still is her “transformation route to a better life.”

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...Catcher Car drivers included Dakar Rally champion Matthias Walkner, record-setting ski jumper Adam Małysz and Formula One legend David Coulthard, and a new 2019 pace for the Catcher Car resulted in a nail-biting finish for the women.

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In the end, it was Russian Nina Zarina, who ran in Zug, Switzerland who edged out 2017's champion Dominika Stelmach of Poland, who ran in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by just 0.16km. Zarina pounded out an incredible 53.7km to claim the win.

... 2:39 it's a normal result, a good result. It's a result of many persistent and permanent training sessions during the last few years. Long runs, tempo works... all of that are the necessary components of that result. But my ambitions were higher, there are a lot of women, who run faster, so there is still enough room for improvement...

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Valencia is one of the best marathons. There is an easy, flat course and even downhill at the last part, amazing warm weather and great support along the distance.

Nina starts her running story with Nike Running Club in 2012 and already in 2019 she has won the Global title on Wings for Life race and was the first on the San Francisco marathon.

 

There are a lot of common questions for runners: Why do you run? What does motivate you? Who is your role model?

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There is an opportunity to discuss them and more with Nina. 

...Parkrun is a great united weekly event, where you can meet and chat with your old friends and run together 5 kilometers as you wish, with or without specific goals. 

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I visited a lot of Parkruns in different countries: Durban (South Africa), Milan (Italy), Washington (USA), Dublin (Ireland), Berlin (Germany)... But Russian Parkruns in wintertime are unforgettable for me. Those moments when I'm trying to tie shoelaces with my frozen fingers at -25 C degree and inhaling frosty air after a fast run.

 

...I would really like to share my experience so that people do not make my mistakes, but sometimes it seems that this is impossible. Everyone is looking for his own way and sometimes it is a very long process.

...I always try to limit personal communication before important competitions, to keep in my context only the words of the closest friends. Because it really matters. It is very important how you are supported, how you are led, what they say to you and who these people are. From that you build your personality. 

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We discussed the evolution of my results in the last seven years and which goals were on each stage and what was changed. I also answered on the most popular questions:

what does my workday look like?
what and how do I eat?
who were my coaches and what is specific of training sessions?
what does my training cycle look like?
how do I recover after training? 

I have no dreams as a sportsman, I have a plan.

 

...Some training sessions were very hard. Despite the fact that I have been already familiar with interval works, I did it many times before, I still always have doubts about whether I can do all laps, whether the last will be at the same speed, whether there will be enough patience. It's enough usually, but doubts do not go away. And it really hurts ... especially 20x400/200. 

I usually say that my example crashes two stereotypes:

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1. That in order to achieve high results in sports, you need to start very earlier in your childhood. I have started to run when I was 25 years old.

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2. That you only show the highest results in your youth. I got my best results after 32 and I still improving them.

 

...I never planned to participate at a high level in international competitions. I just wanted to run marathons twice a year and keep it as a kind of fitness activity. But then the character played: there was a clear goal, expressed in numbers and I wanted to achieve it.

... every season I have the same doubts: If I’m an amateur athlete and not a professional, where should be my limit in my results.

But It seems like it id far away for now.