I planned to take part in the "Vinnytsia Half Marathon" and run through the streets of Vinnytsia, which was once (2013, 2015, 2017) the best city to live in Ukraine last year, but then these plans failed to materialize and registration had to be postponed to this year.
The half marathon in Vinnytsia interested me because it takes place in one of the main centers of the historical and geographical region of Ukraine, which is called Podillya. Almost all my childhood and youth were spent in the territory of Podillya, only in the part that is part of the Khmelnytsky region. In addition, my first impressions of travel were connected with Vinnytsia, as back in 2000 Vinnytsia became the city where I decided to make my first solo trip. Therefore, we can say that "Vinnytsia Half Marathon" was almost a home start for me. And for me, the city is interesting for its history and such historical events as the defense of Vinnytsia Castle, which took place during the National Liberation War of 1648 - 1657, when a 3,000-strong Cossack regiment led by Colonel Ivan Bohun completely defeated a 20,000-strong Polish army. and during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1918-1920, Vinnytsia was the capital of the Ukrainian People's Republic for one month.
Registration
Those wishing to take part in the "Vinnytsia Half Marathon" could register through the main site of the half marathon run.vn.ua and choose one of the two main distances - 21 kilometers and the satellite distance - 10 kilometers.
The route of the "Vinnytsia Half Marathon" consisted of two laps of 10 kilometers each and passed through the central streets of the city. In addition, there were 8 hydration points on the route, where participants could refresh themselves a bit.
Run
I decided to go to Vinnytsia the day before the start to get my starting number to participate in the half marathon in advance, so Saturday morning started for me on the platform of Kyiv railway station, where I went to meet another running adventure, during which I had to continue my acquaintance with Ukrainian half marathons.
Arriving in Vinnytsia, he immediately went in the direction of the starting town, which was located in the park named after Leontovych. In order to receive their starter pack, the participant had to present insurance (could be issued on the spot) or a medical certificate and identity documents. After receiving my starter pack, it's time to take a little walk through the cozy streets of Vinnytsia in anticipation of Sunday morning.
The most interesting part of the running adventures that awaited me in Vinnytsia began at 8 o'clock on Sunday morning, when the participants for the distance of 21 and 10 kilometers (start was joint) "Vinnytsia Half Marathon" took their places in the starting corridor waiting for the start.
After the start of the countdown, the participants went to conquer the route "Vinnytsia Half Marathon", which was quite interesting, although it consisted of two laps of 10 kilometers each and passed through the streets of Vinnytsia and a little through the local Forest Park. The main features of the half marathon route include a large number of small ascents (the maximum set was 298 meters) and descents, which made running more interesting.
For me, the "Vinnytsia Half Marathon" started quite well, especially the first half of the marathon, namely the first 6 miles of the distance I managed to run in 48 minutes. Since the half marathon started early, I ran quite comfortably, and since I knew that 10 kilometers in the heat my body perceives quite comfortably, so the hydration points in the first half of the half marathon were mostly missed and decided to give preference to this segment mainly sponges. As for the second part of the "Vinnytsia Half Marathon", which took 1 hour and 2 minutes to overcome, here if I did not want to, but to quench my thirst and freshen up a bit I had to miss the hydration points.
I managed to cross the finish line 1 hour 50 minutes after the start, which roughly met my expectations and current physical training. As for the result itself, during the "Vinnytsia Half Marathon" I managed to show my average result in the distance - a half marathon, so I was satisfied with it in principle, in addition, he showed that for a year and a half of not very active training as a result lost and until the next running season, which will come in 4 months (I hope it will be full) it will be possible to get in pretty good shape at the distance - a half marathon.
Impression
"Vinnytsia Half Marathon" left some positive impressions primarily due to the organization of the running event, which in my opinion it was organized at a fairly high level. A beautiful half marathon route, which was completely blocked for the participants of the race. As it was quite hot, there were a large number of hydration points (water, fruit) on the route, and in addition to them, there were also points with sponges where runners were greeted by friendly volunteers.