We continue to discover talents around us and, this time, we introduce to you Ștefan, the amateur athlete. We were impressed by his story for the passion and enthusiasm shown when he was talking to us about his hobby and about the strong motivation he has during training.
He resumed running last year, after a few years of break, when he remembered his high school hobby and he wanted to keep fit by practicing this sport again. He started by setting his first goal: Bucharest half-marathon, on October 2015. He learned that setting a goal is essential to maintaining motivation to practice any activity, especially a challenging one in all respects.
He lived in Iași for five years and, with his move to Bucharest, during the period of accommodation with the new environment, he sought a way to spend his time, to make new friends and to find calmness, optimism and balance. As he began running more and more, he enjoyed it even more and, despite some injuries, he kept his ambition of succeeding in training for the half-marathon. ‘For my first half-marathon, I trained for about three months, and for Ciucaș X3 marathon, which I shall attend on September 10th, 2016. I started my training as early as January 2016.’
I asked him how he makes time for his daily training, taking into account the schedule he has at work. Stephen said that if you enjoy running, you will have time to practice it. For example, at his former job he was working from 10 A.M., so he ran in the morning between 5:30 A.M. and 7:00 A.M.. And now he’s also training before coming to work, which gives him energy and good mood to start his job at the office.
His advice for those who want to practice this sport is the following: ‘For someone who is now starting to run, I would say that the most important thing is to want to exercise, to choose a pair of right runners, and that is done with a pre-test at a specialized shop. If you have a good shoe, the rest of the accessories are details. And, most importantly, you should to have patience with yourself. Start very slowly and with very little. No one is pressuring you. Do not compare yourself to anyone. Listen to advice from those who are better than you. YouTube and Google are your friends. The rest is ambition, patience and perseverance.’
For Ștefan, training is never over. He is running for pleasure and he told us that he hopes to be able to run until the last days of his life. Through running, he has learned to be patient with himself, to compare himself to the best, and to take care, first of all, of himself, so that he can then take care of others.
His next important goal is to finish the 42 kilometers race at the Ciucaș X3 marathon, which will take place this weekend in Cheia, Brașov. This will be his first run both in the mountains and for such a long distance, but this challenge motivates him quite extraordinarily! JWe will keep our fingers crossed and support him in everything he wants to accomplish!
We are happy to have Ștefan in our team! According to him, in terms of CGS, he was attracted by the young collective, promotion possibilities, and the fact that our field of activity was familiar to him. He adapted very easily and likes the working environment.
‘Now I run a half-marathon almost every weekend. I have made many acquaintances and runner friends. I constantly have positive energy and I am in the best shape of my life. Running is natural therapy with minimal costs and enormous benefits!’
