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HSE Runners Take Part in White Nights Marathon in St Petersburg
© HSE UNIVERSITY
The White Nights Marathon has once again gathered thousands of running enthusiasts in St Petersburg. For HSE University, it was not only one of the main starts of the season, but also a major meeting of the university running community. Students, staff, graduates, and lyceum students from different campuses took part in the run, while the support group accompanied the athletes on the most difficult sections of the track.
The marathon started at 10 pm. The participants covered the distance along the embankments and central streets of St Petersburg and finished late in the night. Despite the fact that there was no rain, the conditions proved to be difficult: high humidity, the night-time format, and the marathon distance demanded not only good fitness, but also the ability to maintain endurance and focus for several hours.
More than 20 people from the HSE RUN Club completed the full distance—for some athletes, it was their very first marathon. Several dozen more HSE representatives took part in the 10 km run, a scenic route from the arena on Krestovsky Island through the Petrogradskaya side to Palace Square. Many participants set personal records. Students also represented the university in the student race.
Andrey Maslov
‘It seems to me that no one was particularly worried before the run. We had two goals—to have fun and to run at our own pace in order not to let the team down. I was pleasantly shocked by the beauty of the bright night city, the amount of support throughout the race, and the scale of the event. I would like to repeat this experience next year. Student relay races are held at almost all major competitions, and HSE always tries to participate with several teams at once,’ said Andrey Maslov, first-year student of the Bachelor's in Applied Mathematics and Information Science at the Faculty of Computer Science.
The support group played an important role, moving along the track with the marathon runners. First, the supporters met the participants at the 25th kilometre, within view of the Peter and Paul Fortress, then moved to the 39th kilometre—closer to the finish line. Here, support was especially important as many athletes had run for several hours. Staff, students, and lyceum students helped the runners maintain their pace and spirit before the final kilometres.
‘Even though I’m not a new runner just starting out from the couch, the marathon turned out to be quite a serious challenge: after the 27th kilometre, my legs began to cramp and I could no longer maintain my previous pace. HSE University’s support point before the finish line helped a lot. And at the finish line my son, who ran ten kilometres, met me. The atmosphere was great. For a first marathon, I advise everyone to choose large mass starts. I am happy that I managed to reach the finish line and meet the deadline in four hours with a result of 3 hours and 49 minutes,’ said Dmitry Sergeev, Deputy Vice Rector, Leading Expert at the Centre for Financial and Economic Decisions in Education.
The HSE RUN Club would like to thank HSE University in St Petersburg and its management for the warm welcome and organisation of a support point, the Moscow and St Petersburg student teams for participating in relay races and for their team spirit, and lyceum students for helping and supporting the marathon runners until the morning. The combined efforts of everyone who ran, supported the participants, and helped them during the race helped make the ‘White Nights’ not just a sports activity for the HSE community, but one of the most heartwarming events of the summer.
Trips to major competitions have long been an important part of HSE RUN’s activities. No sports experience is needed join—participants with any level of training are welcome to the club, including those who’ve just started to run. Joint training, competitions, and field trips help not only to develop fitness, but also to find like-minded people. The calendar of upcoming starts can be found on the HSE RUN page.
