4th Recycling Marathon Novi Sad Quay

4th Recycling Marathon Novi Sad Quay December 13th, 2015.

Good race for the end of season, 5th
Marathon this calendar year and improved
personal record by more than 3 minutes.

The race was a bit monotonous for circular path.
After I was a little sorry I did not go
below 3 hours and 20 minutes. I met with
many acquaintances from running world.

Chilly but dry day dawned this 13th
December its Saint Lucia day. It was a Sunday,
temperature is about 6-7 degrees Celsius,
and very little wind. After raising the starting
package in the Danube Park just after 9 pm,
and a short walk towards downtown, I stopped by
to pastry shop Europe in Danube Street, and took
cappuccino, from where they joined me Aca from
Topola and one more runner.

About half 11 followed by changing in the home of
Scouts and a short warm-up,  just to 5
minutes before the start of the race to be on the
quay near the Fish Market, where I’m greeted
and followed by my Dad. The bathroom was also
successfuly done.

I was a bit startled by the whistle for the start.
It is a little difficult on the first mile,
but after the first round in about 18 minutes
I passed 5 km for a little more than
22 minutes, and it became seems to me that
everything is easier. I said to myself I’m going fast.
There was also Miroslav Savić from Kovilj with me,a good
and experienced marathon runner. I thought to myself
if you go through each circle for about 20 minutes,
has a total of 10 laps, I have a marathon
for 3 hours and 20 minutes. The first part
looked easy indeed . It was not hard to run
the next three rounds by keeping pace about 4 minutes
and 35 seconds per kilometer. 5th circle was
already with the first signs of fatigue. Half Marathon
was somewhere arround 1:37:30, I saw
I have a lot of power, but I was a little
hurting by right hip.

Although this marathon was not well known, and with a large
number of runners, they were good and ready
marathon runners. I saw that there were at least 5
in front of me, and there were more. Half-marathonians
were slowly ending, and Samardžić from
Brcko is kicked Half-marathon with 1:13:50.

In the second part I was slightly declining pace.
I was cheered by my friend Peter who teaches
physics, and later by Katie and Lucky.
A minor crisis followed after 30 kilometers
and I started to feel some old blister on
the edge of the left foot. The famous
35th kilometer passed, and I remembered the famous
Galloway, I fell a little more in a rhythm. I passed
40 km and caught up with Bogdana from
Prokuplje. I have power to hasten last
2 kilometers, but not enough for my result
to be below 3 hours and 20 minutes. In the second part
of the race I took
two sips of isotonic per every 5 kilometers, although I do not
felt it good in my throat because of the cold.
During last hour there was a bit of sun.

I run to the finish and the time is 3:20:33, and
I achieve a new personal record.
Im on 8th place of 40 competitors. Happyly
doing stretching exercises just after the finish line.
The first two went under 3 hours.
The winner was Igor Stanojević from Prokuplje,
I met him later on marathon in
Bratislava with about 2 hours and 53 minutes, while
the second was the legendary Shone – Nenad
Jovanovic from ARK Fruska Gora in Novi Sad
time 2:57:59. The third place was
about 3 hours and 1 minute, my countryman – Slovak
Šulj Mihal from Kovačica, perhaps a favorit
before this race. A seconds behind him was
a well known ultramarathon runner from Novi Sad
Uglješa Nikolić. The fifth was Dragisa
Filipović – Philippides from Paracin whom
with I ran marathon in Istanbul month before that,
then followed two Ivans from Serbia,
and then me. At finish line I had pains,
apart from the muscle and hip my neck hurt me also.

Hot tea and donuts in scout house brought me back
after the race, and then I went to dinner
with girlfriend Eleanor.

The balance of the year was good for me:
5 finished the marathons, all under three and a half
hours, and finally a personal record. 3
half marathons, a race for 34 kilometers and
one quitting in the night marathon
because of abdominal cramps. All in all
This calendar year brought
10 good races.