Every day, he earns a living at the 31st high school in Riga by teaching physics and engineering to children, but in his spare time he trains himself for long runs. He also went to France using the student autumn holiday benefits.
When Matisse arrived in Toulouse, the sun had warmed the thermometer to just over 20 degrees. “Not good!” thought the runner, but everything was perfect on the day of the race – the air temperature varied between +13 and +15 degrees, but the sky was covered with clouds.
Athletes from 12 countries participated in the competition, most of the guests, the French. “The format of this race is very small – one lap is 1,500 metres. You have to run around the football stadium, then around the outside around the stands and run into a sort of reserve stadium. In each lap, on each side of the track, there are tents where the support teams gather, and there you can find everything you need And that’s how it goes,” Vecvagaris said.
However, the locals were left behind, the first two longer distances were run by foreigners – Chris Kelly from Great Britain managed to run a distance of 271.96 km in 24 hours, the second best result for Vecvagari. He didn’t aim to fight for places: “I wouldn’t care if I was first or tenth – I wanted the Latvian record!”
Vecvagaris admits that you need to prepare for the race both physically and mentally.
“In such 24-hour races, you don’t know how it will end, because, for example, in half-marathon or marathon distances, you reach the finish line and you can relax. But here you can’t. You don’t know how the body will behave, everything can end at once,” said the runner.
He had about the same experience when he started on the same path five years ago. “It was very hot that day, about 24 degrees. After 21 hours of running, I stopped on the side of the track and fell asleep. Then after about two hours, the organizers woke me up, because the competition was about to end, “Matiss remembers with a smile.
“The day of the run is easier than the following days, because after the finish, while there is movement, the body does not rest. sorry,” Vecvagaris said of recovering from the bust.
He is not the only one in the Vecvagari family who likes to challenge himself to big races.
“I am lucky, because my wife does the same thing. This year, for the first time, the 24-hour race was held in Roja, where more than 30 runners participated, and Sigita won – the first Latvian champion! She also defeated all Latvian men!” Matis is proud, smiling. He admits that the two do not participate in such events together, because they usually support each other: “When one runs, the other helps and otherwise.”
The 269.5 kilometers achieved this year is the fifth best result in the world, but with the Latvian record, Matiss does not intend to stop, because a new plan is already formed in his head – until the to run the Bedwater ultramarathon. It is considered to be the most difficult in the world, as a distance of 217 kilometers has to be done in a temperature of 50 degrees. “It would be such an adventure! But I have heard from other runners that the heat is not so crazy, because the air is dry there. You have to be invited, because not everyone can participate take,” Vecvagaris revealed his future plans.
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2024-10-30 07:25:00
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