The start of the running season in 2020 was decided in January with a rather interesting start - "Friends' Run", which takes place in the city of Bogorodchany, Ivano-Frankivsk region. He was interested in several reasons: firstly, it is the earliest highway race in Ukraine, which has distances of 16 and 32 km, which makes it possible to evaluate its strength before the start of the running season, secondly, the run of Friends is the only race in Ukraine, which is dated to one of the most important dates in the Ukrainian state-making.

Namely, before the Day of Ukrainian Unification - January 22, 1919, when the eastern and western parts of Ukraine united in one country - Ukraine.

Registration

Running registration took place at runstyle.net, where runners can choose from two distances: the main 32 kilometers and the satellite distance - 16 kilometers. The distance route consists of one circle around the surrounding villages and runs along with asphalt and partly dirt road. Registration fee from - 200 UAH.

Run

My regular jogging journey started on Saturday evening, on the train in the direction of Ivano-Frankivsk, and from there in the direction of the starting town, which was located in the town of Bogorodchany. Initially, I planned to reach Bogorodchan by bus, but the organizers prepared a small surprise as they arranged a transfer from Ivano-Frankivsk to Bogorodchan, which I took advantage of when I arrived in Ivano-Frankivsk in the morning.

The startup of the "Friends' Run" race was located at the local school building and the start near it. Therefore, it was quite crowded here in the morning, since the race started in the morning. Once I got to the starting point, I immediately went to my starting number and then started preparing for the race.

My adventure began at 10:30 am when the main and distance companion "Friends' Run" started. Since Friends' Run was my first official start and combined first training for 32 kilometers in 2020, so my athletic form, which is coming to the start of a new cross-country season is fairly quickly appreciated.

The start of the race was quite lively and the first 3 miles were quite easy to overcome, mainly because it did not train for a long time and stopped to feel the pace at which it ran. Therefore, sometimes he runs too fast and not at his own pace. He decided not to neglect the hydration points, so he ran for each of them, which I encountered on the road, where you could rest and breathe a little, and at a distance of 32 kilometers, there were 6 pieces (5.3 km, 10 km, 16 km, 21 km, 25 km, 28 km).

The first 10 miles I managed to overcome in 1 hour 41 minutes and as for the beginning of the season I can not say that it was a bad result, but they took a lot of forces, so for the next 10 miles, there was not much.

In the second half of the run, I looked more like an interesting walk, admiring the surrounding scenery and thinking about the new running season than running. But the distance to the finish line, albeit slowly but still declining and managed to cross in 3 hours and 51 minutes, which was quite happy as after the finish, the participants expected a delicious sail.

Impression

The "Friends' Run" is a good run organization, an interesting route that runs in one circle around the city and surrounding villages along the paved road, though not in a satisfactory condition (wanted to see it in better condition) with a small number of ascents and descents. Good support for the race participants, especially at the hydration points.

The "Friends' Run" is interesting because it gives you an opportunity to evaluate your preparation before the start of the running season and to give good impressions of running and the surrounding landscapes.