Marathon Changed My Life!
Sport has been present in my life since childhood. I trained regularly, competed, and pushed myself, so effort was always natural to me. When I ended my journey in competitive sport, one question kept coming back every day: what’s next? I was looking for something that wouldn’t be just an activity, but a path. I tried smaller marathons, local races, half marathons — they brought satisfaction, but I missed scale, atmosphere, and the feeling that I was part of something bigger than just the race itself. Only the marathon in a big city, within a global community, gave me what I was looking for.
Chicago 2023 was my first real entry into a world that works differently from anything I had known before. This city doesn’t just organize a marathon — it celebrates it. Spectators line the course from early morning, and their energy is so intense that you feel it in every turn. Chicago has something raw and honest about it: runners are part of the city there, not an add-on to an event. That was the moment I realized that a marathon can be something more than just sport.
Berlin 2023, 2024, and 2025 have a completely different vibe. Solid logistics, a fast course, but also a city that can be brutally hot. I return there deliberately, because each new attempt shows a different version of me. Berlin is a place where you can test yourself in a fair way: no chaos, no surprises, full focus on the run.
Tokyo 2024 is discipline, culture, and respect for the race that you feel in every detail. No one shouts randomly there — every gesture from the spectators is intentional, every cheer is directed at a specific person. It’s a marathon that proves sport can be part of tradition, not just an event. In Tokyo, I felt that the race was a piece of a bigger story, not just a sports occasion. It’s an experience that stays with you for a long time.
New York City 2024 and 2025 are a completely different world. An iconic, brutally demanding course, bridges, climbs, and the pace of a city that never slows down for a second. NYC is not just a marathon — it’s a spectacle. You run through neighborhoods that differ in everything: energy, music, people, atmosphere. And the spectators? That’s a separate league. In the USA there is something unique: people will come up to you on the street, congratulate you, say “good job” or “respect.” They respect marathoners because they know how much work stands behind this distance. That kind of recognition is genuine and builds a sense of community that is hard to find elsewhere.
London 2025 is tradition and a race that flows through the history of the city. Every kilometer has its own character, and the spectators create the feeling that the whole city has come out just to see you run. London is a marathon that connects past and present — you run through places you know from films, photos, and books, and at the same time you feel that you are part of something alive and current.
Cape Town 2026 was a turning point. A tough, demanding course, changing conditions, and the day I broke three hours. Not on a fast course, not in predictable conditions — but there, where you have to be strong from start to finish. Cape Town combines the rawness of nature with the energy of a city that lives sport. It’s a race that leaves a mark because it requires full commitment from the very first meter.
World Marathon Majors is not just a series of races — it is a global community of ambitious, joyful, open people who believe in effort and in the idea that doing hard things is worth it. These are people who can talk about running like about art, analyze every detail, and at the same time enjoy the simple fact of being part of something bigger. There is something in the Majors that smaller races don’t have: a sense of shared mission. Every start feels like another chapter in a story written by thousands of people from all over the world.
Marathon changed my life because it gave me a new path. It gave me a goal, a rhythm, and a space where I can operate just as intensely as before, but on my own terms. Every city, every start, every kilometer brought something different — together they create a story that is anything but random. This is not just running. It is a way of life that gives me the feeling that I am still creating something valuable, real, and truly mine. And has the marathon changed your life?
