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Each year Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Sports Club encourages all supporters of healthy lifestyle to join the university’s marathon movement and join us in running one of the Lattelecom Riga marathon distances under the RSU name. You certainly do not have to start with the classical marathon distance of 41 km, challenge yourself with a 6 km distance first.

RSU Sports Club will cover half of the participation fee for every RSU representative, irrespective of whether you are a professor, a member of RSU management team or a student.

Celebrating achievements and team spirit

Anyone who stays fit by jogging in the fresh air knows that joggers are a friendly community who usually greet each other by waving. The sense of being part of some community is one of the incentives for becoming and remaining part of the marathon movement. Every year during the Lattelecom Riga marathon, thousands of running professionals and enthusiasts take to the streets, allowing you to enjoy the city of Riga from the runner’s perspective.

At the finish line you are taken over by a sense of achievement and you can share the joy with your friends and family. Every runner receives a medal which will serve as a reminder of the willpower and fight with yourself which you have won.

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Dean with a marathon background

One of the most active RSU academics-marathon runners is the dean of the Faculty of Rehabilitation, Associate Professor Signe Tomsone, who admits that running is an integral part of her life: "Considering my previous experience in rowing, I cannot live without sports. I love being active in fresh air – long walks, hiking and running. I have been running on a regular basis for some five years and I feel most comfortable in the half-marathon distance. I have mastered two marathons, but it’s a huge challenge for my physical abilities and requires careful preparation. Maybe in autumn I could bring myself to one more classical marathon race."

Start with a small distance and end up in the Amazon Jungle

RSU students are just as active in running as the teaching staff. One of these students is Alma Vītola – the first Latvian who has conquered one of the toughest races – the Jungle Marathon in the Amazon Rainforest. She is still an active runner and is looking forward to challenging new races in 2018. "I remember that years ago my mother’s sister ran a marathon. I wanted to improve my physical health. Although I have always been active, I had never had a serious commitment to any sports. My mother’s sister and I went for a joint run and so it all started," she recalls in an interview, adding that she is running for some six years, four of which have been devoted to long distances.

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Love for sport fuels professional career

One of Latvia’s best long-distance runners, Anita Kažemāka, last year’s graduate of the RSU Master’s study programme Nutrition Science, recalls that her sports career started with walking, "I simply loved sports, neither my parents nor teachers forced me. When I received my first medal and cup, I treated it as something very special and valuable and I wanted to compete more. When I switched from local races to national competitions and higher, where I could compete against the best athletes, I got hooked on this feeling, the endorphins, bringing about the desire to remain in sport. I have chosen an individual sport – it is a fight with yourself and I love to overcome myself, test my limits and constantly re-define them."

International students – active in studies and in sports

In the annual Lattelecom Riga marathon, RSU is represented by a team of several hundreds of RSU employees and students, confirming once again that RSU stands for healthy lifestyle. There have always been active runners among our international students. Here we have to mention Jaakko Nieminen who was the sixth fastest half-marathon runner in 2016 and the 2nd fastest in the 10 km race in 2017.

Long distance is the sum of small steps

Every runner who has set a huge running goal has started with smaller, more down-to-earth things to achieve. Equally as in your life – if you have set ambitious goals, you have to start with small steps; divide the ultimate goal into smaller ones and move forward. And what is the most important thing – listen to and do not exhaust your body and run with joy!

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Be part of a strong, athletic and great RSU!

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