We are proud to present from Sct. Petersburg, Russia: Alexander Korotkov:
My name is Alexander Korotkov. I am 43 years of age. I was born in Murmansk and lived there until I was 17 years old. It is located above the Artic Circle near the border with Finland (100 km). During 1975 I moved to St.-Petersburg to study at the State University (mathematics-mechanics faculty). In 1981 I graduated with a Masters Degree in Computer Science from St.-Petersburg State University. I currently work as a programmer, writing small but necessary programs for the bank to which I am employed.
I am married and have two sons (18 and 10 years). My oldest son has become a student of Physical Education at the State University, while my younger son is still a schoolboy at an English school. After the birth of my first son I ran a little. It was about eight years ago that I began to run again. In 1998 I decided to run my first marathon. I was quite pleased with my very respectable time for a beginner (3:48). Since then I have run 13 classical marathons, with the best time being (2:49). During 2000 I ran a 9:48 for 100 kms and this past year I managed to run 161kms over a twenty-four hour period.
I enjoy participating in Multi - Day Races (3-7 days), and during 2000 I participated in a non - stop relay race from Paris to Moscow. After Moscow some of the other runners wished to continue to Sydney. Although it was necessary for me to come back home, as my holiday was approaching an end, the team had to stop after reaching the Chinese border because Chinese Government Officials couldn't guarantee their safety in Tibet. But nonetheless this was truly a memorable experience.
During the past year I participated in a non-stop relay race called "Moscow - Astana - Alma-Ata" (4000 km). Astana is the new capital of Kazakhstan; Alma-Ata is a former capital of Kazakhstan. We ran for 19 days and had 4 stops of 20 hours in large cities along the way. My contribution was approximately 45-50 km for every 30 hours or so.
That outlines the highlights of my running achievement. Except for my modest successes I have got a huge desire to run around of the world together with others runners. I understand that it is a very difficult task for me, both from the point of view of sports and from the point of view of the finance. But the more difficult the task is the more interesting it is to execute it.
In life I would like to meet people who find it interesting to organize and participate in Multi-Day races. I would like to utilize my abundant enthusiasm for running, to try and continue it professionally. It will be a thrill to meet other people that are as dedicated to running.
With best wishes, Alexander Korotkov.
St.-Petersburg, Russia.
Quote:
"The bigger the obstacles the more interesting the challenge get's !"