Fresh air and green color of woods and grass make me to feel my own freedom. Silence destroyed by birds singing. Space limited by horizon. Sweat and muscle pain. Running like a wild horse with zero body weight. Sun, rain, wind, fog, the infinite inner space of ideas, dreams and imagination.
I run for fun and good feeling. My pace is rather slow underlying that breaking records is not its purpose. I started running about fifteen years ago to participate at the Prague International Marathon, the first and last. Very nice experience by the way.
I do cross-country skiing with the same purpose, on the same level. Vassalopet in Sweden, the 90 km track had been a challenge until 2012. I was extremely lucky with the weather. Bright, sunny day, with temperatures below minus 15 in the morning, reaching above zero during the day. Tasty blueberry soup and motivating atmosphere, somewhat similar to Marcialonga, which I did a year later, again with sunshine all the way.
Who does not like to stand on the top? Climbing brings about fantastic views and the feeling of space. I reached the top of Mount Blanc first alone, leaving my friend to rest 500 meters lower in the last cabin to return together with him the very next day. Often full of people, I was there alone. The day we were there together, we were probably the only ones. A change in the weather brought about fog which almost blocked our way home. The nice thing about Mt Blanc is that you can go up from one side and back from the other. But, it means you don’t know the way back.
Children are our future. The possibility to take them out of their daily routine; set them in the tent surrounded by woods and let them to create new relations and emotions was great. I was a chief leader of a summer camp for children for six years. About 40 children were coming each summer to a wonderful area among ponds and woods. I still go there with my wife and daughter and actively participate, even though my role has changed.