To run an
ultramarathon is a real challenge. But the opportunity to run an ultramarathon
for eight days on Romania’s most beautiful road on Via Transilvanica can be
possible only by means of ‘Transylvania Legends’. A story as a life experience,
as Florin Alexandru, an organizer of the event, has confirmed it to be.
Florin Alexandru: The idea came after Tibi and Alin Useriu had made this wonderful
project called Via Transilvanica. The first moment when we saw this project I
realized it was a great opportunity for us, for every Romanian actually, to
promote Romania. Because, Via Transilvanica is actually magic as it is a time
capsule of what Europe used to be long time ago. The region has practically remained
unchanged and it’s actually a joy to get a glimpse at old-time Romania by
simply taking a trip on Via Transilvanica.
Via
Transilvanica is Europe’s only region that has been preserved exactly as it was
back in the 19th century. Runners and mountain lovers can now start
off on Via Transilvanica in their second ultramarathon race, as Florin
Alexandru says:
Florin Alexandru: We are at the second edition. Last year we had a first wonderful edition
in which we were like a family, had a lot of fun together. This year we are
going to have a second edition, which is to start on May 13 and end on May 21.
We are going to run for eight days, take one day off and spend some time
together like a family, Transylvania Legends.
Florin
Alexandru, organizer of the event told us a couple of things about this
ultramarathon race.
Florin Alexandru: This ultramarathon
has 8 legs, which means a minimum of 80 kilometers per day. We are starting on
May 13 as I said with a first leg of 80 kilometers from Putna to Mestecanis.
Then we have a second leg up to Tăşuleasa, also 80 kilometers and after that we
are going to have a third one from Şieuţ to Câmpul Cetăţii, which is of almost
90 kilometers. This place is breathtakingly beautiful, it has a lot of forests
with many bears roaming. We are going to have four more legs with that day off
like I mentioned before. All these legs are covering almost the same number of
kilometers.
We asked Florin
Alexandru about the participants in this special race.
Florin Alexandru: They are
runners who like the mountains as well and they want to set out on an adventure
like this and run in this marvelous region, which consists not only of
mountains but also of beautiful hills. Most of them are experienced
long-distance runners but the race is not only for them, because there are also
participants who may want to run only for 20 and 40 kilometers. The good thing
with mountain running is that you do not need to run all the time. Some people
believe that you must cover all those 40 kilometers in continuous running. It
is not like that at all. We have checkpoints along the track and runners can
stop and walk if they want to. Because the places are so breathtakingly
beautiful, we sometimes forget that we are actually in a race and stop to enjoy
the view. When we run we aren’t actually doing it for a result, you know, we
enjoy the experience in itself. The participants of last year are also running
this time but anybody can join the race. They are free to submit their
applications until April 30 and a couple of days in May. So, you’d better hurry
up if you want to join Transylvania Legends. The atmosphere here is great, we
are like a family and besides running we spend the nights around a bonfire
telling stories and enjoying life in the mountains and what it has to offer.
So, we’ve figured
out that Transylvania Legends is a story about life, mountain, family and
friendship. And the fact that we should promote Romania. Here is Florin
Alexandru at the microphone again:
Florin Alexandru: I believe we have a moral duty of promoting Romania. I think that we
haven’t done that for quite some time now and it’s our duty, the duty of our
generation to do it. And from my point of view, Via Transilvanica is a journey
back in time and part of our patrimony of what we call Romania. It’s enough to
take only a short trip down this this road to actually realize what beautiful
country we have. We’ve noticed that Romania is a superb country and for this
reason we need to promote it as it is!
So, don’t forget
to join this special ultramarathon list for an unforgettable experience!
(bill)