Our bodies are perfect machines

There is no worry that a man has in life without getting it out of him while he is 'on the field'.

Those who run know what an anti-stress it is. No one has to run a half-marathon or a marathon, but what is very important is that people understand how much exercise is through physical activity, specifically through running, and it is very important for health," the journalist begins her story. Sanda Rakočević which has been participating in half marathons in Montenegro for years.

She has been in sports as a recreational player since, as she says, "she knows for herself", and she started with karate. However, she soon put an end to her "career as a karate woman" because she did not find herself in it.

"I started running, recreationally, but without any professional help. That's why I injured my heel at the age of 16. I ran on the concrete in inadequate shoes, which cost me an injury," she recalls.

Daily training and long routes she covered encouraged her to sign up for a half marathon.

"I signed up for my first half-marathon five years ago, and since then I haven't missed a single one. I also run races organized by the Athletic Association of Montenegro, and every year I participate in the Ostro Half Marathon. It is my favorite race, and it is also the most demanding, and everyone who has run it knows that no half marathon can be compared to it. That's what people who come from abroad also say," Rakočević points out.

This year, the Ostrog half-marathon will be organized on April 2, and Sanda is already preparing for that race.

"It is very demanding, and in addition to running, strength exercises should also be included, which must be performed properly in order for the body to get used to the grind, which makes part of the Ostroški half-marathon race even more difficult," notes the interviewee of the Magazine.

She is proud of the fact that she has participated in all half marathons in Montenegro for the last five years, but she is not burdened by the results.

"The beauty that running gives me is much more important to me, that being with runners. I believe that we all have something in common, which is this patience and persistence. When I run a half marathon, people who don't do this sport ask me which one you were. However, for half marathons and marathons it is absolutely not important. It is much more important to run 21 or 42 kilometers, which is not easy at all," explains Rakočević.

Her almost daily training is completely different from running a marathon.

"In daily training, shorter distances are run, the so-called running out is done. First, the lengths are worked out, then we do a run of 150 meters of fast running, correct to practice that run as well as possible, so that we can do our best in the race itself. All that is very demanding, but incomparable to the marathon itself, where you have to use up every last atom of strength and run that race. Suffice it to mention that the Podgorica Marathon was run between Danilovrag and Podgorica for years. That perhaps best describes the 21 kilometers that need to be run for a half marathon," she explains.

Although she has successfully finished all the races so far, she remembers the first one in particular.

"I remember her because I didn't prepare adequately. Until that moment, I was only involved in running, a little bit of gymnastics, and at the first race I realized how important it is to include strength exercises. No matter how fit you are, you also need muscle strength to endure such a race, with so many kilometers. And what's even more important is that your body stays healthy after running 21 kilometers", she advises and adds that realizing after that first half marathon that she needed more strength, she included exercises in the gym with weights.

"The first experience with so many kilometers I planned for myself and said 'I will run this, there is no giving up'. At no point did I think of giving up. All the time I was thinking about only one thing - my three children and my husband are waiting for me at the finish line and I want them to see how I go through it, I want to praise my mother who supported me all those years in running, I want to praise everyone who they cheered me on before the race. I wanted to show that this is just another situation in life where I can beat myself. There was uncertainty and trepidation, because you find yourself among people who have been running for years, there are few beginners. You can see how they came prepared with invigorating drinks and chocolate bars, and the most important thing for me was to bring headphones so that I could listen to music during the race", recalls Sanda.

Thanks to socializing with those who, like her, run recreationally, but also professionals, among whom is the Montenegrin Olympian Sladjana Perunović, she became more interested in this branch of sport, so she started reading and researching herself.

"Sladja gave me useful guidelines, so I continued to behave like a professional athlete, because you shouldn't start a race like that untrained. I say this because after the first half marathon I lay down for the whole day, my legs hurt and it was not a pleasant experience. However, that did not sway me. I knew that I would prepare adequately for the next race, the way it should be. And so, until the next half-marathon, I managed to make a lot of progress, improve my time - even though that's not my goal. Unlike the first one, after which I had to lie down, after the second one, I took all the carpets out of the house and scrubbed them, because I felt incredible strength. My body got stronger and I felt really good," reveals Rakočević.

She prepared for the first race for three months, thinking that was enough. However, today she would do it differently.

"You will often meet people who advise you that it takes two, three months to get ready. However, I believe that this is not enough. We all have different conditions, we all have private obligations, and in those two or three months you cannot comply with every planned training session, unless you do it professionally. For someone who is a recreational athlete like me, there are obligations towards children, their school, work, so I can't predict my day and know if I will be able to go to my training tonight, for example, even though I promised myself that I would. That's why you have to give yourself enough time to complete all the training, to do strength exercises so that your body doesn't feel so tired and exhausted after the race. Our bodies are perfect machines. We are not even aware of this until we give them the opportunity to introduce us to themselves and their possibilities", advises Rakočević, who even today has at least four training sessions a week.

"The weekends work well for me, I do strength exercises on Saturdays, jogging on Sundays, and from Monday to Friday I find time for training. It is important to train properly and take care of every detail, including proper nutrition. Supplementation is also very important because vitamins, minerals and proteins must be replenished. Simply, after such an effort, the body must recover, that's why this supplementation is so important", Rakočević believes.

Unlike during the day when she walks, the sun suits her, while she trains she prefers cold weather.

"We had one half-marathon where it was so hot that even dark-skinned people who came from different parts of the world, and that day ran the half-marathon and marathon from Danilovgrad to Podgorica, stopped on the way. It was very bad for them, the sun was so strong that we were all tired. At the very beginning of the race, I was happy that the weather was nice. However, I realized that I enjoy running in the snow, rain, and wind more than when it's sunny. The sun is not my friend at all during the races, and I think every runner will confirm that. Bad weather is much better for us, when it's colder," she notes.

So far, she has not participated in races organized in other countries, but she is planning to.

"Due to children and numerous obligations, I have not been able to participate in races outside of Montenegro until now. But that doesn't mean I won't one day. My wish is to run a half marathon or a marathon in Sarajevo. I plan to prepare for marathons as well, there is more time, and I think I can do it. And I'm also planning the Belgrade half-marathon or marathon. Those are my wishes for now", Rakočević admits, and says that he equally enjoys every training session.

"I happen to be running in Gorica and singing at the top of my voice. After training, you are completely relieved of stress, you will smile during the rest of the day and it is a sport that is very beneficial for your health. We can set aside an hour, an hour and a half for ourselves and the health benefits are excellent", she is sure and adds:

”Singer of the group Vatra Ivan the Boy, recently told me that their songs - music and lyrics are mostly created while he is in training. And he is a man who runs over 10 kilometers almost every day."

Although she considers herself a recreational person, she will not give up running even when she is older.

"I imagine myself in some years, when I am retired, that I will still be running. "I don't know if it will be Gorica or some other track, but one thing is certain, what I promised myself, and that love for sports drives me, so I will run for the rest of my life," concludes Rakočević.

Running after a six-year-old is the perfect workout

Sanda passed on her love for sports to her children - twins Kalina and Miona and son Andrej.

"It is important to me that my children are engaged in video, and I planned that even when I was not a mother. I have always said that when I have children I would like them to train with me. That day came so quickly that I wasn't even aware of it," recalls Sanda.

As she says, at first it was her daughters who accompanied her on numerous races, sometimes they themselves participated in shorter distances, and today her son is also happy to participate.

"What is interesting to me is that my son, who is already six and a half years old, goes to training with me. He is my best fitness coach, he is very strong, he is fast and running after a six-year-old is the perfect workout," she believes.

"My older twin, Kalina, introduced me to gymnastics, and that's where I started training. So, you can learn a lot from children, although they also absorb everything they see in their parents. I think it was enough for them to see me at the races to make them want to do sports too, not because I take them to training sessions, cheer them on and tell them they are champions. Children should be encouraged, they should be an example, but I would still not like my children to play sports professionally, but for them to be active recreational players, Sanda admits.

He balances work and training

Sanda's voice is recognized by many thanks to Radio D, where she has been a presenter for almost 20 years, and today also an editor. Nevertheless, he manages to fit in the numerous business obligations he has and finds time for training.

"Between work and sport, work is primary. I finish my shifts from Monday to Friday, but since I am the editor of Radio D and D+, it is my job to constantly listen to the radio every day of the week, and train people who are starting to do this work. Radio is a living medium, at a given moment when it is said on the air, it cannot be corrected anymore, that's why you need a lot of practice here too. "When I finish my duties, I always have in my head that I need to set aside at least an hour and a half for training, so I'm always in fast motion to get everything done," she says.