Last year’s Vivicitta presented over 15 000 registrated runners on 5 different distances. The most popular distance was the half marathon, with almost 3800 contestants (which is an absolute record in the history of Vivicitta in Budapest), but the classical 10 km distance and the shorter distances were popular as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enOXT9pOsPU

Taking a sneak peak at the event video, the mood is captivating, while running at Vivicitta offers the best view of Budapest at the same time. The competition has been organised for the 29^th time this year, and the slogan stays the same: “Run for your city, love your city!” No wonder there are participants who come back year after year – the oldest champion was the 81 year old György Melihár, who’d run at all the Vivicittas so far.

The organizers of Vivicitta by Budapest Sports Office (Budapest Sport Iroda - BSI) try to help runners as much as they can, so they could focus on running only. The half marathon can be declaired the most popular distance among all the options. Although we have yet about two weeks until the race, the total of registrated runners already exceeds last year’s sum of runners on all other distances. From Chile to Mexico, and Switzerland to Thailand, so far runners from 41 nations entered to participate on the half marathon in April. Who knows, what the final statistics will be?

I sat down a few days ago to talk about Vivicitta with Attila Garas, one of the running ambassadors of BSI, who happens to be a pace-runner with a target time of 2:00:00 – a time and pace coveted by many. He thinks Budapest has evolved a lot in the last few years, and that fortunately, with a lot of hard work, the city starts to make a name for itself as a good place to visit for running.

- The population of Budapest is becoming more and more receptive to different sports. Running has become widely popular all around the world, as well as in Budapest, more and more people find exercising important, and start to run – also at races. For this reason, organizers need to catch up on international running competition standards as well. They manage to represent a professional level – a lot of great ideas can be learned on meetings by those who’d been organizing such events for 20-30-40 years. Budapest is at the forefront, because only a few cities can tell that they are organizing their 30th marathon – as Budapest does next year. Running races evolve year after year, and more people need to be catered every time. Thanks to good marketing, you can hear more and more about Budapest as a runners’ city on foreign running races, expos, and magazines. This trend can be felt during races – as an increasing number of foreigners’ registrations. For example, in the magazines of Rome Marathon there were three foreign races advertised– one of them was Budapest. Since the race is not necesserily popular enough yet, advertisements tell about Budapest and its baths as well.

When I asked him if the renovation and renewing of Margaret Island and it’s well-known running track, he pointed out some great ideas of which ways the city should evolve runwise.

- The renewing of Margaret Island could help the perception of Budapest, although I think already too many people are running there. Budapest has one fault: there are very few green areas where you can run comfortably. In Barcelona, for example, there are a lot of public parks you can use for running. In Hungary, there are a lot of underutilized green running areas. Népliget is a popular spot, it has an active runner community, and many people run in Városliget. A running track would be great over there, and the roads and public lightning should be improved as well, since it is in the heart of the city – a lot of runners like the area, which is the start and finishing spot for most of the races. Margaret Island and Népsziget are good places too – you don’t necesserily need to tear the asphalt of the city, there are a few better places to run. Margaret Island is quite overloaded – the double track should help a little -, I believe it’s enough to run in such a crowd only on races. It’s worth seeking other options.

Returning to what’s ahead of us, I was curious what he thinks about Vivicitta – a race that is getting popular very fast. I asked Attila why would he advice anyone to come and run in Vivicitta.

- Vivicitta has quite a good timing, it’s one of the first races in Spring, which is the most beautiful season of the year. In terms of running, the weather is ideal – 12-18 degrees is guaranteed that time in Budapest. Why to choose Budapest? Obviously, linking the race with spending a few days in the city is the best choice, so you could get to know this wonderful capital, with all it’s hidden treasures starting from ruin pubs to Heros’ Square, the castle and the bridges – there are great cultural values. Vivicitta’s route affects these landmarks. There are only a few races that are being held by such a big river as the Danube – running on the quay is comfortable, and the sight of the castle right next to you is remarkable. The race starts from the island, then on the way you are crossing two bridges (Margaret Bridge and the Liberty Bridge), and you also pass the Parliament – you get a complete picture of the city. We can say this is a big race – a lot of runners choose us year after year -, so you get the feeling. Organizing is getting more and more advanced every year, the refreshment stations are well placed and satisfying, and the mood of the race is amazing. The asphalt’s quality is good, the track is fast, there is no significant difference in level, so if you want, you can run a good time at this race. And finally, running on the quay is unforgettable.

For Attila, this year’s Vivicitta will be special, because this time he doesn’t only participate as a runner, but he’ll also be one of BSI’s pace-runners helping the crowd. He told me a lot about how the system works and why and how he became a pace-runner – or, as he calls them a “pace-setting rabbit”. You’ll get to know all the details in my next article – until then, if you feel like running at Vivicitta, or in case you need some more information about the race, visit its web-site.

http://www.budapestmarathon.com/spring_halfmarathon