Our athletes. Marathon runner Alexander Agishev spoke about his favorite sport and shared a secret of successful training

We have launched a new section on our website dedicated to the athletes of Altai State University. Our first hero is Alexander Agishev, an associate professor of the Department of Physical Education, Head of the skiing center of Altai State University. He participates in Masters Athletics aged 35 years and older in 60 and older age category.

— My favorite sport is long-distance running. In winter I sometimes go skiing.

— What do you do at the university and for how many years?

— Since 1990 I have been working at the Department of Physical Education.

— How does the university help you in your sporting career?

A little financial aid sometimes helps. I used to go on business trips to competitions as a teacher. Now I can no longer participate as a teacher - I only accompony one of the students.

— When you appeared in competitions for the university, what did it mean to you?

— I was pleased to emphasize that I am a representative of a large university, a large team. This is a sign of attention to Altai State University, it is a sign that the university has teachers who go in for sports and show good results.

— What are the largest sporting achievements, the largest competitions you can remember?

— I have been doing sports for a very long time. As for the All-Russian competitions, I would note the Russian Championships among veterans. Once I managed to become Champion of Russia in cross-country biathlon. It was in Adler in 2003. We ran 3 km and 10 km, the winner was determined by the results of two starts. As for international competitions, perhaps the most significant was the event in Sweden in 2012. It was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Olympic Games in Stockholm. The number of participants was limited, it was difficult to register, but I managed to get there, participate, and I met a lot of interesting people there.

— How often do you train, where do you train?

— I train almost every day, sometimes every other day. The fact is that in order to run a long distance, you should always maintain the distance you run. Therefore, you have to find time after or before work. I go running depending on the day of the week: from 8-12 km on weekdays, to 16-20 km on weekends. Most of the time I train in the forest, on the Zdorovje Path near the TV center, sometimes I run at the Labyrinth stadium, where we do speed training with my friends.

— Do you exercise in the morning? Do you have any secret how to recharge your energy by exercising?

— I don’t like morning jerks. It is much easier for me to do a big physical workout in the afternoon or evening than in the morning. As for a secret, I do have it. Any run should start with a very slow run - a little faster than a fast step. 2-3 km at this pace at the beginning of a workout - and the body is intensively saturated with oxygen, it boosts your mood and, in general, the training goes well.

— Do you have any plans for the summer?

— On June 11, I will participate in the race in tribute of Valery Rytsarev in Novosibirsk Akademgorodok. In July, I would like to take part in the Russian Athletics Championship in Moscow for short distances. In August, I will try to go to St. Petersburg to participate in the Northern Capital semi-marathon. And in September I planned to go to the Russian Championship in 10 km highway running, I participated in such a race last year. And as for small competitions that are held in the city almost every weekend, I participate in many of them.

— Thank you, Alexander Anatolyevich! Good health to you and new sports achievements!