Belgrade Marathon establishes the running club “Belgrade Marathon Runners”

Today, the first public training of the newly founded running club of the Belgrade Marathon, called “Belgrade Marathon Runners,” was held at Ada Ciganlija. As part of the preparations for the 36th Belgrade Marathon, which will take place on April 23, 2023, the establishment of the running club is a good opportunity and motivation for all recreational runners to start preparing for such a feat on time. Anyone who wants to try running a marathon now has the opportunity to prepare with a team of experienced coaches who will lead training sessions three times a week at Ada Ciganlija. On the occasion of the club’s establishment, a press conference was held, attended by the Secretary for Sports and Youth of the City of Belgrade, Nikola Penic, the director of the Belgrade Marathon, Darko Habus, and the coach of the newly founded running club and our celebrated marathon runner, Velimir Bojovic.

“The idea of founding a running club arose from the desire to offer our fellow citizens the opportunity to prepare for long-distance running and the events we organize, because our top priority is healthy physical activity. And that means that when you go out to run a marathon, you know that you have several months of preparation behind you for this exceptional effort,” , emphasized the director of the Belgrade Marathon, adding “At the same time, the Belgrade Marathon places great emphasis on promoting a healthy and active lifestyle, because we know that motivation plays a significant role in increasing the number of recreational runners in recent decades. Subsequently, this activity affects their better physical and mental health, as well as a better quality of life, which contributes comprehensively to improving public health in the country.”

The Secretary for Sports and Youth of the City of Belgrade, Nikola Penic, highlighted the importance of establishing a running club dedicated to an increasing number of recreational runners and their proper preparations for long-distance running: “As a former athlete, I must emphasize how glad I am that Belgrade will get another recreational running club, and it is especially pleasing that this club will be connected to one of the most significant events when it comes to sports, which is the Belgrade Marathon. Today’s event is just an introduction to what awaits us in the third week of April, and in that regard, I wish the runners ‘light feet’ and the organizers a successful organization of the 36th Belgrade Marathon.”

The training of the newly founded club will be led by a team of coaches, including a long-time Serbian athletics representative, celebrated long-distance runner, and marathon runner Velimir Bojovic, athlete Sladjana Stamenkovic, one of the best young long-distance runners in Serbia, and marathon runner Filip Stankovic, who has run over 50 half-marathons and marathons in his running career.

“I have been given a very challenging task to prepare those who may share their first running steps with us in the next 7 weeks to run their first marathon. I am very excited about such a large number of runners who responded to today’s training, and I hope that there will be even more of them from training to training,” said Velimir Bojovic, the head coach of the newly founded “Belgrade marathon runners” club.

The trainings will be held three times a week at Ada Ciganlija, near the first cafe on the Makiš side called “Shine”, for the next 7 weeks leading up to the 36th Belgrade Marathon. The training sessions will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 pm and on Saturdays at 10 am. During the month of March, the training sessions will be open to the public and free of charge. For more information, follow one of the “Belgrade Marathon Runners” pages on social media.

See you at Ada Ciganlija!