How sports change my life: Three stories about the impact of sports on our health and work and how to keep up with life

How often do you think about the importance of sports in your life, not only for physical, but also for psychological and spiritual development? Are you ready to love sports as much as the heroes of our article are inspired by them? It would seem as a hobby, which, however, gradually became an integral part of life.

Interviews with the most athletic employees of the Corporate Fund "Courage to be the first", organizers of "Almaty marathon":

Saltanat Kazybayeva, Executive Director, Artem Yakupov and Raushan Zhanaeva, project managers.

About the first "IRONMAN", the record set, the dependence and parallels between training and unsportsmanlike everyday life ...

This year the creative center of Estonia - Tallinn for the first time hosted the IRONMAN sports competition. More than 1500 triathletes from 50 countries of the world participated in the large-scale project. Kazakhstan was represented by five athletes and the executive director of the Corporate Fund "Courage to be the first" Saltanat Kazybayeva was among them.

In Tallinn, Saltanat was the 11^th to cross the finish line, thus being in TOP-20 women in her age category. Finish time (11:03:36) for the first in her career level of the full IRONMAN became the bar for all triathletes of Kazakhstan, as this is a new record for our country.

- "This is my first full IRONMAN distance. Before that, I passed three halves, including competitions in Astana, as well as Olympic distances, sprints and so on. I registered a year ago to participate in the competition in Tallinn. And all this time I was preparing for the start, "- says Saltanat.

- «Now I'm a fully engaged in sports. I do not want to give up my favorite thing halfway. It is already a habit and dependence. If I do not practice triathlon and miss trainings, then I realize that my body needs it, "- shares her thoughts" IRONLADY ".

- «Many people think that I spend the whole day doing nothing but training. This is not true. I had worked in the office before, and now I do a lot of administrative work, interact with suppliers, customers, and partners. I lead the "Almaty Marathon", and there is also a lot of paperwork here. We have quite a big team, control and coordination of projects on my part, as a chief, are also necessary.

I like reading and traveling. I like to ride a motorcycle, but I stopped it for a while, because now I ride a bicycle. I want to learn how to play the drums. In general, there are other things besides sports that I am interested in, "- tells of her hobbies Saltanat.

About simplicity, the best psychologist, the first love and what you need to do after you put your daughter to sleep…

 In addition to the organization of major sporting events, Artyom is actively involved in sports.

- "I run and do triathlon alternately. In 2013, I started running, and still running is my main sport, swimming and cycling only complement it. More often I set myself a running target, but I dedicated 2018 to the triathlon, the first half of the year I was engaged in running, cycling swimming "- says Artyom about his favorite kind of sport. "In May, I even covered my own 5-200-50. This distance is bigger than in the most famous triathlon competition IRONMAN. I was wondering what a person feels when having a lot of training to do- my goal was to go a long distance - 5 km of swimming, 200 on a road bike and 50 running".

During the conversation, Artyom tells about running with love ... - "Running is perfect for its simplicity. In order to do it, I need only to go out. Of course, sooner or later you will need good running shoes, special clothes, GPS-watches, but you do not need anything to start it. I ran for half a year in old shoes that were not designed for running and had no idea about the distance, pace and time. "

- «Running is the best psychologist; with the help of running you can solve many internal problems and difficulties. It often happened that I went running in a bad mood, but, performing a monotonous cyclic work, I worked out the reason, I found ways to get out of difficult situations and returned relaxed in an hour. Finally, running makes me stronger. For me running is special than other kinds of sports. Even tired, I can run the required number of kilometers "- shares his thoughts Artyom.

Almaty is my first love. That is an old and favorite expression of many residents and quests of the beautiful city full of apples. With each running, you open its streets and roads from new sides. Artyom also agrees with this:  

- «Running helps to discover the city differently – it is unlikely that there will be at least one district in Almaty and its surroundings where I have not run at least once. Long crosses can lead you to the most unexpected places, and an evening run along the center of the city with its fountains and lanterns is one of the best things for me to do before I go to bed». 

Life Hack from an avid runner and marathoner.

- «In order not to miss running and make it regular, plan your running schedule as thoroughly as your work one. If running is planned in the morning, then collect all the things in the corridor in advance to quickly dress up and go for a run. I often run in the evening, after 10 p.m., before this I put my daughter to sleep and finish my household chores. It is important to find a convenient time for you and your loved ones”.   

About femininity in men’s crossFit, Down syndrome and spinal extension… 

Raushan is a philanthropist of the team; she not only finds charitable purposes for our projects and oversees their implementation, but also actively does sports.

     - «Now I do crossFit and horseback riding.

CrossFit is a very effective kind of sports. I like that it influences all muscle groups. It is based on working with weight, in particular with your own, and all this needs to be done in a certain time. As a lazy person, it suits me very much, because in an hour of doing exercises, I train every muscle of my body.

  I love horseback riding since my childhood. My grandfather was engaged in horse-breaking. And I happened to grow up riding these lovely animals. I do not eat horsemeat out of love for these animals. Horseback riding is very useful for the whole body, even with such severe diseases, as Down syndrome and autism. However, it is important to remember that amateur horseback riding and equestrian sports are different. The second can be forbidden to many people for medical reasons, whereas amateur riding, on the contrary, is just what many doctors recommend.  There are many positive effects of amateur riding. In my case, it helps me to get rid of stress and, probably, to straighten up my posture”.

Raushan shared her preference of why crossFit for men became her favorite sport:

       - « I decided to do crossFit for a reason. Since I have protrusion, it is important to me to stretch to elongate the spine. In general, after any sport, it is important to stretch muscles.  CrossFit gave me a cocktail of emotions that I have never experienced in other sports. This is a powerful adrenaline charge and a feeling that you can do more than you think”,- laughs Raushan.    

This is a small part of of the great effort, training and discipline that exist in the life of every hero. Sports is a true religion, in which you must believe, love and respect with all your heart. Sport will certainly reciprocate –  building character helps to overcome obstacles in life and go forward with our heads held high!

This autumn amateur runners can participate in several race competitions in Almaty:

- September 29, Women's Race will be held for beautiful athletic ladies. Location: Park “Atakent” International Exhibition Center. Distance: 8 km.

- October 14, Almaty half marathon will be held for the first time. Start of the competition: Park of the First President. Finish: Central stadium. Distances: 21,1 km and 10 km.

- November 10 – Annual Autumn Race. It will be held for the first time on Lake Sairan.

Be inspired by a healthy lifestyle and take part in the Race.