Get to Know Moscow while Running
Kerri Matulis is majoring in Psychology and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is spending a semester at the Faculty of Economics of HSE. If students use any of the gym space in the HSE dormitories, they have probably seen some of these items present. While these fitness materials aid students in their quest either to get into shape or to maintain some level of physical fitness, Kerri wants to suggest that there is definitely another option, which can add to both your fitness and sight-seeing routine: running.
Weights. Jump Rope. Treadmill
I thought that the dormitory gyms were my safest, most convenient option. Then, however, I started to get a little bored. My routine got to be a little monotonous.
I never seriously considered running until I spoke with one of my friends. I was shocked to discover that he had run twelve, fourteen, eighteen miles around Moscow. Personally, I hadn’t seen many people running around Studencheskaya. I thought, perhaps, this just wasn’t done, or at least not regularly.
Nevertheless, I decided to try it out. I first started running in March for ten to twenty minutes at a time, always in the morning.
Although I had been living in Moscow for a month and a half, I still hadn’t seen all of Kutuzovsky Prospekt or Studencheskaya Ulitsa. I saw kids running to the bus stop with their friends or parents, people rushing to the metro stations, stopping at the bank. It was normal for a weekday morning. As I continually increased the increments of time I ran, I saw more. Running northeast, I saw the marshrutki and buses huddled around Kievskaya, the Moscow River, and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs building from the Borodinsky bridge. I ran up and down the steps leading to the entrance of the Hotel Ukraina and got an excellent view of the Russian White House.
Running northwest, I passed the Kutuzovskaya metro station, heading in the opposite direction along Kutuzovsky Prospekt. I ran toward Park Pobedy, toward the magnificent Victory Monument atop Poklonnaya Hill and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. I can say that I have never been bored during any of my runs. There is always something new to witness, new mental and physical challenges to overcome.
Moscow is a wonderful city to explore as a runner. You don’t need to be a professional or a star athlete to run. You don’t have to count the kilometers or measure your pace. You simply have to run.
HSE RUN
It seems that students from HSE really like running no matter where and for how long. Running unites people and gives them a lot of energy and emotions.
HSE RUN is a project, whose main purpose is to give people more and more unusual information about Moscow. The project is like a quest in which teams of 3-5 people have to solve riddles and find the key in a particular place. Each team can either solve riddles or ask for help, but that takes away some of the team’s earned points.
Organized by students who are eager to try something new and unexplored, HSE RUN allows students to feel free. Daniel Lukashov, a first-year student from the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, is organizing the HSE RUN for the second time.
‘It is very interesting to create the whole quest as an organizer and to solve all the riddles as a participant!’ – says Daniel.
The attitude towards running among students from different countries is the same. They allreally enjoy doing something absolutely out of the ordinary. Have you seen people running through Moscow? Even if they are in a hurry they won’t run. It is believed to be weird. Everything that is weird is interesting for students to explore.
What is the reason for students to run? Why don’t they relax and have a cup of coffee somewhere on a comfortable sofa, rather than participate in HSE RUN for the first and even the second time?
‘This project has shown me the hidden beauties of Moscow and it gives me a chance to see old friends and spend a pleasant time together,’ explains Daniel Lukashov.
The 8th HSE RUN was held in spring 2015. As organizers, Daniel and his team had to test a route to check how much time teams needed and how difficult the riddles might be. ‘That day was really freezing but all that fun we had trying to find the places in the center of Moscow made us feel warm! After the last place we felt really happy!’ – recalls Daniel smiling.
This year, students from HSE are trying to create something new, something a bit different and way more intriguing. Daniel promises that even experienced runners will be pleased with the 9th HSE RUN in June.
We need extra energy to overcome difficulties in studying and to relax at the same time. Run from your problems in your sports shoes with students from HSE!
Source: online student magazine Readsquare. If you wish to become a contributor, please contact magazine’s editor-in-chief, Yulia Kazakova.
Photo: Ksenia Dubenko, Alisya Remizova