Our Nenad Tasić participated in the MidiTrail race on July 28 in Sarajevo, where he successfully overcame 34km of a very demanding track.

The MidiTrail race is designed so that its stages connect Jahorina with other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and thus challenge the abilities of the participants, who struggle with the climbs and drops of the unpredictable mountain.

We asked Nenad:

1. What was your main motivation for the race?

The main motto that drives me is “outdo yourself”. That is the motivation which makes me learn about myself, my personality and my limits.

2. How long did you prepare for such a demanding race? 

I began to train intensely 01.01.2018; in addition to running, I used to ride a MTB (mountain bike), so that was enough for such a demanding race.

3. What was it like to run in mountain conditions? 

As a great lover of nature, I feel happy and fulfilled when I’m on a mountain that is my additional motivation for races with plenty of elevation. During such a hard race, it is normal to face a lot of pain, but ultimately all that pain goes away and memories remain forever.

4. Did you take care of your diet before the race?

Diet is one of the key things in running, I tried to take care and get an extra amount of nutrients that are necessary for immunity when training intensely, in addition to standard food.

5. How important is sports equipment in a mountain race? 

In trail running with great elevation on rocky surfaces, running shoes, specially designed for this type of surface, are the most important equipment. What is also important is a backpack with a bottle of water and extra pockets, where you can put gels, rain jacket in case of rain, and sticks for easier movement on the mountainous terrain, but I didn’t use them this time.

6. Did you have any crisis, and how did you overcome it? 

Of course, in every race there comes a crisis; these are difficult moments, everything runs through my head, my body says: give up, my head says: go to the end that is a struggle with yourself. This part of the crisis separates people by mental strength, which can affect the final result of the race.

7. When was the hardest for you? 

Great desire to win, even in the best runners, can be fatal if strength is not distributed properly. I ran intensely through the first and most difficult section and came to the highest peak as the third runner. Then I ran one section suffering cramps and severe pain; it’s simply part of the adventure and one can’t surrender. The hardest blow for me was when I got lost; the trail wasn’t marked well, so I went back up the hill twice, but that happens mountain racing and one should be prepared for such things as well.

8. How does it feel when you pass the finish line?

I acknowledge that with tears and get emotional because I know what I went through to get there. It’s hard to describe that happiness and joy; that’s why I trained, got up while many slept, went to bed early while others went out on the weekends.

9. What do you plan to do next?

The goal is to improve my personal time; I have been working on my speed the whole year, so fall races are the right time for personal records. There will be more races this year. My main races are: Berlin 42.2km in September, Ljubljana 21.1km in October and several races in Serbia in the fall.

10. What else would you like to add about yourself that we didn’t ask you?

I would add that I have run around 1,600 km with around 20,000 m of climbs until today. Every year, my goal is to increase mileage, because only then the results will be visible. I also want to run the Ultra Marathon of 100km and maybe be up to the norm to run the Mont Blanc race one day with the best runners in the world. Last year I used my vacation for a nice adventure with a mountain bike. I visited beautiful regions of Serbia such as Ovčar-Kablar Gorge, Mokra Gora, the Uvac River Canyon, then Bosnia – Visegrad and, finally, Montenegro – Sutomore. That was more than 500 km and 7,000 m of climbs passed in 5 days. In some time, I will try to realize my plan and idea with a new adventure far away from Serbia. I still have goals, and desires, but I will let you know about that when the time comes.