It was the best annual edition of the race ever, says the organiser

[20. 01. 2009]

He was running around the whole weekend, with a walkie talkie at his ear all the time. Being the coordinator of the organisational team of Patria Direct Jizerská 50, Martin Pešta did not have a single moment to stop. How does he see the entire event several days later and what is in preparation for the future?

Martin, how do you evaluate this year's Patria Direct Jizerská 50?
"From the organisational point of view, it was one of the best annual editions of the race ever. Not only that the weather was great but also a record-breaking number of participants in the modern history appeared at the start line in all races during the weekend. Based on the experience from last year's race, we listened to the wishes and comments of the racers and we succeeded in preparing a race, which hopefully absolutely everybody must have enjoyed. I am very happy that the famous and respected Thomas Alsgaard embellished the start line with his presence. Every such name is excellent for our reputation and it gives us assurance that we have set on the right path and that Jizerská 50 is among the world's top long-distance runs. I can promise to everyone that next year, the participants will again have an opportunity to meet and match strength with one of the legends of cross-country skiing. Personally, the children's race full of young talents made me very happy, just like every year. The Saturday relay race, which was full down to the last place (50 teams) also made me happy because such names as Martin Koukal, Kamila Rajdlová, Zuzka Kocumová and the already legendary Pavel Benc and Radim Nyč appeared at the start line. It is a nice addition to the weekend programme."

In what respects was this year's race better than last year's race?
"As I have already mentioned, we have tried to prepare beautiful experience for all racers without discrimination, including a high-quality technical service before the race, on the track as well as at the finish line after the end of the race. It is not simple to be taking care of nearly 5 thousand people over a period of 3 days in such a way so as to make everyone satisfied. I think that this year, we nearly succeeded in this. From among the biggest innovations, it is certainly worth mentioning the improved organisation of the waxing service, which was really problem-free this year. Thanks to the HyperAlbert company, so much food was ensured for the racers that the racers were unable to eat it all – this was really good this year and I cannot remember any other run from Worldloppet that could boast of such a service."

In what respects should the race be improved in the future?
"There are certainly multiple opportunities for improvement and I am thinking about the 43rd annual race already today. A perfectly prepared track and high-quality refreshment for the racers remain a priority for us. The problem is the capacity of the stadium. It will be a big challenge to deploy correctly the tents and other pieces of equipment directly in the stadium. There are a lot of people and there is little space. Together with Patria Direct, the general partner, represented by Jan Klenor, and together with other partners, we are pondering how to improve the race every year.  In the forthcoming annual race, we would certainly want to promote the accompanying programme more – the Friday opening with historical skiers and fireworks as well as the Saturday music festival, for which we are preparing the participation of yet another big name of our music scene for the next year. Like every year, we have lots of spectators at the finish line as well as along the track, but even in this respect we want to work on creating more powerful settings for the racers arriving at the finish line – all of them deserve it."

The number of participants in the race was record-breaking in total, with the highest increase having been recorded in the Bedřichovská 30 race. How come?
"The total number has made us very happy. Every year, the number of participants is growing and we believe that a year from now, we will be reaching the magical number of 5 thousand racers. However, this increase is mainly due to the thirty-kilometre race and the relay race. These are actually two related races, which have become very attractive recently. The fifty-kilometre race (as well as the twenty-five-kilometre race) is well-established and there are not many people who can handle 50 km in the classic style and have not yet run the Jizerská race. Speaking precisely, every year several dozens (maybe hundreds) of racers join us and several juniors reach the age for participation but, frankly, the largest increase is due to foreigners. However, the good news is the growing popularity of the skating style in general. In combination with our communication campaign, oriented on the younger age categories – young families and groups of friends – we have succeeded in attracting more and more skaters every year. I am looking forward to the day when a thousand skating cross-country skiers will be roaming the Jizera Mountains."

The most frequent critical comments included the absence of one refreshment station along the track of Bedřichovská 30, the fact that a track was ruined by a television scooter as well as the start package. How would you respond to this?
"Regrettably, there were problems with technology. The snowmobile, which was maintaining the track of the race, got stuck behind Tetřeví boudy at night because of a technical failure. In the morning before the race, it was still not certain what the outcome would be. Martin Koucký from Ski Club, who did not sleep all night, together with Jizerská o.p.s. and the Mountain Rescue Service, removed this snowmobile from the track merely ca one hour before the start and the track was provisionally treated by the second snowmobile – this is why the second part of the track of the 30-km race was softer than the first part. Regrettably, for this reason, refreshment was not delivered to the station. It is, of course, very unpleasant; we are very sorry about it and we deeply apologise to all racers for this."

And the package?
"We try to make the start package as fully loaded as possible and we are sorry that some people are dissatisfied. I believe that most runners enter the race because they like skiing and not because of the package. By the way, this year, the package was the richest one in history. Consider just the price of all the gifts – the energy bar, Speed8, muesli bar, large chocolate bar, Actimel, cookies, headband, Birell, self-heating tea, a dietary supplement for joints, the Nordicmag magazine, etc. … Some people will appreciate our gifts, others will not and, regrettably, we cannot do anything about this. But we are grateful for every comment because that is how we can improve Jizerská 50 for skiers. For the next year's race, we want to give everyone a gift with the Jiz50 logo, which will commemorate the race to them even long after they have run the race."

42nd Patria Direct Jizerská 50 is over. When will you start to work on the next one?
"The forty second annual edition of the race may have ended for skiers on Sunday and when their body stops aching, it will be a pleasant memory for them. However, for us, the work is far from being over – we are preparing the newsletter with the results; we reflect on the mistakes that have been made and on how we can improve the entire race in the future. We will actually never stop working on Jizerská 50 and we will soon smoothly proceed to prepare the summer bike race. The June event with mountain bikes is also a great experience for the body and the soul and I would like to invite everyone to Bedřichov. The race is included in a combination with a winter race under the name "King and Queen of the Jizera Mountains 2009. This year, Viktor Novotný and Zuzka Kocumová will be defending their positions of champions. I myself am curious what the outcome will be this year. Patria Direct Jizerská 50 is a race where joy is born out of pain. I would like to congratulate all the racers on their having overcome the pain and I wish them to relish the joy as long as possible. Enormous thanks are due to the whole organisational team, all the volunteers, partners and suppliers. More than one thousand persons participate in organising Jizerská 50 and without a single one of them, we would not be where we are today. I wish that the weather remains favourable to us and I wish everyone a beautiful rest of this year's winter."