Iveta Kohoutová’s personal race story is only just beginning

Iveta Kohoutová’s personal race story is slightly unusual, because it is only just beginning; friendly Iveta is only getting ready for it.

I’m 56 years old, I have four children and our whole family loves sport. My husband and I do sport as a hobby. In winter we go cross-country skiing, in summer it’s mostly cycling and hiking. We love the mountains, it is usually me who plans our hikes and trips.

This year, my twenty-year-old daughter registered for Jizerská 50. I was rather skeptical. Not that I didn’t trust her, but for me, it is too big an event with crowds of people which I generally try to avoid. Originally I thought I wouldn’t go there, but in the end I changed my mind. In the morning, we were at the start with our daughter thought we’d go away straight after. We just wanted to help her, to hold the yellow sack for her and so on. However we ended up watching the whole starting field.

We returned to pick her up in the evening and surprisingly, the atmosphere literally sucked me in. Suddenly I was sorry I wasn’t helping somewhere on the course as a volunteer at least. I could have spent days there! And when my daughter finished her race, we both cried. She with happiness and me with emotions. She did it, she managed to finish the race! And I began to realize that I must start doing something too, because I’m not that old yet. I decided I must start training more, when I saw so many people older than me. I realized that I didn’t mind the crowds at all, that it was a lovely race. A race with a spirit, an atmosphere and it makes Czechs unite as if it was ice hockey.

The organization was perfect, all the volunteers on the course, the presenter and the lot. I was so moved. I’m really proud of my daughter and grateful that I was able to take part at least as a viewer.

I’ve started to exercise at home and we do sport at weekends to lose the extra kilos. I say to myself: what if I registered for Jizerská 50 too. The atmosphere of the event unearthed the long-forgotten desire to prove to myself I can still do it; and for that you all deserve a bit THANK YOU!

We go cross-country skiing at weekends with even greater enthusiasm than before. Thanks to you! See you next year!