On August 1, 2021, a trail run was held as part of a series of “Europe-Asia” races. The route passed through protected forest areas of the Ural mountains.

Trail runs are races across natural terrain. Participants run through forests on hiking trails, ford small rivers, and climb over mountainous obstacles. These events are the runners’ equivalent of the Paris-Dakar rally in motor sports. 

Ivan Vlasov, an adventurous runner from AsstrA’s China Rail CIS Department, competed on a 10-km Shigir Idol trail named after the world’s oldest surviving wooden sculpture. According to scientists, the idol was made 12,100 years ago. It was discovered in 1890 in the Middle Urals near the modern city of Kirovgrad.

Ivan Vlasov

"This was my first time to participate in a trail race. I started training two months ago with runs of 5 to 10 km 2 to 3 times a week.  This race was a debut for the promoters as well – it had never been held before. Even so, it was very well organized, especially considering the current epidemiological situation and related restrictions," shares Ivan Vlasov. “My goal was to complete the course in less than one hour, and my time was 1:00:29. Towards the end of the race my watch stopped, and when I realized that I couldn't make it in one hour I decided to slow down and take a steady approach. There were 301 competitors in my race. According to the final results, I finished 130th out of 301.  I'm satisfied with my performance - not bad for my first race. Ultimately I wanted to have plenty of positive emotions and experience what it feels like to participate in such an event. I definitely reached both of these goals.”