Triathlon included three difficult tests: 1.9-kilometers swimming, a 90-kilometer bike race and a 21- kilometers run. The first stage took place in the water area of the Drozdy reservoir, the second one - along Pobediteley Avenue, and the last stage was run by the cycle track.
It was not easy for participants to overcome 113 kilometers in different ways - it is no wonder that twenty athletes of the two hundred did not reach the finish line. However, the heavy track did not scare Lyudmila Shkurko - she adequately overcame all obstacles and gained not only physical but also moral victory over herself.
– I participated for the first time in such competitions, I used to act only on the treadmill, so I was curious if I could overcome 113 kilometers altogether, - Lyudmila shared her impressions. – And having seen that it is necessary to measure by force and endurance with masters of sports and sportsmen of world starts that were equipped with modern sports equipment, I was uneasy. Although, the main rival was not even them, but my own fears and doubts - can I do it?
The water stage worried me most. Swimming is not my "hobby", thinking about cold water I was trembling on the shore already. In fact, everything was well.
The bicycle race, consisting of fifteen laps of six kilometers each, was significantly complicated by a strong gusty wind - but I also coped with it.
When I went out on the treadmill, I thought that if I got into my element, I would demonstrate a master class. However, it was not to be - the previous stages made themselves felt and the fatigue persistently pulled back. It was probably the slowest twenty I ran. But it was not easier for others: it was at this stage that I was able to overtake many opponents.
After the finish I was awarded a medal for overcoming the entire distance. But if it were not for the support of a close and dear person accompanying me all three stages and supporting the fighting and morale, I could not stand. And even if I did not win the prize, for me it was a victory.