Race Scholarship Recipient & First Time Racer Crushes St Pete Half Marathon

Ivan Tkachenko

So, I survived my first half marathon and enjoyed so much that I thought I would share my story. I finished my FIRST half-marathon with time 01:42:26 and pace 07:49, age group 19th and gender 93rd place.

My name is Ivan, I am 39 and originally, I am from Ukraine. Since school time I always choose running among all activities. Running has provided me with an escape. Its given me independence, strength, space, peace, and joy. After 2 months with this group, I found out that I could easily run 6-8 miles per day, and I knew I could do more.

One day the president of the group told me about a trip to the St. Petersburg Run Fest to run a half Marathon and I without hesitation was agreed. On this trip, we had 5 FRWFL members and we had a great time, discovering Tampa, Clearwater Beach, St Petersburg downtown, nightlife, and trying new meals but I knew behind these fun activities I must prepare for my first half marathon. Obviously, I did not know anything about it and I just trusted and started to follow all advice that they told me.

The most memorable part was that a group of people can support you and be with you in this important part of your life and be sincerely happy then you achieve your own goal. I will never forget Kevin's “Power up ” that gave me a lot of energy during the run, Mike and Justin gave me support, and Eric the motivation. No matter how many half marathons I will run in my lifetime, I don't think I will forget that experience and the people who were around me.

I strongly believe that this group gives you more than just run, they give you a social environment, motivation, support, happiness, and friendship. I am proud to be a member of Front Runners and Walkers Fort Lauderdale and grateful for the Race Scholarship I was awarded.