You won't get bored even while running
As sports journalists, we’re not so much interested in the number of medals or the major achievements that interest us, but rather the small details, such as the joy of the winner, especially if they are Hungarian or from Veszprém. Gábor Horváth, a staff member of the county daily, lived in the world of soccer until he was eighteen, but when he hung up his cleats, he longed for a new form of movement. He soon realized that nothing is simpler than running. It was as if he had finally come to terms with what is now an integral part of his life. Although he is now an experienced runner—who covers fifty kilometers—he still considers himself an amateur. There’s nothing wrong with that, since his athletic endeavors allow him to reflect deeply while gathering little snippets of life.
Sports and literature have been closely linked for a century; let’s not forget: at the 1928 Olympics, Ferenc Mező won the intellectual championship with his track event, and then the arts were eliminated from the world’s most prestigious competition. If he had the chance—which he certainly wouldn’t— he would hardly compete in the games today, even though it would be an excellent opportunity for him: as a former student of the institution, he came in first this year in the essay competition held to mark the seventieth anniversary of the founding of Lóczy High School in Balatonfüred. No, because he is a more down-to-earth person who tries to avoid the limelight. At the starting line—when he laces up his running shoes—he isn’t driven by the glory that awaits him, because he just “runs” to reach the finish line and prove himself. As a soccer player, as a youth player for Balatonfüred SC, he aspired to more, perhaps dreaming of a time when he would be among the best and receive applause, but fate had a different script in store for him.
“I was captivated by soccer from a very young age, and that was partly because my father often watched matches on TV. Later, my mother told me that I could barely walk yet, but I was already kicking the ball, and I didn’t even need playmates— the wall of the house was enough for me, from which the ball would bounce back to me. I still belong to that generation that grew up on playgrounds, and although it was a different world, it wasn’t a bad one. In elementary school, I got straight A’s in physical education. I was a small, skinny kid; I excelled at the skill-based exercises, but on the rings, there were others more talented than me. As I moved up through the ranks, I was able to play for the Füred club’s age-group teams, and after that, the NL II squad—featuring the names Karsai, Szalai, and Majer was at the height of its glory. We too were able to measure our skills against renowned teams. It’s another matter entirely whether Győri ETO, Szombathelyi Haladás, Zalaegerszegi TE, or even Videoton from Székesfehérvár usually beat us soundly. So I had little success with our reserves, but as a winger and a hard-running central midfielder, I still loved playing soccer. As a youth player, I got to train with the “star players”, big names, and I remember I had to really push myself to keep up with them,”
– says Gábor, whose thoughts often turned to soccer, but after graduating from high school, he knew: soccer would not provide him with a livelihood.
“I later graduated from Pécs, and as a university-trained ‘specialist’ in geography and tourism. I applied in 2005 in response to an ad in Napló, when the paper was looking for interns. I was hired; first I was assigned to the business section, then to the sports desk, which, in hindsight, I can admit I didn’t really push for. There, I was immediately assigned to cover handball in Füred, and then the world-renowned Veszprém club in that sport, with whom I traveled all over the continent for years.”
As a young player, Gábor Horváth excelled in the world of youth soccer for a time, but after a while he gave that up as well, and looked for a new form of exercise, as it had by then become part of his daily routine. It didn’t take him long to realize that there was nothing more straightforward than running—all you need is “just” a pair of shoes, a pair of pants, and a T-shirt. At first, he ran his four- or five-kilometer loops in the city of queens, which didn’t pose any particular problems for him, since, as we’ve already mentioned, he didn’t just stand by the sidelines on the green grass. Regardless, for a while he didn’t feel the urge to pursue bigger challenges, until he came across a book on the evolution of running, which then sparked his interest in longer-distance running.
“It’s as if I’d only really gotten the hang of running around the third lap. For a long time—or more precisely, even today—I’d been running and still do so just for my own enjoyment; for quite a while, it didn’t even occur to me to enter races, until I signed up for a 10K in Balatonfüred. I liked it; I felt good during it, so a couple of years later I tried my hand at a half-marathon as well. I’ve always been on the lookout for unique races, and that hasn’t changed even today, For my first 21-kilometer test of strength, Sunrise Half Marathon, for example, the starting pistol went off at three in the morning. I’m still not drawn to those massive events that mobilize thousands of people; I prefer smaller races that offer interesting twists and turns,”
— adds the journalist, who has since completed two marathons in Badacsony, where, despite the springtime date, he had to tackle the steep climbs in sweltering heat. As I learn from him: he almost always runs on asphalt, rarely venturing off-road, and he replaces his running shoes after about a thousand kilometers, roughly once a year. Having already completed many long runs, he has learned to pace himself, as well as what to watch out for and where. Of course, in the beginning, he felt pain here and there, and he hit some rough patches, but then he became more tactical—though the races still don’t always go his way.
“I’m not ashamed to admit that I ‘stumbled into’ one of the Badacsony marathons, and I got cramps during the other, but I didn’t give up on either of them. Earlier, I had completed the hilly 50-kilometer Szőlőskőr course with the Napló team, and then I thought, what if I tried it on my own? And at the age of forty, I made that happen too. But just how successful that first grueling run was is well illustrated by the fact that I “only” ran the second one this year, saying to myself, “so that the opening run doesn’t leave me with any bad feelings.”
The journalist says that, in his opinion, he trains too little, three times a week, when he sets out from their home in Gyulafirátót and can head in two directions, since there are military zones nearby that he carefully avoids. Usually he heads for Kádárta, and less often for Eplény, on these 7–10-kilometer— fast and varied pace runs —during his training sessions, though on weekends he also tackles 20–30-kilometer runs. With various cross-training exercises: Gábor, who breaks up the monotony of his runs with TRX and kettlebells, explains that it’s difficult to prepare for 50-kilometer races with this amount of training, but as he says, a few years ago he ventured beyond the marathon distance to officially join the ranks of ultra-runners. Meanwhile, soccer has once again played a role in his career; after graduating from high school, he left the sport with the idea that he would eventually like to work as a coach. For a long time, he didn’t really have the opportunity to do so, since sports events he had to cover came one after another on weekends, but since then he has had help with the column, so the new coaching course he completed in 2023—after 2008—brought him back to the soccer fields. He first worked in Gyulafirátót for a year, then moved to the county seat, where he became an assistant coach for the youngest players. He is currently the head coach of the U8 team at the local talent development center, VFC USE. No matter how his life turns out, it seems that soccer will always be a part of it.
“As people get older, their running pace slows down, but at the same time, the distance they cover may increase. When I think about this, with proper preparation, I could even run a hundred kilometers. I’m hardly capable of running the UltraBalaton, so I’m not harboring any illusions,”
– says the father of three.
“I once saw Balázs Simonyi’s film titled Ultra, which also explores the philosophy behind running. I learned a lot from the images, which simultaneously take us to the limits of physical endurance and the depths of the human soul. Through one of the world’s toughest and most prestigious races, the director shows that the competitors are also engaged in a battle of wills: they battle not only against each other but also against themselves during the race. I, too, had previously taken part in a special race in Tihany so that I could write about it from the inside, as a participant. Perhaps my report wasn’t too bad, but I was certainly proud of my ability to persevere. In the competition, each of us had to run 7.6 kilometers; those who failed to do so were eliminated. The best competitors “circled” for days; I racked up seventy-one kilometers and managed to stay in the race for ten hours. I don’t get bored on the course even in longer races; there’s plenty to pay attention to: my teammates, the surroundings, and myself. At times like these, I can think deeply; often, various topics and ideas come to mind that I can process later and write down. Running fosters a creative mindset, while also simplifying the world. Running can teach you things that are infinitely simple, yet complex. You just can’t stop. This applies to the track, and in life I try to follow this kind of mindset.”
Author: Ferenc Király