A truly wintry Chudy Wawrzyniec

January 22, 2022 was the first edition of the Winter Lean Lawrence. The 147 runners who reached the finish line located in Sopotnia Wielka tackled the nearly 18-kilometer route, which was quite a challenge in the winter aura. For safety reasons, the organizers gave up the part of the route leading to the second-highest peak in Beskid Żywiecki – Pilsko (1534 m). The winners of the run were Marcin Kubica and Anna Halska.

Piotr Książkiewicz, Chudy Wawrzyniec organizer:

When the idea of a winter Lean appeared in our heads, we knew it would be a challenge. The question was how big? Last year, due to restrictions, we had to cancel the competition. This year it came to pass, and Mother Nature helped us to organize a truly winter run. I admit that we did not expect such a large snowfall, because the forecasts spoke of several inches of fresh powder snow. Meanwhile, from Thursday to Saturday morning, this snow fell several times more. In addition, snowdrifts formed on the route in many places, and the wind blowing in the higher parts of the mountains intensified the feeling of coldness. These were the reasons for shortening the route and skipping the run up to Pilsko. After many conversations with the competitors, we know that it was a good decision.

Winter Chudy Wawrzyniec (photo. Andrzej Olszanowski)

An unquestionable organizational success is the fact that the competition, organized in extremely difficult winter conditions, took place without any accidents and all runners reached the finish line within the established time limit, which was 5.5 hours.

Winter Chudy Wawrzyniec (fot. Andrzej Olszanowski)

The fastest at the finish line was one of the leading mountain runners in Poland – Marcin Kubica. The runner from Bielsko-Biała covered the nearly 18-kilometer loop with an elevation gain of 1070 meters, in a time of 2:15:22. Marcin reports:

Just the day before yesterday I was hoping that the conditions would allow me to fight for a definite result. However, yesterday and especially this morning and the trip to the start of the run dramatically changed my attitude. Already in the first kilometers I knew that it would be tough and that I had to think first of all about reaching the finish line safely, without going crazy. At Rysianka, the first checkpoint, I told the guys from the organizing team that the route had to be shortened, because I had the conviction that it could be particularly dangerous for the slowest runners, who spend the most time on the route. As it turned out, the most difficult part was not steep at all. It was basically flat, but with a thick layer of snow, snowdrifts in which we sank. Difficult conditions did not prevent me from having a good time, and I am especially happy that my family was with me. This season they will not have too many opportunities to cheer me on at competitions, and they like it very much, so it means a lot to me that I was able to race today with their support. They are a big motivation for me.

Second place in the first edition of the Winter Lean Lawrence was taken by Szymon Biel From Zywiec (time 2:17:27), and the third was Grzegorz Szczechla from Ustroń (2:22:20).

Wintertime Chudy Wawrzyniec (fot. Andrzej Olszanowski)

The fastest of the women turned out to be a triathlete – Anna Halska From Cieszyn (her score was 2:44:47):

I did not expect an easy competition. Running in the mountains in winter is demanding, and it was with this mindset that I signed up for this run. As it turned out, the most trouble for me today was the last, long and steep run down to the finish line. I am not a mountain runner, but this season I plan to appear at several events, because I really like the atmosphere accompanying running events.

The second place was won by Beata Boruszewska from Siemianowice Śląskie (3:05:14), and third was Renata Szwed from Czechowice-Dziedzice (3:07:24).

Winter Chudy Wawrzyniec (fot. Andrzej Olszanowski)

For detailed information on the competition, visit www.chudywawrzyniec.en. Running results are available at the link http://krokdonatury.org/Results/Winter_Chudy_Wawrzyniecc_2022.pdf. Information about the event and interesting facts also appear on the profile of Skinny Lawrence on Facebook.

Winter Lean Lawrence (pic. Andrzej Olszanowski)