Manufacturer of wooden packaging since 1995
Chief Executive Officer
On 17–18 September, the 24-hour European Championships took place in Verona, Italy, where KRONUS saw operator Ritvars Kalniņš ran 250,065 kilometres, breaking the record set in 2013. The 24-hour race is a 24-hour stadium race where each participant tries to cover as much distance as possible.
After hearing about this success, we also asked Ritvars a few questions about his experience, work and sport!
Ritvar, running 250 kilometres is definitely not easy. Given your high achievements, the whole team must be wondering – How long have you been running?
R: In a way, it was with the support of KRONUS that I took up running only eight years ago. Until then, any sporting activity was sadly neglected.
That makes us very happy! What is your week like, how do you manage to fit everything in? I suppose it’s not enough to train once a week to set such a record!
R: I go to work exclusively running, regardless of the season and weather (I have also run at -25º), it’s 17–30 km in the morning and around 11–15 km in the evening. On average I run 600 km a month.
That’s very impressive! But how did you get into running?
R: I by chance went (as a fan) to a running race and then the enlightenment came over me: “Hey, I can do that too… I want to do that too… Maybe I can do it better?” Since running doesn’t require a huge financial investment and you can run anywhere, those were the deciding factors.
Five years ago, we founded and association called “Skrienam kopā” (Running Together), whose main aim is to motivate teenagers to run by going together on weekends to different running races.
A lot has been achieved, but we don’t believe in stopping there. What is your next goal?
R: One of my immediate goals is to win the Backyard Ultra next year, where you have to run 6.7 km every hour, with at least 100 hours on the track.
Last question – what advice would you give to those who would also like to start doing everyday sport but haven’t got around to it yet?
R: Sometimes the hardest part is just getting the shoes on, rather than the process of doing the sport, and when you untie your shoelaces after the activity, you will never regret it!
The company’s supportive attitude, the flexible schedule that has allowed us to take part in various competitions on the weekends, and the financial support that has never been refused were also important factors in setting the record.
The whole KRONUS team is immensely proud of Ritvars’ success and feels very proud to have such a highly qualified athlete working for our company! We wish him even higher records and many more kilometres!