We can also run!
On September 9th, during a crisp autumn day, the second All-Ukrainian Agricultural UCABrun race took place, and our team was there. Well, not the whole team — the rest were actively cheering on Pasha, Andriy, and Alena from their couches.
Here are the team members’ impressions:
Pasha:
After a day at the office, running is the best warm-up, especially when your colleagues support you. I set a personal record thanks to the amazing sports atmosphere of the race, and I’m confident that my results will be even better next time!
Andriy:
At this race, I realized how small our team is compared to those of our clients. When the three of us walked through the crowd of people wearing Syngenta or other companies’ shirts, you understand that we are only at the start of our journey and how young we look compared to them. Everyone walks around together as a company, sticking close to each other, recognizing familiar faces among employees. But once the race starts, the collective mood shifts. In 2-3 minutes, the togetherness breaks down — small groups form, each running at their own pace with their own goals. The most interesting part happens at the finish line — the team spirit returns, everyone starts cheering for those still running, and it doesn’t matter if you’re not the first. What matters is that you finish the race.
You become who you overcome during the race, and only those who have run it with you can truly understand what you’ve been through. We should all take part in such a race. It doesn’t have to be big, but everyone should run their distance, and then we can celebrate together with a barbecue or something else. After a race like this, you start seeing small problems differently. The atmosphere of the race is very friendly — everyone shares the same goal: to run and prove to themselves that they can do it!
Alena:
Movement is life, plants are life. When these two concepts come together, it’s a double life or life with double energy.
GrainTrack is also life. In our little world, we create our own life. We initiate processes that breathe life into the system — a system whose mission is to make the lives of grain traders easier. And if you set aside everything you see on your computer monitors, behind the GrainTrack system is a team. A team that is growing and evolving alongside the people in the grain business.
Before participating in the race, I looked into the goals of the event:
- Promoting a healthy lifestyle
- Motivating representatives of Ukraine’s agricultural sector to achieve personal and athletic goals
After finishing the race, I realized that the agricultural sector of Ukraine brought together athletic, driven, and active people, as everyone was running at almost the same pace.
The most vivid impression from the race is being surrounded by like-minded individuals in multiple ways: first, these are people from the grain market in their professional activities, and second, these are people who “live” for running in their personal lives.
I will definitely participate in similar events again.