The marathon in Košice moved the city. Not only with sports, but also with the activities that accompanied it. Thirteen of our colleagues with families and acquaintances were among the volunteers of the Košice Peace Marathon. On Sunday, they took care of the operation of the largest refreshment station on the course of the oldest marathon in Europe.

They were not deterred by the damp weather and started setting up tables and preparing everything they needed at 7 am. At the peak of the runners' rush, they faced an onslaught of 200 to 250 runners per minute. They filled thousands of paper cups with water and ionic drinks and made sure that the tables were stocked with other refreshments for the athletes: bananas, sugar, salt, lemons, sweets and grape sugar. They served more than 11,000 athletes and were also responsible for six tables with special refreshments for elite athletes.

Marián Kušnirák, head of the Geodesy department at our factory, led and coordinated a group of twenty-seven volunteers for the second time. However, he has experience from many previous years, as he is one of the "rock" volunteers who meet at Anička every year. 

"Despite the cold, damp weather, we managed it very well. At a time when there’s a lot of cold and flu going around, several stable team members deregistered at the last minute. I would like to especially thank Dušan Janoška and his wife and Roman Fedák, who were willing to quickly change their Sunday plans and came to help us. Tomáš Marton and Slavomír Baran also brought additional help. While on Saturday it looked like a problem with participation, on Sunday we ended up with a little more volunteers than planned. I admire the teenagers who were willing to get up early on Sunday morning and joined us full of enthusiasm. You could see that they really enjoy volunteering very much. In a good mood, we managed everything again excellently," said Marián Kušnirák (in the photo with Roman Fedák).

The group of volunteers brought together colleagues from various departments: Dušan Janoško, Martin Fedák, Katarína Dittelová and Marián Kušnirák from the Engineering and Innovations Department, Monika Jeníková from Shipment Department, Aurora Jajková and Jana Hoffmanová from the Sales Department, Tomáš Marton from the Blast Furnace Division, Slavomír Baran from the Steel Shops Division, Adriana Búriková from the Transport Divison, Martin Lorinc from the trade union organization and Eva Stanová and Roman Fedák from IT.

Aurora Jajková shared her impressions:
"I was here as a volunteer for the third time and many of us met repeatedly. Workers from the waterworks helped us a lot when refilling water for marathon runners - they brought a device that refilled water into several cups at once. We appreciated it at a time when marathon runners, half marathon runners and relay runners were on the course at the same time. We enjoy this event, this year my daughter from the Czech Republic, a former scholarship holder in USSK, also joined."

Dušan Janoško adds:
"My volunteer involvement with my wife at the MMM in Košice was a powerful experience filled with energy, emotions and social commitment. Working at the refreshment station at Anička Park allowed us to see the marathon from a different perspective. From the early morning hours, we prepared tables, water, ionic drinks, fruit and small snacks for the runners at the station, while the pace of preparation and service increased with the approaching start. Thanks to the cooperation with other colleagues from USSK, we created a well-coordinated team that smoothly provided supplies and encouraged runners, often tired or exhausted, to persevere to the finish line."