The name says it all: our colleagues Manja Kochannek, Kristin Klees, Camilla Krauss and Jördis Michelsburg are competing in the Just4Fun team in this year's marathon for the second year in a row. Their motivation: the fun of running together.
“I usually only run sporadically; for me it's a way to switch off,” explains Kristin. Events like the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, the JP Morgan Run or half-marathon events are always an incentive for her to train more in between.
While Kristin is more of a casual runner, Manja trains with a plan and takes part in professional technique training twice a week. One of these sessions is organized by Messe Vital, the Messe Frankfurt health program, and takes place every Wednesday as part of the company sports group Corporate Running. That's where Kristin also joined for the relay preparations. Two running coaches use special training sessions to get the roughly 35 members fit for the full marathon or the relay race.
Manja discovered running for herself during the Corona period and has now been training very regularly for over two years. Since then, she has taken part in many other running events, some of them together with other Corporate Running employees.
Kristin Klees, Manja Kochannek, Camilla Krauss and Jördis Michelsburg (f.l.) before the running technique training at our fairgrounds.
Tennis and fitness workouts, on the other hand, are Jördis' main focus in her everyday life. “I work out every day,” she says, “and I run whenever I feel like it – preferably with a podcast in my ear.” Last year's relay team was her first running competition ever.
Camilla, the fourth in the group, only decided last year to take part in the relay a month before the marathon started. She met Kristin and Manja in the Corporate Running training and jumped into the not yet full relay team. For her, like for Jördis, the relay was a real first. However, Camilla did have some competitive experience. She had already taken part in a few marathons before. She has been running regularly for about eight years and has a penchant for trails, long-distance runs away from paved roads in the great outdoors.
While Camilla only joined Messe Frankfurt in 2022, Kristin, Manja and Jördis have been working for our company for a long time and met about 20 years ago through their work together for the Ambiente and Tendence consumer goods fairs.
With a total of seven relays, Messe Frankfurt, which has been one of the main sponsors of the marathon for years, is represented at this year's event. The four relay participants will cover four distances: 12.9 kilometers, 6.1, 9.5 and 13.5 kilometers.
Crossing the finish line over the red carpet in the Festhalle was an impressive experience for Manja, Kristin, Camilla and Jördis last year. They ran the last few meters across the finish line together, catching up with their final runner Manja one kilometer before the Festhalle. The four of them crossed the finish line in 4 hours and 16 minutes – “Just4Fun” was the second-fastest team from Messe Frankfurt.
Further information about the running events on the marathon weekend, the supporting program and the accompanying sporting goods fair Marathon Mall can be found here.
As Just4Fun team during the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon last year.