Competitors

Paulina Krawczak

As long as I can remember, sport has always been my top priority. And most of all I loved kicking a football with the boys on the neighborhood concrete pitch :) Practice from my childhood led me to a football career. For 6 years I played professional football in an Ekstraliga club in Biała Podlaska. I participated in the Summer Universiade in Bangkok and Belgrade as a representative of Poland.

I started my running adventure in 2011, mainly with road races (10 km, marathon crown series, half marathons). I began mountain running in 2014 when I completed my first Rzeźniczek race.

Originally I come from Dęblin, and currently I live in Puławy where I train in the nearby picturesque ravines around Kazimierz Dolny. Professionally I am a soldier and I work at the Air Operations Center – Air Component Command in Warsaw.

I am positively driven by mountains and sport. In every free moment I try to explore new and interesting places. I don’t REQUIRE anything from myself, I don’t EXPECT anything – I simply enjoy running and training. It is my way of escaping everyday life. I also enjoy inspiring others with the energy and joy I get from ultra mountain running.

Olga Łyjak

An experienced mountain runner. She moved to Zakopane to be closer to the mountains, which feel like a second home to her. In summer she runs, and in winter she practices ski mountaineering. She feels best on routes in demanding technical terrain. She loves training on the Slovak side of the Tatras, where she can take her dog Forest along. She knows almost every corner of the Polish and Slovak Tatras. She holds the unofficial women’s record for running the Orla Perć ridge – 1 hour 37 minutes. She runs the blog biegamwgorach.pl, where she shares knowledge about training for mountain running and describes running routes in the Tatras. She organizes running camps and prepares training plans for mountain races. She regularly publishes in Góry Magazine. Professionally she works as a lawyer.

Piotr Szumliński

Known among friends as “Dziki” (The Wild One). Anyone who has met him on a race route knows where the nickname comes from. Every year he becomes better, faster and… slimmer. In 2018 he was almost constantly on the podium (Lower Silesian Mountain Running Festival, Tatra Fest Run, three times Śnieżka). For the second year in a row he earned the title of the fastest legal advisor in Poland in the half marathon distance. A passionate sports enthusiast and lover of good food (of course gluten-free). Privately an occasionally annoying husband and a stressed father of a teenage daughter. He combines his passion for running with work at the Jagiellonian University, where he tries to bore his colleagues to death by constantly talking about running.

Piotrek Huzior

A highlander by birth and a resident of the capital of Podhale, who spends time gardening and practicing sports. By passion a drummer and a personal trainer who enjoys doing things thoroughly and properly – in short, an “ultra” runner with a small “u”, and an amateur with a big “A”! In 2017 he won the Rzeźnik Run and the Śnieżka race three times. He “cuts through” races like a lumberjack through spruce trees. In winter he is most often seen on ski slopes working as an instructor. In summer you have to chase after him to keep up.

Dominik Grządziel

A lover of long distances in beautiful natural surroundings – both running and cycling. This is probably why he fulfills his sporting ambitions in ultra mountain running. He has victories in the longest races at many Polish running festivals, including Ultramaraton Bieszczadzki, Biegi w Szczawnicy, Gorce Ultra Trail, Chudy Wawrzyniec and Łemkowyna Ultra Trail. Sport constantly brings him great joy and he intends to enjoy it for as long as he possibly can. Privately he is a PhD in physics and a happy father in a “3+” family: the best wife, two wonderful daughters and two naughty dogs (who also run with him).

Daniel Stroiński

I have been competing since 2013. My experience includes orienteering races, obstacle races, military-style races and mountain running. In fact, I have been running almost my entire life. Just like in Paulina’s case, everything started with football. From junior years until I stopped playing, nearly 25 years passed playing amateur football in Poland and the UK, where I lived for several years. Additionally, at the age of 18 I started going to the gym to build strength, which has remained part of my routine until today.

When I completed my first “Selection” in 2009 (a field game based on special forces recruitment methods), I started looking for something that would give me similar emotions and adrenaline. That is why I later competed in the Katorżnik Run and ToughGuy in the UK. After returning to Poland in 2012 I began participating in orienteering races, obstacle races, military races and ultra mountain runs.

This passion for sport and pushing my limits resulted in victories including three Runmageddon races – in the Sahara and the Caucasus – running across Poland along the Vistula River in a relay (in 2020), and completing some of the longest ultra races in Poland.

My second passion is computers. I work as an IT specialist in a large corporation and I am responsible for ensuring that our three offices in Poland operate smoothly. After work I spend my free time running and training at the gym.

Beata and Bartek Osior

Our people straight from the heart of the Masurian region. Above all they are passionate runners, although in 2016 they also completed the Ironman race on the Malaysian island of Langkawi. They are the owners of wioskabiegaczy.pl, a company responsible for promoting running in north-eastern Poland. Each year they successfully compete in dozens of events both in Poland and abroad. They have double victories in Iceland, Scotland, Germany, Lithuania and Latvia. In 2018 Bartek won the Ultraśledź 80 km race and together with a team they won a 12-hour underground relay race in Bochnia. In January 2019 Beata finished second in the Funchal Half Marathon held in the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira. Their goal is to create an iconic training base in the Masurian region. Beata is also a fitness instructor, while Bartek is a sports journalist and a popular announcer at running events across the country.

Agata Matejczuk

A happy wife and proud mother of three children. Currently she works in a kindergarten in Leźnica Wielka. A passionate runner with a strong focus on ultra distances, especially in the mountains. A representative of Poland in the 24-hour run. Former Polish national team member in Muay Thai (Thai boxing). Team European Champion and individual bronze medalist at the 2016 European 24-hour Championships in Albi, and participant of the World Championships in Belfast. Bronze medalist of the Polish 24-hour Championships in Łódź in 2017. Record holder of the 7 Summits Run (240 km) route from 2015. Multiple participant in Polish, European and World Championships in 24-hour running. Winner of the 12-hour race in Brenna and the Małopolska Ultra Trail on the 107 km distance.

Oktawia Nowacka

Her main sport discipline is modern pentathlon. In 2016 she won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Rio. In 2015 she became world team champion (together with Aleksandra Skarzyńska and Anna Maliszewska) and bronze medalist in the relay at the World Championships (with Aleksandra Skarzyńska). She also won the European vice-championship in the relay in 2013 (with Katarzyna Wójcik and Aleksandra Skarzyńska), as well as a bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships in the mixed relay (with Szymon Staśkiewicz) and a bronze medal at the European Championships in the mixed relay (with Łukasz Klekot). In 2014 she also won a World Cup event held in Sarasota (Florida). In 2010 she won a bronze medal at the Polish Championships, in 2013 and 2014 she became vice-champion of Poland, and in 2015 she became the Polish champion.