He smoked, didn't pay attention at his health, still he became a competitive cyclist – what an incredible accomplishment Péter’s cycling career has been! He didn’t start as a young child but rather at 28 in the hope to better his life. Go read his inspiring journey!
Kyäni: Hi, please tell me a little about yourself! How does a bank sales manager become a Mountain Bike Marathon racer? Péter: In 2008 (at the age of 28), I started cycling as part of a lifestyle change. I didn’t really do sports before. I actively smoked, and neither did I pay much attention to my weight. Cycling was no stranger to me. As a child, I often used it as a means of transport in the village where I lived. As an adult, after many years of not riding a bike, it was a huge experience to ride a bike again, to complete Margaret Island laps faster and faster. At first, I just went there with my newly bought MTB bike. My weight started to decrease spectacularly, my stamina got better and better. So after a couple of weeks, I started to go to the Triple Border Mountain (Hármashatárhegy – a mountain in Hungary) as well. Even that year I started the first MTB marathon of my life, in the short run which was about 30 km and I managed to reach the finish line with the middle field, by that time it was almost 20 kg negative. There, for the purpose of the race, I knew it was going to be a big love in my life. And when it comes to sales leadership, it feels really good to replace “office noise” with the sounds of the forest and the bike. It’s a great way to relieve the stress of weekly managerial work, and a lot of new innovative business solutions are born in my head. Kyäni: Do you have a result that you are especially proud of? Péter: I was on the podium in several smaller local championships in Hungary, 10th in the Top Marathon series in 2015, 9th in 2016. But the results I achieved at the international cups are the dearest to me: I was 10th at the Inter Mountain Series cup, in the Slovakian championship I achieved 5th place in 2017 and 8th place in 2018. Kyäni: We know racing also comes with a lot of travel - which are the countries you travel to the most and do you have a favorite? Péter: Especially for me – since I am also competing in the Slovak Cup besides the Hungarian competitions from 2015, and from 2017 I only compete abroad 95% of the time – I have more than 10 competitions in Slovakia every year, in addition to Austrian, Czech, Polish and Croatian MTB marathons that I also participate in regularly. I love Slovakia very much. A lot of sports friendships have developed over the years. They have very technical well-organized competitions, beautiful landscapes, nice people, and delicious food. There are many beautiful experiences but Poland is also very close to me. And in 2020, despite the short season, the Czech Republic was my favorite. I usually travel out on Friday mornings, there are short tours, entries, and bookings that day, and on Saturdays the race. If I travel alone that day, I also drive home 4-5 hours after the race. If my family is with me we will stay for another 1-2 days. Kyäni: What does it mean to prepare for a race or a season? How do you see the year 2021? When can we cheer for you for the first time? Péter: The season for me usually starts in early April and ends in mid-October. After that, we always have a small rest period (about 2 weeks). Winter preparations start in November. For me, it usually consists of cycling exercises on an indoor training roller, core muscle strengthening exercises, and running outdoors. I really like to run in the field – in winter I also start 6-8 trail races. This can be done intensively in the cold, snow, or mud without getting cold. In the winter of 2019, the trail run was so successful that I also managed to arrive in 6th place in two running marathons (there were 18 and 20 km races, respectively). I’m getting ready for 2021 with the same enthusiasm and motivation as in previous years, even though everything is uncertain. I don’t have a race calendar. So, I can’t even tell you where you can see it first. Last year I had a very well planned race calendar that was completely rewritten. There were a lot of competitions left. On the other hand, there were countries e.g. the Czech Republic, which opened races very quickly. And although it was not included in my plans I started in several races there. So if the preparation is going well and the world opens up a bit and the borders are open then I want to be among the first to travel and compete. Kyäni: I think that even with a good physical condition, a competition can put a lot of strain on the body. Is there any special diet you follow? Péter: I should but don’t. I actually eat everything, grilled meat with vegetables, porridge, but also bacon, scrambled eggs, or knuckle bean soup. On the other hand, I rarely eat fast food. I like to cook. I have mainly time for this during the winter season – I always look up something new online and make it. However, I have been taking food supplements and vitamins for more than 10 years. Since then, I use Kyäni Sunrise daily and also Kyani Nitro Xtreme. Right now, I am also getting familiar with the FIT20, HL5, and ON. I train 12-16 hours a week – this includes competitions. Here I have to pay a lot of attention to the proper fluid intake and regeneration. In this even I have room for improvement. Kyäni:If you were to give advice to those who made a New Year's resolution to live a healthier life in 2021, what would you say? Péter: It’s a difficult question and maybe I wouldn’t give advice to these people because the year has already started and they are either on the right way to fulfill their resolution or have already let go of it. But I have a message to those who want to make a change now and live a healthier life: it's never too late. I changed my life when I was 28, and I was mentally preparing for it for a year. It is important that they don't make the change because of someone else or just to impress someone. They need to do it because of their inner commitment, just for themselves. They should try out many things to find the activity, diet, sport etc. that sufficiently charges them, what they can always look forward to, what they talk about with a huge smile on their face with their friends. It doesn't matter whether it’s yoga for 20 minutes a day, a diet for weight loss, a 5km run, or a hike in the woods with friends and family! All you have to do is have fun, do that thing regularly, always set new goals, and celebrate if you manage to achieve them. And try to choose activities that can be done outdoors, if possible, because it offers a lot more impulse and experience than indoor gyms or what their home could provide.