"In 2002 I reached a conclusion how great it would be to run with colleagues from other parliaments in a marathon. One day we, me and my son, wrote a letter that stated: "Hello, I am a member of the Polish Parliament and a marathoner. Would you like to come to Poland so we can run together?". When first positive replies started to come in I realized that my idea was successful..." – it is how the originator, deputy Tadeusz Jarmuziewicz, describe the beginnings of the World Marathon and Half Marathon Championship of Members of Parliaments.

In the recent five editions of the marathon nearly 90 parliamentarians from countries like: Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Kenya, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, Ukraine, Germany, Romania, Jordan, Sweden and Estonia, took part in the event. Tadeusz Jarmuziewicz – Sport Director

Tadeusz Jarmuziewicz is the sport director of the Sixth Edition of the World Marathon and Half Marathon Championship of Members of Parliaments. At the same time he is a member of the Polish Parliament and Vice-minister of Infrastructure. He is one of the Polish parliamentarians who has been regularly running in marathons for the past fifteen years, both in Poland and abroad. He makes three to four thousand kilometers a year and his life record in the marathon is 3 hours and 22 minutes.

Why did I start to run?
As hard as it is to believe, in 1993 I weighed almost 100 kilograms. I was 170 cm tall and only 36 years old. No surprise that some health problems started to show up, for example during Christmas I experienced a strange heart palpitations. I became really scared! ‘I'm still young, I have to do something about it’ - I thought. And right then I met a man who told me he was 50 and he had just run the distance of 100 kilometers. His confession made me curious… ‘Maybe this is the way?’ - I thought.

My first kilometers
It was the first day of 1994 when I decided to actually run. Early in the morning, I put on my sports shoes and said to myself: let's run! And so I ran… every metre, every step was an incredible challenge for my body. I felt like I was moving the Earth out of its track! I ran for 2,4 kilometers! My heart was pounding, I couldn't breathe. In other words, I thought I was dying.

Marathons
Luckily, I didn't die. I began reading about real marathons, about trainings and ways to extend the distance. And I trained every morning because as my dear father used to say, morning is the perfect time: in the afternoon one is always too busy and in the evening - too tired. Every day I covered longer distance and eventually I began to participate in real marathons. Fifteen years have passed since that memorable January of 1994. I have managed to complete 25 marathons so far, not only in Poland. Last year I took part in the 1st Commando Marathon running the whole distance fully equipped with a 10kg backpack. My best result is 3 hours and 22 minutes. Now I cannot imagine my life without running! Believe me, running is addictive. Now I know that you can run away from most of your problems on your own feet!

Beside marathons
I take part in ski-running as well. I like listening to music and playing chess. I love spending my leisure time with my wife and son.