Macedonia with its diversity offers endless opportunities for mountain running

In these hot summer days the only place where you can enjoy the fresh air and the untouched nature, away from the heat and crowds in the cities, are the mountains. Today we want to introduce you to Hristijan Nasevski from Prilep. Hristijan is 25 years old, he is a young and active athlete who is engaged in mountain running, and his passion is running in the mountains or in an urban environment with a map and a compass. According to him, Macedonia is an ideal country for the development of active tourism and outdoor sports.

A mountain, forests, plains, the relief of the country leaves positive impressions even on foreign tourists who participate in mountain races or attend outdoor events in Macedonia.

Since he was a child he wanted to play sports and at the age of 7 he started playing football. As the time was passing by, he also started running in the mountains, a sport that became his passion.

The first mountain race in which he participates with his friend Antonio in 2015 was the race on the Mountain Selecka, where they successfully finished the 17 km with more than 1000 meters of positive denivelation.

In 2018, he met the team from the Mountain Sports Club Zlatovrv from Prilep, after a while he becomes part of the club and starts training with them. As the time passes by, with his constant training, he gets better and better, which allows him to compete at a higher level, side by side with the best mountain runners from Macedonia.

He gets a great motivation, support and encouragement from his friend and also coach, Michael Van Baelen from Belgium, who currently lives in Macedonia and is part of the club “Zlatovrv”.

For Hristijan, the mountain Selecka is and will always be his favorite mountain, because, as he says, he grew up there and he spends the most of his time for training there. But as he says, any place in nature, outside the home or the urban area is a great place for sports.

The mountains, the forests, the rivers and the lakes, even the city parks are always a good choice if you want to practice sports.

If you ask Hristijan about the ideal destinations for hiking or mountain running, his list includes Solunska Glava on Jakupica Mountain, Pelister on Baba Mountain, Popova Shapka on Shara Mountain, Mavrovo and Korab.

According to Hristijan anyone can spend 20 minutes a day for a physical activity. Training and practicing sports are not just a profession, you can even have fun, socialize and also improve your way of life.