When I arrived at the Novina Hotel, I was given a warm welcome by Edith, who did a great job throughout the duration of our stay there to make us feel welcome. Edith led me to the dinner table where I met all the other lovely participants and trainers.
The following day was a day to remember. I was so impressed when I went to adidas HQ. I felt excited by the working environment in the wonderful building Laces, in the “World of Sports”.
I very much enjoyed the practical sessions, the activities and the games we did. Those activities make running so attractive and enjoyable. I learnt about the difference gender makes when it comes to performance in running and why running is so important for women. The 261 Coach’s role and the relevant Do’s and Don’ts were also very interesting to learn about.
What I was unsure about was the recording of the documentary. At first it felt challenging to be in front of the camera being recorded, which I was not at all used to. On the other hand, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that there was going to be a whole documentary about us.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I had a great time having dinner together, especially the group dinner at a traditional local restaurant, tasting the delicious local food and having a lovely talk about the different cultures that we brought around the table. Furthermore, I enjoyed the opportunity to shop at adidas store!
When the day to leave arrived, I found it hard to say goodbye to all those lovely people that I’d met. There was so much satisfaction in feeling that I had made great friends from all over the world.
Being inspired by this wonderful experience, I had many thoughts and ideas in my mind as to what I should do when I returned to my club in Tirana. I was looking forward to meeting Bruna, the other coach of the club and sharing not only my experience in Germany, but also discussing my future plans about our club.
Not many people know about our 261 club in Tirana yet, so my initial thinking was how to start informing women about our club and about our mission. I generated different ideas as how to do this in my neighborhood, at my work place and so on...
All the knowledge and the practical expertise that I received from the training, I will apply to our club in Tirana. I believe that our club has the scope to be more than just a club that runs around the lake. We can have many more exciting activities to enjoy with different routes, drills and games. This variety would give our club members an incredible sense of pride. Together we can grow as a club and be part of a great community who loves running as well as having a great time together.
If you haven't already seen Mimoza in the first episodes of the 261 Fearless Documentary - powered by adidas, you can find them on our Youtube account here. Subscribe to our YouTube account, or follow us on Facebook to see new episodes when they are released.