On July 8, 6:00-8:00 p.m., the Institute for Corporate Governance at WU Vienna invited Diana Dzaviza to give a lecture on the WU campus.

What connects a business university with the experience of an ultra runner? We deal with incentives and motivation. How much can we learn from a woman who can run 250 kilometers straight in about 25 hours - is that possible? And if so, how? What does it take to get through the distance at all? The ULT Heustadlwasser Vienna runner Diana Dzaviza won the Spartathlon 2021: "Yes, it's possible. And yes, it takes a total package to make it happen”

This evening Diana takes us on a journey that connects the 246 km from Athens to Sparta with her life. It's fascinating how many parallels there are between an ultra run over many hours and the challenges and strokes of luck that life offers.

Spartathlon is an Ultramarathon with a length of 246km,which is happening in Greece since 1983 from Athen to Sparta and has to be covered within a time limit of 36 hours. Many challenges await the runners, such as scorching heat during the day and steep climbs at night.

With her lively description, Diana succeeds in conveying the special atmosphere of this run to us. The tension among the participants and the many helpers before the start. The liberating feeling of finally being able to start walking after all the preparation and doubts. The ups and downs of running, about fear, adrenaline and hallucinations. It goes along busy roads, but also steeply uphill and downhill over the Peloponnese alone in the dark. Impressions from outside, such as the followers and supervisors, are just as important as the many thoughts and reflections during the long effort. But what stays with the listener most in the descriptions of Diana is her irrepressible joy in running. Only this makes it possible to activate her strength – the lioness in her.

She convincingly shows how the Spartathlon has stuck in her mind and how this focus can unleash unexpected powers. This lecture is therefore less about the technical requirements of such an ultra run, such as building up the necessary endurance, targeted training or nutrition. For Diana, it is the power of the spirit that triumphs over the body, the power of passion and faith. It is a dialogue with your own soul. She uses the lioness as her leitmotif and incorporates it into her racing tactics: "Be the lioness, do the run for me, run it at my pace and never forget to enjoy it".

The strength of Diana's presentation is not only her vivid description of the Spartathlon itself, but also the description of her path, how she was able to become such a mentally strong athlete. She takes us with her from her childhood in a small Latvian village, from which she moved when she was 15 years old. At the age of 18 she left Latvia and after a few stations she settled in Austria as a single mother. She starts running to find her peace and discovers that running brings her special happiness. This positive attitude helps her to overcome some crises in life as well as in sports, where she can show impressive successes in a relatively short time. These include, for example, the Latvian record over 100km and the Latvian record in the 24-hour run.

After the exciting insights, the top athlete is still available for questions and a competition on this well-attended and very successful evening. We would like to thank her and all participants!