Daniel, Marathons and the Meaning of Life

Daniel at the 14th kilometer

Daniel finished his first marathon with a time of 4 hours and 11 minutes, winning a personal challenge with the bonus of placing eighth in the Italian university championship, which took place during the Milano City Marathon this year. "I know I made a beginner's time, but eighth place feels nice."

The only Bocconi student registered as such that finished the 42 kilometer and 195 meter race, Daniel Kaluza is 20 years old and is from Poland. He's enrolled in his second year in the Bachelor of International Economics, Management and Finance (BIEM), and he's an insatiable athlete, with a burning passion for soccer. In his birth city of Trzebnica he played in the second division of young Polish championships. A day didn't go by without being involved in some sort of competitive activity: "Volleyball, basketball, even chess," he says. At Bocconi he plays in a 5-a-side soccer team, "even if I haven't played since the marathon because an ankle injury that I got in Poland started bothering me again," he explains.

After studying history in secondary school, he came to Bocconi because he wanted to study abroad. "I saw a presentation on Bocconi at my school and the idea got into my head," he says, "and then I researched on the internet about the university's background, its international status and the doors it would open for the future. In the end the critical factors were the availability of scholarships and the opportunity to live in Italy, which was very interesting, even though now I realize that if you don't speak Italian, everyday life is very limited. Even Bocconi's large International Relations network played an important role, because I want to go abroad in Japan."

When he's down, bored or angry Daniel vents through sports. "When I have a soccer ball handy, I'm happy," he says, "and I think doing sports is pure fun, the best way to pass the time. Even the physical exhaustion that comes after hours of activity is a feeling I like."

With this philosophy, he couldn't help but get interested in a marathon. Daniel had wanted to run in the Milan marathon in 2007, "when a Bocconi email explained that a Corporate Finance professor, Maurizio Dallocchio, was organizing a university team with the Fondazione Veronesi. But we were too close to the event and in the end I backed out."

Since he's certainly in shape thanks to his intense work outs, Daniel saw the marathon mostly as a mental challenge. "I had run in shorter endurance races, even a half-marathon, but never a distance this long. I saw the marathon as an exploration of my possibilities, something that you can't understand until you do it. And I still believe this."

A Pellicans teammate who's a runner, Roberto, recommended that he run this year. So Daniel participated in Bocconi Sport Team athletics, but didn't do any specific training. "Roberto told me to start slow, maybe with the 4 hour and 15 minute pacemakers, the volunteers that run the whole marathon at a fixed speed to help other runners finish at their goals. Then, if I had the endurance, to speed up and finish around 4 hours. Instead, I felt great and started out too fast, running with the 3 hours and 30 minute pacemakers for the first few kilometers, and then with the 3 hours and 45 minutes group. At 35 kilometers my body stopped listening to me; I couldn't go on and from then until 300 meters from the end was an ordeal. When I saw the finish line, I got my strength back and sprinted to the end."

Daniel's right ankle felt the effects of the marathon the most, which will require him to take a considerable break. "But sports is an important part of life for me, something that gives it meaning. What would you do if someone told you to stop eating? I'll protect my ankle, but will continue to run and play soccer."