Lace at the starting line: The story of Anja Deželak

In running circles, she is known as Čipka – Lace. She got the nickname ten years ago when she moved from a mining community to Trbovlje. She immediately made it her own. "Many people don’t even know my real name," smiles Anja Deželak. The irony is perfect: Čipka is a designer, but she doesn’t know how to make lace. "This name will be waiting for me for quite a few years yet."

An accidental path to design

Anja studied landscape architecture. After university, she expected to work in a studio, but no job came. "I went with the principle: I’ll do whatever comes along," she says. By chance, she stumbled upon graphic design. She liked it. An opportunity presented itself. She stayed.

Today, she has been working as a freelance designer for eleven years. She builds her path step by step, project by project. Her clients include Slovenian and international running events, sports shops, and companies from various fields. She is currently working with Kočevsko Outdoor and designing graphics for the Kranjska Gora Julian Alps Trail Run. She has created trade fair visuals for the company Lotrič, among many other things. "It’s nice that every day is different," she says.

Running as an outlet and a teacher

Anja runs. Seriously. In May, she completed an ultra-trail race in Istria: 110 kilometres and over 4,000 metres of elevation gain. "Now I’m here," she smiles, "richer for one good experience."

Running gives her more than physical fitness. It gives her distance. "On long races, you only deal with one thing: how to get from the start to the finish. Everything else – thoughts, worries, tasks – washes away. That is real rest for me." Beyond that, the persistent running demands serve her well in business. "When it’s hard, you keep going. That is a skill you learn in the course and carry into everything else."

She has no interest in watches or apps during training. “I go out and listen to myself. Once you learn to do that, everything gets easier – and the results come on their own.” Intuition is her guide both in running and in life. “This intuition has never let me down,” she adds with a smile.

Because she runs and organises events herself, she understands clients from the running community from the inside. "When I’m designing for a running event, the client doesn’t need to explain what they need. I already know." This understanding has become one of her key strengths.

Together with her husband, she organises the Knap Trail running event in Zasavje. Anja had previously spent three years organising a running event in Idrija. When she received an offer to take over Knap Trail in Trbovlje, she couldn’t say no. "I never saw it as a business idea," she emphasises. "It’s our free time. But because we do it with heart and for people, the participants feel that." The event has become well-known in the region. Every year brings more runners to the starting line – and to Zasavje.

From organising, she has drawn a valuable lesson: "I learned that you have to look after everyone involved. They should feel they are part of something – and that you are grateful for what they do. We are a real little trail family."

Mother, designer, runner

When she had her son, her schedule changed fundamentally. "Before the family, the room to manoeuvre was completely different." She has tried to create a structured timetable. In practice, she protects her afternoons for family time. "Being a mother is my clear priority."

She has also learned to set boundaries – and that was one of the hardest lessons. "Over the years, I have learned to listen to myself. When the red alarm goes off, I put down the phone and step away from the computer. That is not weakness – it is protecting energy so I can be truly present where it matters."

A lesson at the finish line

When she crossed the finish line of the ultra trail in Istria, her son called. He asked whether she had won. “I did,” she told him, “for myself.”

That is perhaps the most concise summary of her approach to life: not seconds, not minutes, not hours. It’s about achieving the goal you set yourself, and knowing that, in the end, you are reason enough for your own victory.

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