“I Honor the Warriors, I Run for the Heroes of Ukraine” – registration for the all-Ukrainian virtual race has started

On the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine, those who died in the struggle for independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the annual race “I Honor the Warriors, I Run for the Heroes of Ukraine” will take place.

Details about the purpose, registration, and race were discussed during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform. 

The main date of the race is August 26, on the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine who died in the struggle for independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Due to the full-scale invasion, the race will be replaced by a virtual one. Registration’s start day is today, July 12, and will last until August 20. Participant registration forms for the 2, 5, and 10 km courses are available at the link.

Event’s direct registration can also be found in Facebook groups: Veteran’s Ten open training sessions and Annual Race – I Honor the Warriors, I Run for the Heroes of Ukraine. 

Within the competitive footrace, each participant runs the required race distance in their own time – choosing their own start line and route of their choice with the name of a friend or stranger who gave their life in the fight for a free Ukraine pinned to their T-shirt and shares a story about the hero they are running for on social media using the hashtags #RunForHeroes_2023 and #run2023.

Virtual race implies runners can choose their own routes. However, there is also an opportunity to run with a group on Trukhaniv Island in Kyiv, and the organizers will provide additional information about the group start.

During the discussion of the event, Svitlana Strokach, Head of the Department of Civil Identity and Veteran Development of the Ministry of Veteran Affairs of Ukraine, emphasized the importance of these activities. 

“Such events are vital for our country today because they practically implement the commemoration policy. This traditionally allows us to realize such important tasks as paying tribute and respect and remembering the victims’ families. This promotes a healthy lifestyle among war veterans, psychological and physical rehabilitation of war veterans, and active military personnel. It is the unification of the Ukrainian people around such an important goal as honoring the memory and treating active defenders and veterans with dignity. This event is an opportunity to join one of the manifestations of honor and respect for the fallen heroes,” she said.

At the same time, Nataliia Krushynska, Head Coach at the National Council for Sports Rehabilitation of Defenders Of Ukraine, Chief Judge of the Run, noted that this race is not a competition, and its primary goal is to honor the memory of the dead fighters. 

“The race has nothing to do with a sports competition. The main goal of this race is to honor the memory, and it is essential to write stories of the heroes for whom they will run, using the hashtags #Run2023 and #RunForHero_2023. We invite everyone to join the race,” she added.

As a reminder, the event was launched in 2018 by Oleh Durmasenko, the father of the fallen hero of the Russian-Ukrainian war, ‘cyborg’ defender of Donetsk airport in 2014-2015 Oleksii Durmasenko, together with Taisiia Bratasiuk and Dmytro Prymachenko. This year, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine joined the race for the third time.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news