Scientists from Vernadsky Station join marathon to draw attention to war in Ukraine
Ukrainian polar scientists took part in the "Marathon No One Wants To Run"–a race that started in the village of New York in the Donetsk region, a kilometer from the front line.
The National Antarctic Research Center announced this on Facebook, Rubryka reports.
The project was created to draw the attention of the international community to Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.
The race was started by five people whose lives are inextricably linked to the war: a soldier, a volunteer, a medic, a military journalist, and an internally displaced person. Today, more than 35,000 people from different parts of Ukraine and the world have joined the initiative, in particular, participants of the 26th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition from the Academik Vernadsky station.
Eight winterers ran a symbolic circle around the aerology building, about 400 meters. But even such a distance in Antarctica is not easy for a marathon, because they had to run on an uneven slippery surface (penguins "did their best" to trample an interesting route for polar explorers).
Instead of starting numbers, participants had sheets with impressive numbers about the war. For example, 3.4 million people in eastern Ukraine need ongoing humanitarian assistance.
"Even though we are on the edge of the world, we don't forget for a moment that the war is going on in Ukraine. And we want to remind everyone who cares about the disaster that has befallen our country," said the polar explorers.
Note
The Marathon No One Wants to Run project began on November 7, the day of the world-famous New York Marathon. The initiative will last until runners from all over the world are ready to run.
Anyone who cares can take part in the project by registering on the website marathonnoonewantstorun.org, and running any distance anywhere, and thus supporting Ukraine. After registration, you can print templates of starting numbers with the fact of the war in eastern Ukraine and run with them anywhere in the world. In addition, you can generate a personal digital medal on the project page.
