Solutions to win: Dutch runner raising funds for Ukrainian ambulances completes marathon in Kyiv
A Dutch ultrarunner completed his 51-day journey from Amsterdam to Kyiv on Sunday, raising money to buy ambulances for use in Ukraine.
Boas Kragtwijk, who covered 2,500 km in 51 days, was joined for the final stage of his run into the center of the Ukrainian capital by around 200 supporters.
What is the problem?
The runner covered over 2,500 kilometers in 50 days from the capital of the Netherlands to Kyiv. Boas started from Amsterdam on July 22, which was previously informed by Rubryka.
The runner intended to raise money to purchase ambulances, which the Dutch charitable organization Zeilen van Vrijheid (Sails of Freedom) will deliver to Ukraine.
What is the solution?
47 days ago I ran out of my house in the Netherlands to show the Europeans that the war is near us, that it is literally in the backyard. I am doing this to raise money for ambulances for Ukraine and remind Europeans that the war is close enough and it is necessary to support Ukraine, commented Boas.
The Dutch runner said he had raised 60,000 euros to buy two ambulances.
For every 30 thousand euros we can buy an ambulance. Already one purchased. Now the second is preparing to leave. This is an effective help, because ambulances will work for a long time and save lives constantly, said the marathon runner.
How does it work?
Kragtwijk ran from 40 to 60 kilometers per day, depending on the distances between cities. Behind him, his manager and photographer go in the van to rest. After ten days and about 500 kilometers of running – Kragtwijk raised 22 thousand euros on his GoFundMe page "Ultra4Ukraine."
Every day was a fight. Every day was difficult, physically and mentally. There were a lot of obstacles on the way. But I could prepare for the running part, I could not prepare for what I saw in Ukraine, because I come from a country that lives in peace. So Ukraine had a big impact on me. We had to spend nights in bomb shelters, I spoke to the victims, the soldiers. The hardest part was seeing the people of Ukraine and the war, how terrible it is, he added.
