«Running for the language»: the annual race brought together more than two thousand participants
This Sunday, the Ukrainian language and sport united more than two thousand people who ran in different parts of the country: in Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia and abroad. The presenters of 1+1 media became ambassadors of the event.
Traditionally, the 4th annual «Run for the Language 2026» was dedicated to supporting the Ukrainian language as the basis of national identity and unity. The event brought together people who consciously choose the Ukrainian language — every day in everyday life, work, study, creativity and sports. The format of the event traditionally combined offline and online participation, so participants from the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, the USA, the UAE, Peru, and Lithuania joined the race. 1+1 media became the general media partner of the event.
In Kyiv, the race was opened by the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Matviy Bidny, Ivanna Kobeleva, a member of the board of the NGO «United Movement, and People's Deputy of Ukraine, Olympic champion Zhan Beleniuk. Famous Ukrainian athletes — Oleg Vernyaev and Victoria Onoprienko also came to support the participants.
The ambassadors of the event were the presenters of TSN — Marichka Padalko and Natalya Ostrovska, as well as Kilimmen from the band Kalush Orchestra. Marichka covered the distance of 10 km, and Natalya Ostrovska and Kilimmen presented awards to the winners of the distances. Also, members of 1+1 media ran different distances — from 5 km to 21 km joined the race.
«I am very glad that in the morning after the terrible shelling we, despite everything, got together. Ukrainians once again prove that it is impossible to break us. Despite all attempts to destroy or intimidate us, we continue to come, work and do everything that depends on us», — shared Marichka Padalko.
During the race, a special space — «City of Languages» operated at the locations, where participants could get acquainted with language and cultural initiatives, join interactives and thematic activities, and the Cultural Forces of Ukraine performed in the cities for participants.
Reference:
The race is organized by the NGO «Yedini» Movement, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Mass Sports Agency of Ukraine with the support of the All-Ukrainian Youth Center. The partners of the event were the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, the Department of Culture of the KMDA, the Charitable Fund «Growth of Ukraine», PROTECTOR от️ and futbolka.ua. Water partner — Morshinska.
«Movement Unified» — is a public organization that helps Ukrainians switch to the Ukrainian language and make it familiar in everyday life. Thanks to the movement's activities, more than 568,000 citizens have switched to Ukrainian since 2022. The team held more than 8,000 meetings of conversation clubs, 47 monthly streams of Ukrainian courses and conducts systematic work on the popularization of the Ukrainian language.
