Over 1,000 Ukrainians will run for the language and in support of prisoners — registration for the third annual "I'm Running for the Ukrainian Language" race has begun
You can join the traditional race from the “United Movement” both in Kyiv and online from anywhere in the world. The main theme of this year’s sports event will be to draw attention to the return of prisoners of war — military, civilian, and children. Those from whom the enemy took away their freedom and the right to speak Ukrainian freely. The media partner of the event is 1+1 media, and the ambassadors are Marichka Padalko, host of 1+1 Marathon and TSN, author of the YouTube channel “Marichka,” and Denys Boyko, ex-football player, host of the YouTube project of the same name.
“This year, our initiative “I’m Running for the Language” is a way to return the voice to those from whom it was taken away. We are running for the freedom of every Ukrainian man and woman who found themselves in captivity due to Russia’s actions. So that they are not forgotten, so that their voice sounds powerful. While they are there, we must not be silent and act here,” comments Ivan Kapelyushnyk, co-founder of the “United Movement”.
The past two races organized by the United Movement brought together more than 1,100 participants from all over Ukraine and abroad. The uniqueness of the format is that you can run both live on August 31 in Kyiv at VDNH, and online on August 24-31 from anywhere in the world.
“This race is not about physical endurance. But first of all, about dignity. About the fact that the Ukrainian language is still a weapon. And we must not let it be silenced,” says Viktoriya Kostyuk, head of the “United Movement”.
Anyone can join the initiative. There are distances for adults (5 km, 10 km, 21 km) and children (300 m with parents, 500 m, 1 km).
Registration is open until August 30, 6:00 PM on the website: https://yedyni.org/race
Participation requires a registration fee: adults — 990 UAH, children — 340 UAH, military personnel — 495 UAH (with a 50% discount). The funds will go towards organizing the race, as well as supporting free Ukrainian language conversation clubs in front-line and de-occupied territories and training internally displaced persons and veterans.
Background: who is organizing?
”Rukh Edini” is a public organization that promotes the Ukrainian language and helps people switch to it. Thanks to our activities, more than 560,000 citizens have learned to speak Ukrainian since 2022. Our team has organized more than 8,000 conversation club meetings, 2 large forums, book clubs, ambassador meetings, and is actively advocating for language policy.
