On September 19, 2020, the 10th annual Kiev Half Marathon was held in an innovative online format. 6,000 participants from 37 countries running courses of 5 lengths came together with one desire – to enjoy running and make the event a success regardless of the circumstances.

Some major adjustments were made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants ran anywhere they liked – not just on the streets of Kiev – and submitted their results via email after no more than 3 days.

Nikita Sachenko

"Running the marathon was an unforgettable experience. Since I had not participated in any race before, I chose to run 10 km. I spent a month preparing for it and ran between 2 - 5 km every day. Officially running my first distance like this was a personal victory,” commented Nikita Sachenko, a Freight Forwarder in the AsstrA corporate group.

It was also Freight Forwarder Yevgeny Shipitko’s first 10 km marathon.

Yevgeny Shipitko

"This year, the organizers gave participants a medal inscribed with a symbolic and meaningful poem by Taras Shevchenko. It was hard because I was running in the woods and on the sand, but the wonderful weather on the day of the race helped. Apparently a fox was also participating in the marathon, and I saw him running about 10 meters away from me. This was a virtual race, but I felt a connection that was about more than just being around other runners. You realize that there are thousands of other runners sharing the moment with you all over the world,” Yevgeny added.