WASHINGTON — Ukrainian soldiers and veterans, some of whom suffered dreadful injuries during the ongoing war with Russia, took part last week in the 44th U.S. Marine Corps Marathon in the American capital.
Out of the 15 Ukrainian participants, 10 ran in the 10-kilometer race, while 10 took on the full marathon, a 42-kilometer route that began and ended near America’s most famous military cemetery at Arlington on Oct. 27.
The route passed many of Washington’s most famous sites, including the Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and World War II memorials; the Washington Monument; the Capitol and many others. It also wound past long stretches of the Potomac River.
Over the decades, the marathon has developed into one of the world’s largest and most prestigious runs. Civilians have long been allowed to participate, and people come from around the world to take part. Some 30,000 people participated in the 2019 event.
Overcoming daunting odds
Most of the Ukrainian participants had seen action in the war, which began in 2014 when Russia invaded and occupied Crimea and Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Some had been severely wounded, losing one or more limbs.
The group was led by Major General Volodymyr Havrylov, who used to be Ukraine’s military attache in Washington. This is the fourth year that the Ukrainian military has participated officially in the marathon. Havrylov, a marathon runner himself, helped organize the first delegation in 2016 and has been involved with each subsequent marathon.
He retired in 2017, but continues to help in Ukraine to select and organize participants for the U.S. Marines marathon and other sporting events for Ukraine’s veterans and wounded warriors.
Havrylov ran the full marathon in Washington this year, as in the past. He told the Kyiv Post that sports are an important way for those affected by physical and psychological trauma to recover and boost their confidence when trying to return to civilian life — a daunting prospect for many young people whose lives were suddenly transformed by amputations, blindness, or other consequences of severe wounds.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s special representative for veterans’ rehabilitation, Vadym Svyrydenko, a quadruple amputee, also participated. So did Oleksandr Tereshchenko, who took part in the legendary defense of Donetsk Airport against overwhelming enemy forces in 2014 and is now the deputy minister for veterans’ affairs in the new Ukrainian government.
Another runner was a woman veteran, Olha Benda, who lost a leg in the fierce fighting around Avdiyivka in the Donbas in 2017.
Representing Ukraine
The participants all said they were there not only to fly the flag of Ukraine, but also to explain the situation in their country to the many soldiers and civilians they met at a number of social events organized by their American hosts, the Marine Corps.
As members of the military who had fought for their country, they caught the attention of many members of the American military they met.
But Ukrainian diaspora groups in the U.S. also tried to make the Ukrainian contingent feel welcome with groups organizing social events.
As the marathon began early in the morning, so did a heavy rainfall that soaked participants and spectators alike.
Still, tens of thousands of spectators lined the route to cheer on the runners. Among them were many Ukrainian-Americans waving blue and yellow flags and defying the downpour in traditional embroidered shirts.
The Ukrainian runners were easily identifiable in outfits featuring the national colors and were greeted with shouts of “Slava Ukraini” — “Glory to Ukraine” in Ukrainian — as they swept past. All of the Ukrainian participants made it to the finish line, tired, wet and proud of their efforts.
