

On 12 and 13 October, on the 963rd day of the full-scale invasion, Kyiv hosted the main national marathon – Kyiv Unbroken Marathon 2024.
The Kyiv Unbroken Marathon brought together 10 200 participants, including 9 600 runners who ran in Kyiv for two days. These were military personnel, veterans undergoing rehabilitation, children, amateur and professional runners.
“This is the 14th time that Run Ukraine has held the Kyiv Marathon,’ says Victoria Veremienko, the partner of Run Ukraine. ’This race is a charity event, and together with the participants, the general partner PrivatBank and all partners we have raised UAH 10 million, most of which will go to support the Defence Forces. For the first time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the running event took to the streets of Kyiv with a 21 km course – we are grateful to the city and the military administration, with whom we have been working on this for many months. Sport is motivating; about 1,000 military and military veterans took part in the event during two days.”
Out of the funds raised, UAH 1 560 000 will be allocated to the “Defence” sector through the UNITED24 state fundraising platform. And all donations from the participants of the 1.6 km course – UAH 193 000 – will be transferred to the Superhumans centre, in addition to the UAH 1 million raised as part of the Run Fundraising. One million hryvnias for the Third Assault Brigade, the 24th King Danylo Brigade and the National Guard of Ukraine each and the NextStep centre. Run Ukraine has specifically set several charitable goals, as there are a lot of needs, and thanks to the Run Fundraising, they have been fulfilled.
“In times of great challenges, every step matters. Sometimes this step is not only a financial decision or support for the economic stability of the country, but also a physical step in the race for invincibility. For the second year in a row, PrivatBank has been the general partner of the Kyiv Unbroken Marathon, and this decision is conscious and strategic, not only in terms of social responsibility of business, but also as part of our corporate culture,” said Yevhen Zaigraiev, Member of the Management Board of PrivatBank.
Before the start of the main course – the marathon, a symbolic starting countdown and a shot were fired to honour all those who gave their lives and would never come to the starting line again. They are always in the first line.
The symbolic course of 100 metres was also covered by the military personnel undergoing rehabilitation at the NextStep and Protez Foundation centres. Together with his partner, soldier Dmitry Krasnovsky covered 42 kilometres in a wheelchair. Dmytro was severely injured and, as a result, suffered high amputations while defending us in the Kupyansk sector.
Rescue worker Andriy Grechanyi dedicated his marathon to his colleague Mykola Nechyporenko, whose death was a result of Russian aggression.
“People should remember our work and about the people who gave their lives to save others,” said Grechanyi.
Tatyana Sysoyenko ran the marathon with her 3-year-old son David, who completed his first marathon in a baby carriage.
“I was only thinking of doing it for half a day,” says Tatiana, “I had two race numbers: one is for the marathon and another one is for the half marathon. Today I ran 42 km. At night, my son had a fever and I thought it was a sign not to run. But in the morning I thought that the marathon is ran once a year, so I decided to participate.”
Runners from 35 countries joined the Kyiv marathon and ran here in Kyiv. For Latvian Samānta Gatis, the Kyiv marathon was her the 90th this year and the 128th overall.
“I came in order to run the marathon. I love it and have never run a marathon in Ukraine before. My goal is to run 100 marathons in 2024. I am very happy that Ukraine became the 40th country, where I ran a marathon,” Samantha shares her impressions of the race.
People have run the Kyiv marathon even in Antarctica. Ivanka Koturbash, who works at the Akademik Vernadsky station, ran her race online.
Mykola Davydenko became the winner of the national main marathon for the second time in a row. Maria Radko, who also won the Kaunas Marathon this year, was the fastest among women.
“The course was great because we ran into the city. There was good support from the fans and runners along the course, which is very cool. What was the most difficult part? As always, the 30th kilometre,” Mykola Davydenko commented on his triumph.
It is symbolic that the last finisher of the Kyiv Invictus Marathon 2024 was Emilie Merenmes from Finland. She crossed the finish line with the words: ‘I am running for Ukraine’.
Winners on the marathon course:
Men:
Mykola Davydenko – 2:27:43
Maksym Anenko – 2:31:14
Mykola Levchyk – 2:34:29
Women:
Mariia Radko – 2:56:12
Olena Simonok – 3:03:29
Olena Shevchenko – 3:03:43
Winners on the half marathon course:
Men:
Mykola Nyzhnyk – 1:08:49
Oleksii Pysarev – 1:09:21
Artur Shchipanovskyi – 1:11:08
Women:
Olha Nyzhnyk – 1:18:20
Diana Petruk – 1:28:11
Alina Kovalenko – 1:28:45
Organiser – Run Ukraine
General partner – PrivatBank
Sports partner – Under Armour
Charity partner – UNITED24
Reference:
PrivatBank is the largest state-owned bank in Ukraine. Today, the bank serves more than 18 million active customers, and 70% of Ukrainians use its services. The bank is a leader in the retail segment and actively introduces services for small and medium-sized businesses, has a strong digital ecosystem and an extensive network of branches, ATMs, self-service terminals, POS terminals throughout the country.
PrivatBank’s work is aimed at developing Ukraine’s economy, supporting Ukrainians and Ukrainian businesses even during the war. We take it and do it!
Run Ukraine is the organiser of the largest running events in Ukraine. Since 2010, the company has held more than 30 international competitions for running enthusiasts and sports enthusiasts. Run Ukraine’s mission is to organise top-level sporting events, inspire and motivate people to run.