Marathon No One Wants To Run

Team: Idea and implementation: Nova Poshta Olena Plakhova, Reputation Management & Marketing Chief, Nova Poshta Leona Krasnenkova, Head of the Communication Projects Department, Nova Poshta Implementation and communication: Gres Todorchuk Production: mlnk.team Photo: Alexander Chekmenyov Design: Olga Levchuk Website development: Alina Khomenko, Yaroslav Pylypyuk Translation and editing: Philip Ivlev-Yorke, Elena Konkova

With each year, marathons gain greater and greater popularity. The TCS New York City Marathon is among the most prominent events, attracting tens of thousands of runners from across the world annually and receiving extensive media coverage. Not all events garner similar levels of attention, however. It has been seven years since russia occupied Crimea and launched its war in Eastern Ukraine. Even before the war in 2022 russia had de facto partly occupied two Ukrainian regions, a territory of over 6,000 sq mi, forcing over 1,5 million people to flee their homes, and 3 million to seek humanitarian assistance on a daily basis. For the Ukrainian people, this is an everyday run to survive with no finish line in sight. Without any support, it's a grueling task. This is why Nova Poshta decided to launch their own Marathon in New York — in a small Ukrainian village also named New York, located in the Donetsk region, less than a mile from the front line. A marathon that aimd to remind the world that the war waged by russia in Ukraine was ongoing, and to potentially get support from hundreds of thousands of people. For the marathon's first five runners, this war is by now an inseparable part of daily life. А soldier, a volunteer, an combat medic, a war correspondent, and an IDP (internally displaced person). They urged the world to join them on their run. To support Ukraine, Nova Poshta called upon all those interested to register for the The Marathon in New York No One Wants to Run by visiting marathonnoonewantstorun.org/en.  The Marathon in New York No One Wants to Run had no time limit. Anyone could run any distance, anywhere, anytime! Every person who registered received a marathon "starter pack". It included a collection of facts about the war. In addition, a marathon medal with an inlaid piece of bullet shell from Eastern Ukraine was offered as a token of appreciation to every participant who helps Ukrainians reach the finish line and feel that they are not running this marathon alone.  The project received over 35 000 registrations from 57 countries in the world, including  Germany, USA, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, Canada, Sweden, Lithuania, Morocco, Austria, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Slovenia, Indonesia and others.