From Chisinau to Bucharest on foot – this is the challenge undertaken by the participants in the RUBICON 2024 ultramarathon that was kicked off on Friday in the Great National Assembly Square. The running race is held in cross-border regime for the first time. The participants will run about 500 kilometers through Chisinau, ATU Gagauzia and four districts of the Republic of Moldova. The competition will continue via five counties in Romania and will end in Bucharest on March 24, IPN reports.
“We are here today to recognize and appreciate your courage and determination. We are here to celebrate sport and health. I know that every step you take on this long distance is due to your inner strength. I know that each of you probably has an own reason for undertaking this challenge, but there is also a common reason – to shorten the distance from Chisinau to Bucharest, to bring the Republic of Moldova closer to Romania, to strengthen peace, friendship and solidarity,” President Maia Sandu said in her speech in support of the contenders.
The official expressed her confidence that all the participants trust their own forces. “This is also what I want for our country – to trust the own forces, to move forward together, despite the obstacles, to become part of the big European family because we are all united by our love for the country, by our desire to ensure peace, freedom and well-being,” stated President Sandu.
Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun wished the runners an easy race and specified that employees of the Ministry also participate in the marathon. “You have all our respect and appreciation. You are a source of inspiration for embarking on this challenge. We hope very much to see you again in Chisinau, with beautiful results,” said the minister.
“Today, from the heart of Moldova, the Triumphal Arch, we start the race of heroes, RUBICON 2024 Chisinau – Bucharest. Let’s have light feet and make a good start,” said Maxim Zorkin, one of the organizers of the event, encouraging the participants.
RUBICON 2024 encourages an active and healthy lifestyle, but is also an opportunity to discover the unique landscapes and cultural richness of the crossed regions. The participants become ambassadors of friendship between Romania and the Republic of Moldova and, through their example, will send a strong message of openness and solidarity, said the president of the Romanian National Agency for Sports Elisabeta Lipă, who was quoted in a press release of the organizers of the competition.
The group of runners will enter Romania through the Oancea border crossing point. The participants will carry water and food, running both day and night. It is estimated that the entire route will be covered in about 52 hours. A bus provided by the organizers will accompany the athletes throughout the event. The winner of RUBICON 2024 will receive, in addition to the cup, a special shield to place all the badges of the won stages.
The planned route is 478 kilometers long and will pass through Ialoveni, Cimișlia, Taraclia, Gagauzia, and Cahul and also the Romanian counties Galați, Brăila, Buzău, Ialomița, and Ilfov, but also Bucharest, each area corresponding to at least one and maximum ten stages of the 46 stages of the race.
