HONORING UKRAINIAN HEROES THROUGH ACTION

On April 13, exactly ten years after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, more than 800 participants gathered in Irpin for the international Marathon for Heroes.

The run brought togeth­er mil­i­tary per­son­nel, vet­er­ans, ath­letes, pub­lic offi­cials, adults, and chil­dren. Every step was tak­en in trib­ute to Ukraine’s defend­ers, both those cur­rent­ly serv­ing on the front lines and those who gave their lives for the coun­try.

The choice of loca­tion was deeply sym­bol­ic. Irpin, a town that endured the full force of Russia’s inva­sion in 2022, has become a glob­al sym­bol of resilience and resis­tance. To run there, on this day, car­ried a weight of remem­brance that words alone can­not express.

This pow­er­ful event was part of a glob­al ini­tia­tive, with 34,000 peo­ple reg­is­ter­ing around the world. It turned per­son­al ded­i­ca­tion into a shared mes­sage of sol­i­dar­i­ty, courage, and remem­brance.

The Ath­letes for Free­dom Foun­da­tion was proud to be one of the event’s spon­sors. AFF rep­re­sen­ta­tives took part in the run, stand­ing along­side par­tic­i­pants from across Ukraine and beyond to hon­or the spir­it of free­dom and the cost of defend­ing it.

At AFF, we believe sport is more than com­pe­ti­tion. It is a way to con­nect, to remem­ber, and to speak up. The Heroes’ Marathon is a pow­er­ful reminder of how phys­i­cal action can car­ry pro­found meaning—especially when it hon­ors those who gave every­thing.