The 50th Marine Corps Marathon is just days away, and here at WTOP, we are highlighting some of the inspiring people who are running to that start line.
Many of the runners in the Marine Corps Marathon are active duty military and U.S. veterans. But one group joining the people’s marathon Sunday is made up of active duty military on the frontlines of a war that has been raging for the past three years.
“It’s very important for our military who are involved in the Combat Action to switch off the brain for certain time,” said retired Ukrainian Maj. Gen. Volodymyr Havrylov.
Havrylov served as a Deputy Defense Minister during the initial invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022.
Havrylov told WTOP he has been taking wounded veterans, many of whom with amputated limbs, to run the Marine Corps Marathon’s 10k race for nearly a decade. But that race is not available this year.
“We decided to take wounded active-duty military from Ukraine, who are in more or less good physical condition, to take part in this competition,” Havrylov told WTOP.
The seven soldiers were chosen by their commanders as being in need of some relaxation away from the grind of war.
The group, sponsored by United Help Ukraine, will join Havrylov in the race. Initially, eight were planned to join.
“We lost one in action,” Havrylov said. “We will commemorate him during this race; it’s just an inevitable dark side of our war.”
Havrylov said the soldiers who are fighting this technologically advanced war on the frontlines need time to take off mentally and handle their stress through sport.
“Running is a very positive from mental point of view, recovery,” he said. “That’s why our guys who are coming here, they are very enthusiastic about just a new emotion they are expecting to receive, about new relationship they are going to receive from supporting groups here in Washington D.C.”
When Havrylov first began bringing soldiers to the race in 2016, very few Americans were aware of the conflict in the eastern region of Ukraine, “People were asking, ‘What are you doing here?’”
“Now, if we have our military or veterans running in this marathon,” Havrylov said. “Inevitably, somebody will come closer to encourage him, to thank him for his service, to support him emotionally.”
Supporters from the U.S. will not be the only ones cheering for these Ukrainian soldiers. Several severely wounded men from the frontline of Ukraine who are being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, will make the short trip to encourage their countrymen across the finish line as well.
The Marine Corps Marathon kicks off this Sunday.
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