Olympian, World Heritage sites and 1-mile run in local penitentiary just a few of Romania’s European Mile highlights

Romanian National Coordinator Association Sport for All Suceava, together with local, national and international partners, organised 12 activities in various regions of Romania but also in the Republic of Moldova to celebrate the European Mile on 1-6 June. The target groups were diverse: students from various schools, gymnasiums, sports, military or Gendarmerie High Schools, performance athletes from elite clubs, people imprisoned in the local penitentiary, as well as the general public who wanted to participate in activities.

We can make a special note of four activities that took place during the week:

The first was held in Suceava on 1 June. In addition to the 1-mile run for young students and athletes from various clubs in the Suceava region, we organised a fair of sports values inviting elite athletes to come and present to the young athletes and their parents the medals, trophies and diplomas they won during their sports careers. The most famous sports athlete was Cristina Casandra, multiple champion national, European and world in 3000m hurdles, 4th place at the Beijing Olympic Games.

The second took place in the Botoșani Penitentiary, where both the detainees from the open regime but also employees of the Social Reintegration Service participated in a 1-mile run.

The third was held on 5 June for the benefit of Save the Children and included running a 40 km route through the forest and mountains on the Via Transilvanica route. The running was done by endurance athletes, starting from Putna Monastery and arriving at Moldovita. Both monasteries are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The fourth was the DOGS Mile, an event held in Chisinau, Moldova with the help of the National Records Agency and EcoPro. The activity included the 1-mile journey for the owners and the dogs.

All events had visibility in the media, and were supported by local volunteers and sponsors.

Did you know the first European Mile event in Romania was actually held in April? Read about it here.