For Ukrainian Runners, a Brutal Race Made Sense When Little Else Did

Ramina Dadasheva, 37, tried to ignore the air raid sirens. A run always relieved her stress. Now, it created it. In Stryiskyi Park near her home, a missile flew overhead and exploded into a residential building in front of her. As she sprinted home, all she could think of was her two children.

In Odesa, Dmytro Voytko, 47, sat in his running clothes at home. “It felt dangerous to even go to a grocery or drugstore,” he said. “I saw a rocket in the air hit the airport.” Still, he didn’t give up on his training. He would wait for the air raid sirens to stop, then dart out to run.

They would all join the team. But Nikolaienko, the team’s organizer, wouldn’t be there after all. Twice, Russians soldiers came to her parents’ home in Kherson, a port city in Ukraine occupied since March. The second time, they arrived with long guns in dark-colored cars, and her father was taken. He was released, but the war was relentless. The bombs and stress exacerbated her husband’s epilepsy, and the mother of two injured her Achilles’ heel. Nikolaienko pulled out three weeks before the race but continued to manage the team.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/23/sports/backyard-ultra-ukraine.html