Rimi Riga Marathon 2022 is dedicated to Ukraine
22 March 2022With a slogan of “Together!”, this year’s Rimi Riga Marathon will be dedicated to Ukraine. On May 15th, participants from around the world will be united in a run to support Ukraine. The significant public sporting event, which will attract the highest number of runners since the pandemic, will involve more than ten thousand participants from Latvia, the Baltics and elsewhere. In solidarity with Ukraine, beloved musicians and choirs from Latvia and Ukraine will perform on the 11 November Embankment and at the Freedom Monument, while the income from the 6 km race, which will be themed this year with Ukrainian colours, will be donated to support Ukraine.
We have made sure that the participation in the 6 km distance is free of charge for all Ukrainian runners, while the participation of the Ukrainian children in the event, regardless of the chosen distance, will be completely free.
The marathon in May will also be the first significant step toward the World Road Running Championships, which will take place in Riga in 2023. This year we are offering marathon, half marathon and DPD Mile runners the exclusive chance to run the intended World Championship courses created for the Riga event.
Finally, in collaboration with Neste, we have begun work on a sustainability programme called Run for Future by Neste, as part of which the Rimi Riga Marathon will implement a range of initiatives over the next few years aimed at increasing the sustainability of the largest public sporting event in the Baltics.
This year, the Rimi Riga Marathon will be returning to its traditional May dates for the first time since 2019 and will gather more than ten thousand participants from 57 countries.
It is important for Riga that the biggest events in the city also show a clear position of support for Ukraine. It is particularly important that the marathon this year will be an event that promotes the integration of society and the inclusion of Ukrainian refugees in our society, as it is planned to specifically invite the children of asylum seekers, who will be provided with free participation. Rimi Riga Marathon has historically been a bright highlight of Riga, an event of the highest level of sports, healthy lifestyle and marathon tourism. Running lovers from all over the world are invited to run in Riga, except the aggressor countries Russia and Belarus.”
Mārtiņš Staķis
Mayor of Riga
Although it seems impossible to think about mass sports events during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we have decided to show our support position and run while dedicating the 2022 Rimi Riga Marathon to our friends in Ukraine. In solidarity with Ukraine, beloved Latvian and Ukrainian musicians will perform throughout the city during the marathon, while the income from the 6 km race, which will use the symbolic colours of Ukraine, will be donated to support Ukraine. We hope that this year’s marathon will give Ukrainians — for whom Riga has become one of the most popular marathon tourism destinations — and all of us encouragement in the fight against Russian aggression.
Aigars Nords
Race Director of Rimi Riga Marathon
We encourage all corporate leaders to get involved and take part in this year’s Rimi Riga Marathon on an occasion of togetherness and support for Ukraine. For the 2022 Rimi Riga Marathon, we have already managed to sign up a record number of Rimi employees, and we hope that by May we will have one of the largest teams at the event.
Valdis Turlais
Rimi Chairman of the Board
The Rimi Riga Marathon programme, which has been put together in solidarity with Ukraine, will be available not only to event participants but also to all inhabitants and visitors of Riga. The 11 November Embankment — the Rimi Riga Marathon start and finish zone — will host performances by beloved artists from Latvia and Ukraine.
OUR NEW 2022 COURSES: THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN RIGA
Although the Rimi Riga Marathon’s post-pandemic return to the international sporting calendar is in the shadow of the war, the Rimi Riga Marathon is taking a step this year towards a unique event: the 2023 World Running Championships in Riga, the rights to which were won in a tight competition against several world metropolises.
Participants in all this year’s races will run on new certified courses, but those participating in the half marathon, marathon and DPD Mile will be particularly privileged this year. We have worked to ensure that all the runners of the aforementioned distances will be able to run the intended World Road Running Championship courses this year.
The new half marathon course has been purposefully mapped to show off Riga in all its glory, where a single loop will take in the Akmens and Vanšu bridges, the charms of the Pārdaugava and Dzegūžkalns neighbourhoods, a panorama of Riga’s Old Town, the grandness of the Quiet Centre, the Freedom Monument and Freedom Boulevard, and the new Riga features of the Skanste neighbourhood.
The World Road Running Championship courses have been created in collaboration with Maurice Winterman, one of the world’s leading course measurers who has been involved in creating the courses for Eliud Kipchoge’s Breaking2 project, the Doha World Championships, and other internationally significant races.
RUN FOR FUTURE BY NESTE SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMME
In this challenging time, we are talking and thinking a lot about what is really important. Support, empathy and togetherness have taken on a new meaning. This includes the realms of sustainability and energy independence. We at Neste, one of the most sustainable brands in the world, have launched an important sustainability programme this year with the Rimi Riga Marathon: Run for Future by Neste. Its aim is to make the largest public sporting event in the Baltics also the most sustainable. As part of the project, we will implement a range of initiatives over the coming years, and after researching the environmental impact of the marathon and calculating its carbon footprint, we will gradually introduce updates to the entire marathon organisation process. This year we will already be launching some improvements to make the marathon one of the leading events for new sustainability initiatives.
Armands Beiziķis
Neste Latvija Chairman of the Board