The marathon we were meant to run on Sunday 11 October is called the ‘Kyiv Unbroken Marathon’ because it has taken place every year despite the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, writes Paul Hogan*.
But with a ban on any large gathering due to the increased air raids, even the many veterans and serving heroes who take part have had to concede to a move to 300km westward to Khmelnytskyi … but not #KickCancerThon (the travel retail cancer research fundraising campaign created by the late Sinead Moodie)!
My son Max and I are still travelling to Kyiv this weekend to join friends from STRAVA – including several brave serving defenders – to run our own marathon distance themed ‘#KickCancerThon’s Putin Can’t Stop Our Kyiv Marathon But We Can Stop Child Cancer’.
The child cancer sufferers of Ukraine are the uncounted among the many victims of war. We have total solidarity with Ukraine and this cause on every level.
We lost our own sister and daughter Brontë ‘Bron’ Hogan (1998-2011) to this illness, and we are also running in the memory of our comrade Sinead Moodie (1985-2026), and for the #KickCancerThon campaign she founded.
We will carry their names on our running shirts with total pride and they will be joined by an honour roll of others – some loved and lost, some still fighting a struggle: Linda Hopkins, Thom Rankin, Lucy Rayner, Malcolm Gray, Joe Miranda … and an eight-year-old boy called Ivan, pictured above.
Ivan is being treated for blood cancer at Okhmatdyt, the main children’s hospital in Kyiv – but his family lives close to a large thermal power plant that is frequently targeted in Russian attacks. His mother, Maryna, says they are frightened, even at the hospital which should rightly be protected by international convention.
Ivan is the same age as Bron was when she was diagnosed with leukaemia. Our lives stopped that day and never properly restarted, but it’s a grotesque fact to admit that in a twisted way we were lucky: we didn’t have to fight Putin’s war at the same time – a war which regularly targets Ukraine’s precious children’s hospitals among all the other war crimes we are all too familiar with.
As if having a child suffering from blood cancer was not bad enough, Maryna says: “We can’t remember the last time we slept through the night because of the constant missile attacks.”
100% of the money we raise – currently just over US$10,000 – will go to Tabletochki, Ukraine’s biggest child cancer charity, which is doing massive and brave work literally under fire:
- Supporting 400 children battling cancer every single month.
- Funding 12 major cancer hospitals nationwide.
- Elevating the care of over 20,000 children annually.
Tabletochki’s incredible people tirelessly work on for the cause despite suffering constant air raids on their family homes and worrying about loved ones fighting the war. These people are saints!
Sekonda is lead sponsor
Our verrrrry (!) generous lead sponsor is Sekonda and I am honoured and privileged to be road-testing the brand-new Sekonda Smart Ring, launched to the global travel retail world just last week in Cannes at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference.
It will not only tell me all my metrics in the marathon, but also track my sleep quality, stress and recovery. You can pay anything upwards of US$400-500 for a Smart Ring, but Sekonda’s costs an instantly affordable US$85 in duty free. I have been wearing mine 24/7 for a month and loving it. Get one at a GTR shop near you.
We never just ask for money. We will be using and championing the great produce of Sekonda and all our other sponsors in our #KickCancerThon Kyiv Marathon:
- Links Snacks – Jack Links’ Mr Beast Beef Jerky is once again the #KickCancerThon Kyiv Marathon official protein snack (following our #KickCancerThon 52km Ultra Marathon in February).
- Travel Blue is the supplier of the official travel neck pillows – much appreciated on our 24-hour plane-train-auto London-Kyiv transfer.
- Cavendish & Harvey – You cannot run a marathon distance without refuelling and we will achieve this with the traditional confectioner’s brand-new Fizzy Fruit Drops and Fruit Fusion Mini Drops (in Passionfruit & Raspberry and Pineapple & Mango – what an epic cure for ‘marathoners’ leather tongue syndrome’).
- Al Nassma – As far as we are aware we will be the first sporting team anywhere on earth to have an official camel milk chocolate. We love it and will happily take selfies devouring our camel milk chocolate-coated SAMHA dates on the blessed streets of Kyiv.
In a letter I received while at Cannes, Tabletochki CEO Viacheslav Bykov said: “This solidarity from abroad means a great deal to us. I am grateful to you, to Sekonda and all the others for supporting your initiative.
“Thank you for bringing the stories of Ukrainian children to an international audience and for reminding people that, even from thousands of kilometres away, it is possible to stand by a child through cancer. I warmly encourage others to join you by supporting your fundraising campaign through JustGiving.”
Bizarrely Ukraine was truly my first-ever overseas trip when I was a penniless 19-year-old student in 1981. It was love at first sight.
You can write your own messages of love for Ivan and all the children fighting war and cancer in Ukraine just for the price of buying us a (non-alcoholic) pint.
Trust me – your love and support will mean everything to these kids and their families. Just search for Paul Hogan on JustGiving.com or use this link. ✈
*Paul Hogan is Publisher of The TFWA Dailies. To send him a message of support, please email Paul@pps-publications.com
