Helpers charity run – completed!

Helping is one of the core values at Helpers besides living a productive and healthy life. This is why Helpers organized their first biking charity last year, where we rode around Lake Velence in an attempt to raise funds for Suhanj! – Achilles Hungary, to make it possible for two blind and a disabled athlete to participate in the New York Marathon. This year we took on a running challenge to support not one, but two great causes.

The causes

The charity run was organized by the LÁSS association for sports for people with visual impairment. They regularly arrange activities for the blind or partially sighted, and now they invited everyone to support their work by joining a charity run alongside visually impaired runners. The date of the event was selected to be December 6, as this is the day of Santa Clause in Hungary, who is called “Mikulás” – that’s why the event is named “MikuLÁSS Charity Run”.

In this event, Helpers supported not only the LÁSS association, but also the BAGázs Foundation, who are working for the social integration of the Romani. The latter association wanted to participate in the event with a group of children, and Helpers provided the means to do so by paying the entry fee, and also arranging for them to get to Budapest and then home to the village of Bag again.

Preparations

During the preceding days and weeks, everyone was making preparations – with baking cookies, drawing maps, and, of course, by training for the run, both mentally and physically. Sunday arrived a bit gloomy, but this could not keep us from the contest. Thanks to the organizers of the MikuLÁSS Run, the Helpers Team and BAGázs Foundation had a tent they could use as their headquarters. Runners could leave their winter jackets here – as who would want to run in a heavy coat? Helpers brought refreshments as well – water, juice, fruits, and lots of cookies. We also got our Helpers–BAGázs sweatshirts here, which not only looked cool, but made it immensely easier to find each other in the crowd.

Ready … Set … Go!

On arrival, each participant received a Santa hat in their race kit, alongside a small bell. The bell was not only there for the sake of decoration, but also to let the jingles make visually impaired runners aware of the presence of fellow runners. After a short but fun warm-up, participants lined up for the start, waiting excitedly for the countdown. The judge gave the sign, and runners were lead around the field to do the first mini-lap. The smallest and youngest ran only this 400 m, after which the older and braver runners left the field to start their lap around the island, which was about 5.3 km long. The bravest undertook running not only one lap, but two, completing a 10.6 km run.

While waiting for the Helpers and BAGázs runners to finish their laps, those remaining by the tents could participate in the activities offered by LÁSS. Since LÁSS regularly arranges sports activities for the visually impaired, now they provided seers the chance to experience what it is like to be blind. Blindfolded, seers could complete a 400 m lap around the field with the help of a guide, or find their way through a maze with a white cane.

At the finish line

It took some time until everyone completed their laps, but in the end all participants finished safe – and hungry. Luckily, the tent was waiting full of refreshments (and hot pizza delivered by one of our managing directors), so the runners were able to get something to drink and eat. Helpers also made it possible for runners to get a free coffee at the excellent Barako café nearby, which serves Filipino coffee in the heart of Buda. In the cold, the prospect of hot coffee was very attractive to many runners.

Apart from being able to pat themselves on the back, all finishers got rewards from the organizers, which included some healthy, fresh fruits and interesting magazines as well as a wooden Santa medal with engravings in braille. The kids from BAGázs also received another prize: Pagony, a publisher of children’s literature offered them some fascinating books.

A great day we shared

By the end of the event, we were all exhausted, but happy and content. No one had to go home empty handed, and runners could also be really proud of their achievement. It was a fun day, with a lot of new experience for both the BAGázs and the Helpers Team.

If you were there: thank you for cheering for us! If you weren’t, but supported LÁSS with your registration and donating the entry fee: you have invested into the future of some great young athletes, for which we and they are really grateful. So thank you!

If you missed the event last week, we hope you will be able to join us next time! There will surely be a next time, as we will go on participating in similar events, for promoting health and social awareness. Until then, you may check out our Facebook album to see what a great day we shared.

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