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Wild Race in Kyiv Brings Together Soldiers, Athletes, and Civilians for Extreme Obstacle Challenge

Wild Race in Kyiv Brings Together Soldiers, Athletes, and Civilians for Extreme Obstacle Challenge

On November 8, Venice Island in Kyiv hosted the “Wild Race,” an event that gathered service members, professional athletes, and amateur runners.

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Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko
Dariia Mykhailenko
News Writer

The competition combined trail running with obstacle challenges, testing participants’ physical resilience and teamwork.

Runners competed across multiple formats and distances, including 200 meters, 1.6 km, and 5 km with obstacles. Individual, pair, and team categories were held, alongside a dedicated start for non-commissioned officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

“The ‘Wild Race’ is a very large-scale and very wonderful event. Its features are that once every six months, service members take part in it. It has already become a tradition for teams of senior sergeants from different service branches and brigades to participate. They clearly demonstrate our motto ‘Follow me, do as I do,’ directly showing an example of how a sergeant should behave and lead people,” noted Chief Sergeant of the AFU Oleksandr Kosynskyi.

A competitor crawls under low ropes while gripping a sandbag, pushing through sandy terrain. (Source: Wild Race press office)
A competitor crawls under low ropes while gripping a sandbag, pushing through sandy terrain. (Source: Wild Race press office)
Military personnel gather at the starting area of the “Wild Race.” (Source: Wild Race press office)
Military personnel gather at the starting area of the “Wild Race.” (Source: Wild Race press office)

Symbolically, on the Day of the Air Assault Forces, first place went to the Air Assault Forces team, which will receive a pickup truck for operational needs. Second place was awarded to the National Guard’s “Khartia” unit, granted $5,000 for its subdivision. Third place went to the 30th Mechanized Brigade, which will receive around $4,000.

“We trained, last time we were second, but this time we came to win. So we demonstrated results, and everyone was satisfied. It’s not always possible to fully train during service, but we tried to gather as a team as much as possible to maintain cohesion and endurance,” said Volodymyr Boiko, officer of the 199th Training Center and member of the Air Assault Forces team.

A participant climbs the obstacle wall during the race. (Source: Wild Race press office)
A participant climbs the obstacle wall during the race. (Source: Wild Race press office)
A participant carries a heavy sandbag through an obstacle zone during the “Wild Race” in Kyiv. (Source: Wild Race press office)
A participant carries a heavy sandbag through an obstacle zone during the “Wild Race” in Kyiv. (Source: Wild Race press office)

The ceremony concluded with an emotional moment: on stage, a member of the winning Air Assault Forces team proposed to his partner.

The event was organized by the NGO Wild Race, the 93rd and 33rd Mechanized Brigades, and CAS, with support from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the AFU NCO Corps.

The members of the “Wild Race.” (Source: Wild Race press office)
The members of the “Wild Race.” (Source: Wild Race press office)

“The meaning of all these competitions is unity. Unity across Ukraine, unity of civilians, unity of the military, and unity between civilians and the military. The ‘Wild Race’ has existed for eight years, but three years ago the idea emerged to involve the military… Today, we have scaled to the point that we now hold the ‘Wild Race’ separately, and also ‘Wild Drones,’ in which only the military participate. This provides experience, adrenaline, relief, and powerful emotions, and every service member who is here leaves incredibly energized,” said co-organizer and officer of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade Yurii Pakhomov.

“The most important thing is to show the true face of our army — motivated, energized, athletic, and moving toward our goal,” added organizer and serviceman of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade Ruslan Klymenko.

Earlier, during a Ukrainian Premier League match at Kyiv’s Valeriy Lobanovskyi Stadium, children who had been returned from Russian deportation or freed from temporarily occupied regions accompanied the Dynamo Kyiv players as they entered the field.

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