Hundreds of female and male runners of various ages came to Kliczków Castle to face the challenges brought by this warm, stormy day. During the second edition of BoryRun in Kliczków, in addition to the half-marathon, the 10-kilometre race, 5-kilometre Nordic walking and children’s races, the organisers invited running enthusiasts to take on a full marathon at the royal distance of 42 km 195 m.
“The two uphill sections were demanding, but they gave you a chance to drop someone, because my tactic was to tire out my opponent,” said the winner of the BoryRun marathon Grzegorz Kużaj. “Although the route was fairly flat, the last uphill section on the second lap, probably at kilometre 38, was felt,” the winner added, praising the route for its shade and pleasant experience.
“Last year, we began the first event with a half-marathon,” says BoryRun co-organiser Kamil Barczyk, director of the district hospital in Bolesławiec. “In total, three institutions organise the event together: Kliczków Castle, the ‘Wspierajmy Zdrowie’ Foundation, and Andrzej Stefańczyk and Lady Blue Ceramics from Bolesławiec. It is excellent that we have managed to organise the event for the second time, and that it is becoming increasingly popular, because we doubled the number of participants. Around 600 adult runners and 140 children took part in the races. We have attractive prizes in kind for the runners, every competitor receives a starting package, and money from sponsors will also support the Bolesławiec district hospital,” Kamil Barczyk added.
The impressive number of people who took part in the BoryRun races spoke for itself. Running is a very good way to look after one’s health and foster integration. “BoryRun” is not just a race; it is a real adventure amid the picturesque Lower Silesian Wilderness. The running routes were carefully selected by experienced foresters, who enthusiastically showed participants the most beautiful corners of the forest. Every step during the race was a unique opportunity to discover the natural beauty of the region.
“The sunshine is not heat; it is warmth that causes the essential oils in the wilderness to be released,” said Jerzy Skarżynski, a Polish marathon runner and author of running guides, praising the event. “This is very pleasant for runners. The routes are wonderful, atmospheric and interesting; there is certainly no boredom during the race, nor fatigue from the monotony of the route. Physical activity, especially running, is one of the elements that are important for our health, just like healthy food and healthy rest. It is the third part of this puzzle. Therefore, we should be active, and running is the simplest form of activity, although it is by no means easy, because you need knowledge to run properly. That is why I wrote my book, my vade mecum, in which I describe all the elements that are important for running to be healthy. After all, we want it to be healthy, enjoyable and record-breaking,” added the author of the book “Running Through Life”.
Andrzej Stefańczyk, the originator of the BoryRun event, recalled how the marathon in the Lower Silesian Wilderness came to be organised.
“I have run more than a dozen marathons, earned the Crown of Polish Marathons and taken part in the world’s best-known marathon, the New York City Marathon. After running that marathon, as I was walking back through the streets of Central Park, I thought: why not organise such a race here?,” journalist Andrzej Stefańczyk said. “We have beautiful forests and lovely paths in them; I think they are even more beautiful than those in New York. We have the infrastructure, the people, everything that is needed; it was only a matter of organisation. After talking to the Castle’s director, who is also a fan of marathon running, the idea became an event. The Castle had just withdrawn from the equestrian competitions it had previously organised, and already had professionally mapped routes with cross-sections, all marked on maps. They only needed to be modified for runners so that they would be friendly to their legs and comfortable for running,” Stefańczyk added.
The director of Kliczków Castle confirmed that he liked the idea of organising the races very much.
“I still believe that the Lower Silesian Wilderness is an undiscovered corner of our country and province,” said Tomasz Kopyczyński at the event. “I am pleased that the second edition attracted more people. I hope that for many it will be a reason to return to us more and more often, not only for races, but also for walks, horse riding and recreation. Kliczków Castle used to organise sporting equestrian rallies that made us famous throughout Europe; we organised European and Polish championships, and now we have switched to running, because this is a place for runners, riders, cyclists and walkers,” the director added.
BoryRun participants were pleasantly surprised by the number of prizes, while the organisers were surprised by the number of sponsors who contacted them themselves. The best runners received special cups, designed this year by ceramics producer Paulina Stefańczyk (Lady Blue Ceramics), the owner of the youngest ceramics company in Bolesławiec. In addition to the cups, there were special medals for marathon participants and wooden engraved medals for children. Toyota Polska funded a bicycle, which was raffled among the competitors.
One of the event’s undeniable attractions was the warm-up for the female and male competitors led by Bolesławiec native and bodybuilder Jolanta Anasiewicz.