Scandal at the Run Organized in Part by Fundacja Wspierajmy Zdrowie

Bolesławiec Run, an event co-organized by MOSiR Bolesławiec and Fundacja Wspierajmy Zdrowie, ended not only with sporting excitement but also with serious confusion surrounding prizes and the awards ceremony.

According to participants, the problem concerned how the top athletes were classified in the open and age categories. The runners say that the top three in the open classification were automatically omitted from the age categories, even though the organizers—as the athletes report—were not supposed to award the open classification, but only the age categories.

In practice, this could mean that the people with the best results did not receive prizes that went to athletes ranked lower but moved into first place in their age categories.

Klaudia Petters described the situation as follows:

The problem is that the organizers said they would not award the open categories and would award only the age categories. And the system automatically removes the top three in the open category because prizes usually are not duplicated.

The runner points out that in this case the rule led to an absurd situation:

The top three were removed, and categories are being awarded where there simply is no top three, because they did not take us into account. They removed everyone in every category from the outset.

As Klaudia Petters reports, the matter is all the more significant because the prizes were of considerable value.

Scooters were awarded for first place in the category. Let us be clear, that is substantial value.

And she adds:

It may be that someone who was, for example, fourth and finished first in the age category will receive a better prize.

A similar problem is described by Ewelina Michnowicz. According to her, the timing system overlooked the best men and women in the open classification in the 10 km and 21 km races.

The timing system overlooked the top three men and women in the open classification over ten and twenty-one kilometers. They treated us as if we had not run at all.

The runner emphasizes that the people with better results did not receive prizes that went to other participants in the age categories.

In the age categories, first-place finishers received scooters, while we in the open classification, where we were faster than them, received nothing. I have never encountered a situation like this before.

Ewelina Michnowicz also speaks about feeling that she was treated unfairly after the race:

I understand that mistakes can happen, but what happened today is too much.

And she adds:

I feel wronged because in the age category every woman received a scooter for first place. So it turns out that I should have slowed down, not taken third place in the open classification, but first place in the category. I would have received a scooter and gone home.

The conclusion of her statement is particularly forceful:

I gave it everything I had to take third place, and it turns out that was a mistake. Perhaps sometimes you have to slow down, calculate and play the game.

According to the runners, the organizers assured them that the matter would be resolved somehow and that alternative prizes would be prepared. For now, however, as the runners say, the incident has left a bad taste.

Damian Sawczak i Jolanta Sawczak z Fundacji Wspierajmy Zdrowie • Photo author: istotne.pl

Speaking on behalf of the organizers, Damian Sawczak later assured participants from the stage that the error had been corrected and everyone would receive prizes.

Bolesławiec Run took place on Sunday, May 17. The event was organized by MOSiR Bolesławiec and Fundacja Wspierajmy Zdrowie. The event included, among other races, 5 km, 10 km and half-marathon runs.

Bolesławiec Run 2026 – podium

5 km

Source: B4Sport, 5 km classification. (wyniki.b4sport.pl)

10 km

Source: B4Sport, 10 km classification. (wyniki.b4sport.pl)

Half-marathon

Source: B4Sport, half-marathon classification. (wyniki.b4sport.pl)