The local-government officials have planned an athletic weekend for us. As part of the “Poland Runs” campaign in Bolesławiec, on Saturday we will be able to take a RUN with the County, while on Sunday we can run in the European Street Races, organized by the city.
The county event is for ambitious runners. One hundred and two kilometers through the Lower Silesian Forests in a relay. Almost ten hours of running through six municipalities. In keeping with the motto: even when we run, we promote the county. The county is “dating” entrepreneurs. Bigger ones every year. Last year, the run set off from a local restaurant; this year, the county runners will start outside the new Bolesławiec City Center shopping mall.
The city run starts, as always, outside the Town Hall. The main route is ten times shorter. There are also several other routes, following the principle that there should be something shorter for everyone. For example, preschoolers and mothers have 300 meters to cover, while older children run 600 meters.
Two races in the city event seem intriguing. The first is the VIP race. I wonder who will run in it? And will the VIP run, or sit on the back of someone who is running, or perhaps will it be a race with VIPs carried in sedan chairs? The second is the “Fastest Company – Bolesławiec Business Run.” As some people see it, private companies are fleeing Bolesławiec. Maybe this race is some kind of ploy to make the companies’ escape loop back on itself? Or perhaps they are merely working out at the Town Hall how quickly businesspeople can flee? And would there be anyone at the office who runs faster and could catch such a fugitive?
The county and city runs seem extremely attractive. Although the city event has shorter routes, it will be more visible. Runners will run around Bolesławiec in circles. The county run is organized on a grand scale, but once the runners enter the forests, few county residents will see them, and consequently many may not notice the event at all.
The question, however, is: why don’t the competitors run together? The county and the city do not run together for the sake of health. The fans’ mental health and the runners’ physical health.
Let us imagine that, in joint races, the mayor and the county head, the deputy county head and the deputy mayor, the director of MDK and the female director of BOK-MCC, or the heads of the education or promotion departments, compete against one another. And let us imagine that the competitors run into some bend where nobody can see them. Who emerges from that dead end, and who remains there, no longer fit to take part in any sport?
It is frightening to think about such a race scenario. Instead, rather than one aggressive event in the spirit of “The Hunger Games,” we have two days of running in peace and complete self-acceptance.
Grażyna Hanaf