The Sofia24run charity initiative in support of Bulgarian Paralympic athletes will be held on the Day of Sofia- September 17. The event coincides with the Paralympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro and with the European Week of Sport. Magdalena Hristova is a member of the team who organizes the charity event. She is an athlete and currently bears the record of the indoors long jump discipline. She has a series of podiums from international and European competitions.

“The event is in fact a twenty four hour baton race which will be held at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. All participants will be divided in teams and each team will be given one baton only. The members of a given team can run for as long as they like and their teammates have to wait in the meantime. The main purpose of the initiative is to help the Bulgarian Paralympic athletes. All participants will contribute to the charity cause no matter if they make one or a hundred laps, because our contributors and sponsors are paying 1 Lev (50 Eurocents) per lap.”

Those who wish to take part at the marathon race are advised to file their applications at sofia24run.com. The official opening of the event will be held at 2 pm, but people are welcome to join the race at any time of the day. Magdalena Hristova told Radio Bulgaria details about the inspiration and the motivation of the people behind Sofia 24run initiative:

“Part of the Bulgarian Paralympic Association is located at the National Stadium Vasil Levski. The athletes from our sports club exercise with those people. We know one another well and are aware of the conditions they exercise in. That is why we decided to help them and launched that charity initiative. We want to make something different, in order to attract participants and raise enough money for the cause. We also wanted to challenge the participants to demonstrate their strong will. A donation corner will be also launched at the National Stadium. People who join the charity event will receive a T-shirt or other souvenirs.”

The organizers of Sofia24run want to turn their initiative into an annual event. Thus, Bulgaria's Paralympic athletes can rely on enough help, Magdalena Hristova contends.

“When we started to organize the charity campaign, we met with the Bulgarian Paralympic athletes. They gave us a list with the things they need the most such as special fitness equipment and facilities, because many of them are disadvantaged and have specific requirements. They also asked us for other things they would need for their exercises such as outfits, etc. Their sports hall must also go under serious reconstruction and renovation. That is why we are to invest all money raised during the charity event in those facilities. ”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov