CINCINNATI — Two men from Ukraine are in Cincinnati to run the Flying Pig Marathon. To them, this race is about more than just getting a fast time.
“I served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces for about 10 years and then a sergeant of the paratroopers,” said Maksym Pasichnyk through a translator.
He fought in Ukraine during the early days of the war against Russia.
“No food, no water, no support,” he said. “For 12 days, we were surrounded by the enemy.”
During those 12 days, he walked more than 120 kilometers, worsening an injury to his legs. He was forced to resign from the army.
“They told me, ‘You would never be able to walk again,’” he said. “’In the future, you will be wheelchair-bound.’”
Pasichnyk kept pushing and training. Now, he’s set to run his first marathon: Cincinnati’s Flying Pig.
Ukrainian Ironman Vadym Kovalenko will run alongside him.
“I have a very close relationship with our sister city friends here,” Kovalenko said. “Every time I come here I feel absolutely at home. I feel surrounded by friends.”
This will be Kovalenko’s second Flying Pig.
Both men are raising money to support rehabilitation and PTSD services for soldiers and veterans in Ukraine.
“We do understand that a lot of them have physical and mental issues and nobody is really taken care of helping them rehabilitate,” Kovalenko said.
The men were greeted by city and community leaders in Cincinnati Thursday.
“It further brings us together in another way and another form, and new people into the Cincinnati/Kharkiv sister city experience,” said Bob Herring, Chair of the Cincinnati-Kharkiv Sister City Partnership.
Both men hope their race is a reminder that the war in Ukraine is not over.
“He is committed to run a marathon here to show how strong we are,” said Oksana Sergeenkova, with the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, Branch 144. “We are unbreakable.”
“I see myself as a role model,” Pasichnyk said. “As an example for those people who lost faith in themselves.”
You can donate to their efforts here.
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