Before leaving Hluhiv we visit a museum of the city’s history from the birth of the earth until today. Then we run a marathon to the Russian border.

Here Hluhiv has organised a very nice farewell with a fresh lunch and heartily performed Ukrainian folk songs.

Hello Russia! Our first challenge is to cover 90 kilometres in 3 hours. Long straight roads basking in the sunshine are lined by forests and by birch alleys, beyond which lie fields and pastures. We have to be careful with the doors when making stops, because dozens of flies are more than eager to invade our van.

With the aid of some effective, focused leap-frogging we even manage to be early in the sunny and vibrant city of Zheleznogorsk.

A running club equipped with coloured flags joins us into the city. We enter the square to the mighty sounds of Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and Bach among others. Our local runners are brimming with enthusiasm and energy.

They give us strong hearty handshakes and hug us. We get a scrumptious sugar-glazed bun-cake, and are greeted by the very friendly city representatives, who all have glimmers in their eyes. Everyone is delighted to have the run in the city. Many place their hands on their hearts as they greet us with such sincere and vibrant joy.

We are then invited to the local swimming pool, which is a real treat. Diving into the water is very refreshing, and the sauna feels very good. We are then invited for dinner, after which we are escorted to our accommodations. Here Duranta makes special fruit smoothies for us and we celebrate our great and good Moldovian runner Rodica’s birthday!

Distance: 135km

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