One of the most popular activities among the Collection Centre's Staff and beneficiaries during the 30th Grand Finale was the Get Even with Diabetes Race, which brought together people from Poland and all over the world for the 16th time this year! Do you know that the total distance of the race covered by the participants is equal to almost two laps around the Earth and that the total amount of money raised at the race allows for the purchase of 83 insulin pumps?

Not only does run improve your health, but it also makes you do your best to save the lives of… mums! Thanks to the money raised at the race, we will buy state-of-the-art insulin pumps and continue the programme for helping pregnant women fight diabetes. And once again, we held the record-breaking race, we saw the awareness of the participants- to cut the story short: mens sana in corpore sano!

-Jurek Owsiak, the Chairman of the GOCC Foundation

The Warsaw Race was organised back in its traditional form and attracted a significant group of healthy lifestyle enthusiasts. 4,056 participants gathered in front of the Palace of Culture and Science in the very heart of the city to raise awareness of diabetes in Poland. Let us remind that since 2004 the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation within the framework of the Nationwide Programme for Personal Insulin Pump Treatment of Pregnant Women with Diabetes has purchased 1,776 modern personal insulin pumps and donated these to 38 medical units. After a short warm-up, the runners started off the race through the picturesque city route.

 

 

 

 

 

People who could not show up in Warsaw had the chance to join the charitable run online – to watch and listen to the interviews with organisations and companies engaged in promoting a healthy lifestyle and living with diabetes. 

 

 

 

 

Virtually - all together

Last year's virtual edition of the charitable run inspired a fabulous community of runners who kept sharing photographs and videos of their activities with the Foundation. Therefore, this year the Promoters decided to hold the online race and created a Facebook group to serve as a platform for all the engaged. The participant may set up meetings, share their experiences and inspire one another. The virtual charitable race attracted as many as 9,270 people, including 7,484 participants who registered their results in a dedicated app, which counted the distance covered. 

 

 

 

 

The race was organised in different locations in Poland and abroad. The results registered in the app came from 27 spots on a map, apart from Poland. Among the most distant countries which took part in the event are Australia, India, Columbia, the RSA, Romania, Singapur, and the USA. It is truly incredible to see that helping has such a long-range and spreads widely across the globe. According to the after-Grand Finale's statistics, the runners virtually covered a total distance of 76,889 km - to understand the scale, the length of the Polish border is equal to 3,511.49 km, which means that participants managed to run around Poland almost 22 times and finish a lap around the Earth almost twice!

 

 

Countable help and help that matters

 

Virtual and traditional forms of the race all together gathered 13,324 people, and thanks to their great heart, good intentions and generosity, the GOCC Foundation raised PLN 801,425.39. For the time being, the Foundation estimates that thanks to the 16th Get Even with Diabetes Race, we will be able to purchase 83 insulin pumps (the number of pumps is based on the estimated cost of devices). Throughout all the editions of the run, the Foundation bought 195 insulin pumps for pregnant women with diabetes and a total of 1,776 of these state-of-the-art devices within the frameworks of the medical programme for pregnant women with diabetes. 

 

 

 

16 Run Count yourself with diabetes

16. Bieg Policz się z Cukrzycą za nami! Dziękujemy!

16 Bieg Policz się z Cukrzycą za nami! Dziękujemy Fot. Lucyna Lewandowska

16 Bieg Policz się z Cukrzycą za nami! Dziękujemy Fot. Lucyna Lewandowska

16 Bieg Policz się z Cukrzycą za nami! Dziękujemy Fot. Lucyna Lewandowska

16 Bieg Policz się z Cukrzycą za nami! Dziękujemy Fot. Lucyna Lewandowska

16 Bieg Policz się z Cukrzycą za nami! Dziękujemy Fot. Lucyna Lewandowska

16 Bieg Policz się z Cukrzycą za nami! Dziękujemy Fot. Lucyna Lewandowska

16 Bieg Policz się z Cukrzycą za nami! Dziękujemy Fot. Lucyna Lewandowska

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16 Run Count yourself with diabetes

16 Run Count yourself to diabetes for us! Thank you!

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Thank you for being with us!