Superman, gingerbread man and two elves – no, this is not the title of Guy Ritchie’s new film, this is just a snapshot from this year’s edition of the Zagreb Advent Run, known as the biggest running event of the year. Although scenes like this will remain in most people’s memories, the story of what had to happen for these four characters to be in the same frame goes back months.
New ideas and planning for next year’s Zagreb Advent Run begins immediately after the end of the race just gone. The organisers sit down for drinks – frozen ones order tea, the sleepy have coffee and others, driven by different emotions, something more potent. This friendly group of glowing hearts and heads, with corresponding drinks in front of them, then start with an analysis of what could be improved next year. Some things are straightforward, such as the appearance of the starting gate and medals, other details include how far to move the medal table to reduce crowding once runners enter the city centre. These are all up for discussion long before the next race. Thanks to this high level of organisation, this traditional event took its place on the holiday and tourist map of Europe a few years ago.
The whole week before the start of this seventh edition of Zagreb’s cheerful Advent race was rainy, making many worry that it would be the same on the day itself. Yet the Christmas magic did not fail – a dry morning duly dawned. The fear of bad weather slowly faded as race time approached, and the festive colours of Christmas costumes flooded the asphalt, changed the tone from grey under the starting gate. The background music gradually became louder before the signal started, as shown by the dance steps of those gathered. Once the starter sounded, a river of happy runners began to pour down the decorated route in the centre of Zagreb. Almost 3,000 participants from 27 countries then headed out around the city with one noble aim. Fast and slow, old and young, some with dogs in tow, set out on the 5km and 10km routes with smiles on their faces.
Before bringing the story to the finish line, to create a complete picture and understand the unique nature of this race, you should be know that the Zagreb Advent Run is a colourful mosaic, each part radiating joy, kindness and togetherness. This year, runners raced for the Big Heart to Small Heart Association, which will receive a donation collected from the registration fees. Apart from the fact that the race is run in costumes for humanitarian reasons, this is the only one that creates an atmosphere in which the result is not the purpose, but the spread of positive energy through the decorated streets of the city. It is the only race which makes passers-by become fans in an instant, and fans become runners the very next year.
After the holiday magic of colourful runners flooded the city and brought smiles to everyone touched by it, the first participants began to arrive at the finish line. Usually, these are different from the others because they have gear that confirms that for them running is more than a hobby, making them stand out. Then came the ones with the same smiles, happy costumes and carefree steps, equally contributing to the Advent magic. After the last ones came in, somewhere in this sea of positive energy at the finish line, those characters from the beginning of the story – Superman, gingerbread man and the two elves – embraced each other, showing that love multiplies by sharing.