Šiauliai marks 790th birthday with all-day running event

Šiauliai marked its 790th birthday with an all-day running event that brought hundreds of participants into the city streets, LRT reported.

The city’s anniversary is commemorated on the day of the Battle of the Sun. Children from kindergartens ran symbolic distances of several hundred metres in the morning, followed by older participants in the afternoon.

Runners could take part in the Šiauliai mile, a symbolic 1,236-metre distance representing the year of the Battle of the Sun, or choose a five-kilometre, 10-kilometre or half-marathon route of just over 21 kilometres.

Tuesday also marked Car-Free Day, with city buses carrying passengers free of charge. In the evening, Šiauliai hosted a bus-pushing competition.

Justin Beržanskis, one of the organisers, estimated that around 7,000 people could take part over the course of the day, with the first race starting at 10 a.m. and the final one at 7 p.m.

He said it was encouraging to see the community participate and expressed hope that the organisers and the municipality would continue developing a high-level running event in Šiauliai.

One participant said she and her children were taking part for the first time. Although running was somewhat difficult for the children, she said they had enjoyed it.

Another participant said she was pleased to see more activity in Šiauliai, adding that while the city offered enough events, there were fewer sporting events.