Klaipėda stages 26th international Amber Seamil race

Klaipėda will host its 26th international Amber Seamil running competition on Saturday, with hundreds of participants expected from Lithuania and abroad, LRT reported.

Runners can choose distances measured in nautical miles rather than kilometres. One nautical mile is 1,852 metres. Professional men will run six nautical miles, or 11.11 kilometres, while women will compete over three nautical miles, or 5.55 kilometres. One-mile and half-mile races are also available.

The route passes through coastal scenery, with sections on paved surfaces, sand paths and through forest. Klaipėda State Seaport Authority director general Algis Latakas said the distinctive course had drawn runners back for more than a quarter-century.

Mayor Arvydas Vaitkus said the event had become an important sporting and community tradition for the city. While the first races attracted only a few dozen runners, registrations in recent years have approached 1,000, he said.

The winners of the three- and six-nautical-mile races will have their names engraved on a commemorative stone recovered from the Curonian Lagoon during the deepening of the port basin. Winners will also receive trophies and cash prizes. Participants can have army-style porridge and tea.

The event is organised by the Klaipėda County Athletics Federation, the Lithuanian Athletics Federation and the Klaipėda State Seaport Authority. The Klaipėda City Municipality is providing partial funding.