The part of the "Let's meet, dear seniors" project that lasted for ten consecutive Tuesdays - hiking on a 100 km path around Vilnius - reached its finish line. On Tuesday, the most active senior citizens of the city completed the last 10 km section and returned to the place where the project was started - on the beach of Bernardinai Sodo.
It is symbolic that even 100 people got involved in this project. The oldest participant is 82 years old. Everyone who walked 90 or 100 km during the project was rewarded with gifts from sponsors and partners. Smaller prizes were also received by all the finishers.
The last 10km stretch required a lot of effort, but a large group of seniors braved the last stage and crossed the symbolic finish line. They were met and congratulated by the mayor of the capital Remigius Šimašius. It was on the initiative of the mayor that a 100 km track was prepared in Vilnius.
"I would like to thank all the organizers of this project and those who contributed to the creation of the Vilnius 100 km trail. Kudos to all the seniors who completed all or at least part of the course. I would like to tell you how this trail came about. The second ice age gave it to us. He formed the course of the Neris River and the whole wonderful landscape. We have two regional parks, many forests, nature reserves, river valleys. I myself like to walk a lot and I had a question about what to do so that the people of Vilnius understand that they live in a really green city. I am very happy that we have such a track now. It's unbelievable that so many people have already overcome it," he said R. Šimašius.
According to the mayor, the pandemic helped the popularity of the trail in a way, because people started to choose movement in nature instead of closed events. Now there are more than 20 educational trails in Vilnius, and all of them exceed 150 km in length.
“It's amazing that so many seniors have tried the trail. Now you have to encourage your grandchildren to try the trail too. An example must be shown," R. Šimašius smiled.
Jelena Narūnienė, the head of the "Let's meet, dear seniors" project, was happy that the idea of offering seniors an active and rather difficult test worked out, because movement is a value.
"We really do not regret taking such an initiative. This project lasted 2,5 months and activated as many as 100 seniors. People really missed communication. They discovered not only Vilnius, but also each other. Some found new friends, some found a former classmate. We stand out as a team and a group of friends," said J. Narūnienė.
The Vilnius 100 km track is intended for athletes and off-road runners. The organizers of the project tried so that seniors do not have to overcome the most difficult mountains, so special maps have been created.
"We wanted to prove that this beautiful track, which the city built, can be completed by everyone. Yes, it's made for trail runners, but we've modified it to make it safe. We have prepared maps that can be used to find safer routes around difficult mountains. We saw that our seniors are very active and 10 km a day is not a big distance. The seniors force us not to stop and move forward", said J. Narūnienė.
This initiative was sponsored by the long-term partner of the project - the network of dental clinics CLINIC | DPC.
"As a medical institution, we care deeply about health and a healthy lifestyle. There are a lot of seniors among our clients, so we decided to contribute to this project, which takes care of older people and provides them with useful activities, said clinic representative Laura Bukaveckienė. - The challenge for the seniors to overcome the 100 km trail seemed considerable, but after talking with them, we saw that they are active people who can do anything. Active people can live a healthy life, take care of themselves, and engage in activities they enjoy."
Photo: Organizer
