Beyond Borders, Run for Cooperation

A running race will be organised as part of the Interreg IPA Bulgaria–Türkiye Programme, with participants from both countries taking part.

The event will take place in Kıyıköy, Vize, Kırklareli, Türkiye, on 1 October from 10:30 to 16:30 (Türkiye Time, UTC+3).

The event will combine a project visit, an outdoor running event and networking activities, bringing together representatives of national and regional authorities, project stakeholders, universities, schools and local communities.

The programme will begin with the transfer of participants from Edirne and Kırklareli to Kıyıköy, followed by a project visit to Kıyıköy Rock Monastery and the rehabilitated road connecting the monastery with the fortress gates, developed during the 2014–2020 programming period.

The project visit will be followed by a community running event featuring two separate routes of 7.5 km and 3.5 km, with approximately 150 runners. The programme will also include opening speeches, refreshments, an award ceremony and an open-buffet lunch, providing an opportunity for participants to meet, exchange experiences and celebrate European territorial cooperation.

As part of the event, we have designed two different running routes, one longer and one shorter, to accommodate participants with different levels of physical fitness. In determining the routes, we took into consideration not only the natural and visually prominent points of the town, but also areas that would help enhance the visibility of projects implemented in the town under the Interreg Programme, both from this period and former periods.

In this regard, we aim to ensure that the event goes beyond being solely a sporting activity and also contributes to showcasing the town’s natural and touristic assets, as well as the work carried out in the region under the Interreg Programme, to both participants and the wider public.