More than two hundred people participated – by either walking, running, or biking – at the IV. Székelyföld Sacred Marathon last Saturday at Csíksomlyó/Șumuleu Ciuc. Besides the physical, the event was also about spiritual revitalization and to promote Christian values and peace.
Those who wanted to complete one of the Sacred Marathon’s distances registered early morning in the tent set up front of the Fransiscan church of Csíksomlyó. Organizers marked three distances: 54 km, 20 km, and 6,5 km, which participants could complete either on bike or by walking or running.
Organizer of Székelyföld Sacred Marathon, Sándor Molnár told szekelyhon.ro, that this pilgrim hike is different from other long distance hikes in a way that here it is not enough only to meet the physical challenge, but they also wanted to give a spiritual “spice” to the event as well: “At the six checkpoints we not only provided food for the stomach and information for the head, but also raised thought-provoking topics…
…Instead of stamping, participants had to stick different mottoes into their booklets, which – according to our hope – made them think about the deeper questions of life itself”, Molnár said.
Zita Fodor participated already at the first Sacred Marathon, and since then she is here each year. In previous years she completed he distance by bike, but this time she chose to walk instead the 20 km distance, named after Bishop Áron Márton.
“I feel that the Sacred Marathon makes me stronger, because we can recharge ourselves in the nature, and it also helps us to strengthen our willpower.”
– she said, adding that the message of the event – promoting the peace and the unity of the Christians – is important for her as well.
For Szabolcs Erőss it was the first time to participate at the Sacred Marathon, and he chose to bike the longest, 54 km distance:
“I consider myself religious, and because of this I keep in mind the message of the marathon, but on the other hand it is also a challenge for me…
…The important thing is not that how much time it will take for me to finish it, but the fact itself that I will complete the distance at all.”- he said.
The Székelyföld Sacred Marathon was also organized in Mikháza/Călugăreni on the same day as in Csíksomlyó, with almost one hundred participants.
Title image: IV. Székelyföld Sacred Marathon: before the start (Photo: Albin Gábos)
