The Relay Race of Independence Day at the Marshal’s Mausoleum

The National Independence Day is memorialised in a special way in Wileńszczyzna for the 21st time already. It is thanks to the relay race which heads towards the Mother and her son’s heart on Rasos Cemetery. Just as it happens every year, it is the Vilnius St. Mary’s Scout Troop that organises the Relay Race of Independence Day.

The participants reached Rasos at noon. The relay started on 11th November at 5.30 am at the “Polska powstała – by żyć” monument and the oak commemorating the Chief of State, Marshal Józef Piłsudski’s birthplace in Zułów.

Eighty scouts of the Vilnius St. Mary’s Scout Troop, fifty members of the Głowno Scout Troop (Łódź Voivodeship), as well as thirteen young patriots living near Warsaw participated in this year’s patriotic run, and, as always, the Katyn International Motorcycle Race riders assisted it.

The 21st Relay Race of Independence Day route run through Zułów, Powiewiórka (the place of the Marshal’s baptism), Antokol, to the Rasos Cemetery, where the participants laid floral tributes and lights. The event involved awarding medals and souvenirs as well. The captain of this year’s relay was Sub-Scoutmaster Marek Tomaszewicz and the commandant was Leader Joanna Pietkiewicz.

The happening is also important for the people living in the area through which the route runs. “For the forth time already do we host the participants of the run. We ensure them refreshments and rest,” Edward Puncewicz, starost of Niemenczyn, says. “We do it gladly for the sake of hospitality but also the idea of the run.”

Photo gallery: The National Independence Day in Vilnius (3): the Relay Race at the Marshal’s Mausoleum

On the basis of: own information
Photos: Igor Konin
Montage: Bartosz Frątczak