The unique initiative was presented on Monday at a press conference held at the Lithuanian Sports University by ultramarathon runner and LSU student Aidas Ardzijauskas, the project’s idea author and organizer Rimvydas Čekavičius, LSU Rector Prof. Dr. Diana Rėklaitienė, and LSU professor, sports physiologist Tomas Venckūnas.
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“Kilometers don’t scare“
For A. Ardzijauskas, this is not the first challenge measured in thousands of kilometers. He has already run across the United States, covering more than 8,000 kilometers from Dakar to Vilnius, run from the North Cape in Norway to Greece, and completed other ultramarathon projects.
However, this time, according to the athlete, the greatest uncertainty lies not in the distance itself.
“Kilometers don’t scare, what scares is what you cannot control,” said A. Ardzijauskas before the trip, highlighting unpredictable weather conditions as one of the most important factors.
It is planned that on separate days the runner will cover very long distances. However, the project’s goal is not just numbers or a sports record.
A bridge between Lithuania and American Lithuanians
The project’s idea author and organizer Rimvydas Čekavičius sees the run as a much broader story than just one person’s physical challenge.
The axis of the journey is the life of President Valdas Adamkus between Lithuania and the United States. Therefore, Aidas’s route through America becomes a symbolic path connecting the two countries that shaped the President’s life.
During the run, A. Ardzijauskas will stop in cities and locations to meet with Lithuanian communities in the USA, children from Lithuanian schools, youth, and representatives of cultural and public organizations. These meetings will be filmed and become part of a shared narrative about contemporary Lithuanian identity in America.
“When Rimvydas called and proposed this idea, there really was no question of whether we would contribute or not; it was only a question of how we could collaborate,” said LSU Rector Prof. Dr. Diana Rėklaitienė.
– The President is our honorary doctor, and as such a beautiful anniversary approaches, we wanted to contribute and congratulate the President.”
An exceptional object for sports science
A. Ardzijauskas’s connection with the Lithuanian Sports University is not accidental – the ultramarathon runner studies in the LSU Training Systems program, and university scientists have been researching his unusually large physical loads for several years.
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One of the scientists studying A. Ardzijauskas is LSU professor Tomas Venckūnas, who has been examining human body adaptation to large physical loads for more than two decades.
During previous projects of A. Ardzijauskas, scientists observed how prolonged extreme load affects the athlete’s body – his metabolism, thermoregulation, joints, heart, and other systems.
Professor T. Venckūnas has described A. Ardzijauskas’s ability to endure such physical workloads for a long time as an exceptional subject for sports science research.
According to LSU Rector Prof. Dr. Diana Rėklaitienė, the experience of such exceptional athletes gives the university the opportunity to combine sports, studies, and science practically – under real conditions testing human limits.
The Lithuanian Sports University community symbolically sent A. Ardzijauskas off on his journey – after the press conference, students, lecturers, and university staff joined the ultramarathon runner for a symbolic run in Kaunas.
The President’s flag will travel across America
One of the most important symbols of the entire journey will be the Lithuanian flag signed by the President. Before departing for the United States, A. Ardzijauskas was sent off by President Valdas Adamkus himself. He signed the Lithuanian tricolor, which the runner will carry from the Pacific coast to the US capital, Washington.
It will travel thousands of kilometers across America with Aidas, carried through big cities, mountains, plains, and small settlements, reaching Lithuanian communities and finally Washington.
This will be the finish of a 5,000-kilometer carried message – a thank you to a man whose life story connected Lithuania and the United States for decades.
The project’s creators see the run as a symbolic journey across America, connecting the life story of President Valdas Adamkus, Lithuania, and Lithuanians living across the Atlantic.
