12.1.2014

Jizerska 50 race held memorial ceremony to remember mountain climbers of Peru Expedition and organized symbolic march instead of the race

Even thou traditional Jizerska 50 race has been cancelled due to lack of snow in Jizera mountains, the organizers of the race decided to have compensatory program. You had a chance to go listen to some tunes at MIG 21 concert, you were able to pay your respects at memorial service, which was held in honor of climbers of Peru Expedition and Zdenek Hruby climber, and you had a chance to participate in a symbolic march in honor of the climbers.

Although this year of Jizerska 50 race has been called off, Bedrichov stadium could feel the spirit of sports in its walls. Around 500 participants paid their respects and honored the climbers of Peru Expedition and Zdenek Hruby. „This is the proof of how great phenomenon Jizerska 50 race is here and how strong the roots of it are,“ said Marek Tesar, a spokesman of Mather Activation company, one of the organizers.

J. E. María Susana Landaveri Porturas, ambassador of Peru, Martin Puta, governor of Liberec region, or Jan Bloudek, close friend of honored Zdenek Hruby, all those did not miss the symbolic start of the race. “Mountain climbers and Jizerska 50 race – those belong together, that’s why I am so proud and happy the organizers remembered my friend Zdenek. He was a wonderful human being and you can see how much people appreciate him here,” said Bloudek.

Almost 300 racers completed the race. Some racers were skiing, some biking, some walking. The finish was at Bedrichov stadium. All the participants received diplomas. “We decided to award each and every person who came here to honor the climbers and to race,” explained David Dousa, one of the organizers.

Expedition Peru memorial service was held in St. Anthony of Padua cathedral on Saturday. “Even thou it was very cold tenths of people came here to see the service. It makes me very happy and proud to see all the people here. I think the service made a great remembrance,” described Marek Tesar.

Saturday night was in the name of a great concert, CEZ SkiFest, which took place at one of Liberec’s squares. The main attraction of the concert was MIG 21 band. The front man of the band, Jiri Machacek, lived up to his name and entertained the crowd. „The snow must go on!“ were his good-bye words after one-hour long show.

During 3 days period, when the organizers were giving out racing kits, which included starting numbers and presents for racers, nearly 2,500 people showed up. This number is also a proof of how popular this cross-country skiing race is.