March Along Barbed Wire

The march called “March along barbed wire” was first organized in 1957. It is almost 35 km long route around Ljubljana, where between the Second World War the wire fence of Italian and later on the German occupiers was and is therefore called “March along barbed wire”. By its tradition the grand opening starts with the march of preschool children. It is followed by a march of pupils from primary schools and secondary schools on Friday. Saturday is full of other marchers and participants of a race in a three-member team run. There is no entry for the march. It is a unique running event where the three-member team must run together all the time. The final result is considered the time of the last competitor that crossed the finish line. This is also the result of the whole team.

• Children (3-12)
• Elderly (60+)
• Homeless persons
• Indigenous
• Inhabitants of emergency areas
• LGBTQ+ community
• Orphans
• People with disabilities
• Refugees
• Veterans
• Women and Girls
• Youth (13-18)

• Economic Impact
• Health and Well-being

• Competitive Non-Professional Sport for All
• Legacy of major sport event
• Non-Competitive Sport for All
• Sport for Development and Peace

The event wants to promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage people to do something for themselves. With this run the organizer wants to encourage runners to mutual assistance and solidarity, considering that the time of the group is the time of the last competitor that crosses the finish line.

1. It is the largest sports and recreational event in Slovenia.
2. An innovative approach on how to encourage people to move.
3. The event has its own traditional start, the grand opening starts with the march of preschool children.
4. Better prepared team members help, cheer and motivate less prepared member.
5. It attracts more than 30,000 participants. Especially in the last decade, the number of male and female recreational athletes who decide to either hike or triple jump has been increasing every year.

Venue

• Public spaces (parks, beaches, etc.)

• no limit defined

• 30.000 people

Staff

• 20+ and lots of volunteers

Equipment and Facilities

• The information service, which gives all instructions regarding the competition, operates at TIMING Ljubljana, promotional material (jumbos, media), sponsors (diamond, golden, silver, other), partners, Media Sponsors (Radio Ekspres)

March along the barbed wire article