Kosovo: Dancon March 2012

Szöveg: E.F. | 2012. április 11. 17:22

On Saturday, March 31, twenty-five Hungarian soldiers set out to complete the Dancon March in Kosovo, an endurance test named after the Danish contingent.

Back in 1972, it was the peacekeepers of the Royal Danish Army deployed in Cyprus that first organized the event which now has a 40-year past. Since then, the march is conducted in all theatres of war where Danish troops are deployed. In Kosovo, it has a tradition dating from 1999.

The weather favored the participants, as the march would have been difficult to complete on the previous rainy days or on the next day when it was snowing with a strong wind. Nearly 400 soldiers turned up in the beautiful springtime weather at Camp Novo Selo – which is located 20 kilometers north-west to Pristina – to participate in the march, which requires them to cover a 23-km distance while carrying a backpack weighing at least 10 kilograms. Their objective was not to defeat the others but rather to demonstrate to themselves their physical fitness, endurance and willpower. For this reason, the organizers set a time limit of eight hours, so that every participant was able to complete the march.

The 23-kilometer-long route with a height difference of 600 meters consisted of four parts. First the participants did a lap around the perimeter fence of the camp, then they started the second part on the highway, which they ended with climbing a forested hillside before reaching the turn-back checkpoint. From there, they set out on the highway again in the direction of Camp Novo Selo. Having returned to the camp, they were yet to do a big lap.

The fastest Hungarian soldiers were Capt. Ákos Kreácsik, Lt. Zoltán Pálóczi and WO Elek Fodor, who took 3 hours 26 minutes to complete the march. The four women entering the race (Capt. Marietta Molnár, Capt. Andrea Gál, SFC Erika Bordás and L/Sgt. Edina Pásztor) were awarded the fastest female participant title in a dead heat, as they walked together the 23-kilometer distance in 5 hours 20 minutes.

The organizers handed over certificates of completion and medals to all participants of the Dancon March.