Charity Run: Vitalii Khomenko Raised 100,000 UAH to Help Children Through Running

Vitalii Khomenko, an entrepreneur and member of the adidas Runners Kyiv running community, raised 100,000 UAH for the charity foundation Tabletochki by running 21 half-marathons in 21 days.

In an interview with VITAGURU, he shared how he managed to do it.

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Vitalii, tell us a bit about yourself—what do you do?
I’m 27 years old, an entrepreneur, and a member of the adidas Runners Kyiv club.

I love bright emotions, traveling, and occasionally—challenging myself.

How did you get into running?
I’ve always led an active lifestyle for as long as I can remember. As a child, I loved playing football, and PE was one of my favorite subjects in school. But I only discovered running as a separate activity much later, around tenth grade (2008). At first, it was just short runs—10 to 20 minutes—to “clear my head.”

What role does running play in your life now?
Now running is a way to decompress after a workday and, through regular training, a great tool to develop self-discipline.

Plus, it’s a great way to meet awesome people—there are lots of them in adidas Runners.

Why did you decide to get into charity work? How did the idea of raising money through running come about?
Oh, I could talk about this for a long time.

But really, I just want to do good.

I had been involved in charity before, just not publicly—getting inspiration from people like Konstantyn Holubyatnikov, whose foundation helps orphanages, and Olga Kudinenko, co-founder of Tabletochki, among many others.

The idea of combining a fundraising campaign with a challenge seemed like both an adventure and a chance to do something meaningful—just what I love. I had several ideas, but for various reasons, they kept being postponed indefinitely.

Then one day I met Tetiana Hrineva, who raised millions for children with cancer through her running projects. That same day I realized: the best time to start is now. There will always be excuses not to do something. So, the decision came quickly.

How did the idea of running 21 half-marathons in 21 days come about?
I really love running, and many of my friends are runners too—so I thought it would be great to get them involved. I considered different options and settled on 21 half-marathons in 21 days. It sounded tough but doable. Plus, such a challenge could really attract attention to the fundraising campaign.

Did you face any difficulties during the challenge? Did you ever want to quit?
Of course, there were challenges—it couldn’t have gone without them. But all those moments made the experience even more memorable. I had many thoughts along the way, but I managed to overcome them.

What was the hardest part?
I remember one day traveling with the AR team to a run in Sumy. On the way, our train broke down, and we arrived really late. Everyone was starving. I was sleep-deprived—had only four hours of sleep—and the weather was colder than expected. I didn’t have warm clothes because I had boarded the train straight from a flight and didn’t have time to go home.

And I still had to run 21 km. So I ran straight from the station.

But that wasn’t the worst part—my tracker started glitching and was showing less distance than I actually ran. So on top of everything—hunger, cold, fatigue, and lack of sleep—I had to run extra kilometers to compensate for the ones that weren’t recorded.

Honestly, during that run, I kept thinking I could be sitting with the team, warm and eating sushi, instead of suffering through this.

What helped you the most?
The support of my friends and running club mates helped and motivated me tremendously.

Turned out, there are a lot more kind and amazing people around than I thought.

How did you motivate yourself to run such long distances every day? What inspired you to keep going?
I had a little trick.

Whenever doubts crept in, I told myself:
“Just don’t quit today. You can do it today. Tomorrow is a new day.”

I didn’t think of it as running 21 km for 21 days. Each day, I just focused on finishing that day’s run.

Has your relationship with running changed after this challenge?
Yes, definitely. I now have new goals—some even crazier and harder—and that requires more serious preparation. So I’m dedicating a lot more time to running now than, say, a year ago.

You rode across Ukraine on a bicycle. Tell us more—was that also a charity project?
That’s a trip I’ll never forget—it actually marked the beginning of my charity fundraising journey.

It was a pretty exciting adventure. The idea was to test whether someone with zero preparation (who hadn’t ridden a bike since childhood) could ride across Ukraine—from Kharkiv to Lviv—and raise funds along the way. I did it.

How has this whole experience changed you and your life?
My life is now more exciting, and I’m definitely happier.

What goals do you have for the future?
Once the quarantine ends, I’m definitely going to organize open charity runs for everyone. Last year, we held four of them, but this year the pandemic changed all our plans.

I also have a few new ideas for running challenges—so I’m waiting for the running season to restart. In the meantime, I’m training to be ready for new adventures.

Interview by: Kateryna Tuhusheva