One of the most emotional moments of this year's Du Motion was certainly the sight of Stradun filled with recognizable blue t-shirts for the humanitarian Dubrovnik 5K race, which was run this year for 23-year-old Doris Bender.
As a reminder, the brave lioness Doris has been on hospital treatment for more than two years due to a serious lung disease and a series of other diagnoses, in almost complete isolation from the outside world. Dubrovnik residents of all generations and their guests sent her a strong message of support and positive energy this last Sunday. By participating in the race, whether by running or cheering, they also participated in collecting financial resources that will help her continue her fight.
The big heart of Dubrovnik was once again shown: 1,202 participants of the 5K race raised 14,424 euros, or about 108,677 Kuna, for Doris!
"The willingness of our fellow citizens to help always leaves us speechless. A big thank you to absolutely everyone who responded to the call and joined this action, our hearts are filled with pride for its success. We are all aware of how much this means to Doris, who followed us on social media and saw that we are all with her, now and in the future, until her recovery. We thank everyone for their patience and support, which they have once again shown us in the realization of the entire Du Motion, especially the Dubrovnik-Neretva Police Department and all city services, as well as our incredible volunteers, without whose effort and enthusiasm we could not organize this at this level," said Du Motion director Alen Bošković.
It is worth noting that this year's Du Motion also featured all those for whom the previous 5K races were run: representatives of the Down Syndrome Association of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Ante Kolunđija, who once again completed the Dubrovnik Half Marathon, Nevio Krešić who ran the 5K race and became the youngest Du Motion coordinator, and Karla Sentić, who captured the most important moments on Stradun with her camera.
They are all part of the big Du Motion family, a family that will eagerly welcome Doris to Stradun as soon as her health allows.