In the Irkutsk region, the Nation Cross took place, the countrys largest sports event, bringing together about 500 thousand participants in 80 regions of Russia. This year the race in Irkutsk followed a new route, with not only amateurs but also officials, famous athletes, and family teams among the participants. Special interest was drawn by the VIP race of 2014 meters, symbolizing the Sochi Olympics, as well as the youngest and most experienced participants in the mass start.

Let us recall that the Cross of the Nation is the largest sporting event in Russia. It attracts Russians to physical culture and promotes a healthy lifestyle. Along with amateurs, professional athletes, Olympic champions, and sports veterans traditionally take part in the start. Politicians and public officials, heads of regions and cities, leaders of ministries and agencies, and business representatives also take part in this grand sports festival. This year, about 500,000 people took part in the starts in 80 regions of Russia.
The Cross of the Nation was held over the following distances: 4 km, 6 km, 8 km, 12 km, and a VIP race of 2,014 meters, symbolizing the holding of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. This year, participants in the mass race followed a new route. The start was given at 12:00 near the monument to Alexander III, then the participants proceeded along Chkalov Street, 5th Army Street, K. Marx Street, and finished on Gagarin Boulevard.
Representatives of the Government of the Irkutsk Region took part in the VIP race, in particular, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the region, the administration of Irkutsk, well-known athletes, etc. According to the results of the 2,014-meter race, the first to finish were the Minister of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the region Pavel Nikitin and the head of the Department of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk administration Dmitry Abramovich.
The largest team among universities was the team of Irkutsk State University (150 people), among secondary specialized educational institutions – the team of the Irkutsk College of Mechanical Engineering named after N.P. Trapeznikov (156 people), among schools – the team of Gymnasium No. 25. Among specialized schools, the Irkutsk Regional Comprehensive Children’s and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve was especially noted. The most athletic family was the Luzgin family. The most experienced participant in the mass race was 71-year-old Arkady Genievsky. The youngest participants in the Cross of the Nation were 3-year-old Nika Reznik and Ilya Vostrikov.
The winners and prizewinners of the race received medals, certificates, and cups.
Based on materials from the press service of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Irkutsk Region