As part of the announcement conference for the upcoming dm Women’s Race, which will be held for the 17th time on October 6 at Ada Ciganlija, the “Heroes of the Belgrade Marathon” Foundation organized a charity panel at Hotel Mona Plaza titled “WOMEN’S HEALTH IN FOCUS: SPORT, PREVENTION, AND INCLUSION FOR ALL.”

The panel covered the following topics: prevention of the most common running injuries in women, psychosocial and health aspects of women’s motivation to engage in running, and social responsibility. These topics were discussed by leading experts from Serbia in these fields.

The “Fizio Vračar” team, led by Dr. Milan Ilić, a physiotherapist with more than 30 years of experience in elite sports and also a professor at the College of Health Studies, presented several highly useful topics:

1.) Prevention of the most common running injuries in women – stress fractures, “runner’s knee,” plantar fasciitis, and hip pain (physiotherapist Bojana Sandulović)
2.) Returning to running after childbirth, following both cesarean section and vaginal delivery (physiotherapist Nevena Miletić)
3.) Running as a challenge for the pelvic floor muscles (physiotherapist Hranislava Jovanović)
4.) Running and pregnancy – pros and cons (Dr. Milena Srbinović, Medigroup, and runner Nela Bunčić-Vukomanović)

An equally engaging lecture was delivered by Assistant Professor Dr. Ivan Ćuk from the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education at the University of Belgrade. He spoke on the topic: Psychosocial and Health Aspects of Women’s Motivation to Engage in Running.
Assistant Professor Dr. Ivan Ćuk noted that an increasing number of women are taking up running. According to research conducted so far, significant progress has been made compared to half a century ago, when women generally did not run and when it was believed that marathon running was harmful to them, or even harmful during pregnancy.

This charity panel also addressed social responsibility through several important topics:

1.) Recognizing invisible barriers: how prejudice, stereotypes, and invisible barriers shape social norms that limit persons with disabilities (Ivana Filipov, independent advisor to the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, and Milica Knežević, IT engineer and activist)
2.) The role of education and the media in changing social attitudes: how the media and educational systems can transform the perception of disability and encourage a culture of inclusion (Jasmina Hadžić, sports journalist and expert associate of SSOSIB)
3.) Accessibility of sports activities, examples of good practice, and inclusive sports (Jelena Radivojević, M.A. in Sport and Physical Education and expert associate of SSOSIB)

It should also be emphasized that, since October is dedicated to the fight against breast cancer, the Heroes of the Belgrade Marathon Foundation, in cooperation with the Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr Milan Jovanović Batut,” will provide mammography screenings during the upcoming dm Women’s Race.