Three Free to Run alumni from Afghanistan reunited in Spain on October 25, 2026 to run the Salto 15K in San Sebastián, hosted by our partner, SALTO FOUNDATION.
Hasina, who is Free to Run’s Afghanistan Program Manager, traveled from Canada to run with fellow alums Hanifa and Nazira who joined from Germany, with Free to Run’s Executive Director, Sarah Murray also joining the group.
Hasina, Hanifa, and Nazira all left Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Their connections with Free to Run go back years: Hasina joined in Kabul in 2016 and Hanifa in 2018, while Nazira began running with the organization at age 13 in Bamiyan. The weekend was an opportunity to run together again and share their experiences with the wider Salto community.
Free to Run recently joined SALTO FOUNDATION’s Sport for Change program, which supports organizations using sport to create social change. As part of this partnership, Free to Run was selected as the beneficiary of the Salto 15K’s solidarity bib initiative, raising an incredible €3,500 for our work through the race. The official race t-shirt was even unveiled in Iraq by Free to Run participants (pictured below).
The day before the race, Hasina, Hanifa and Nazira met around 25 women from a local running group who had spent months preparing for the event. The group presented our runners with their race bibs, and they met again at the starting line on Sunday.
“My dream is that one day all Afghan girls will be free to run and to choose their own future,” Hasina said.
There was also time to explore San Sebastián, including a visit to the beach, a Basque dance performance, and a football match at Anoeta Stadium between Real Sociedad and Levante. Before heading home on Monday, the team visited Salto’s offices to meet and speak with staff about their lives and experiences with Free to Run.
Thank you to SALTO FOUNDATION for supporting our work advancing gender equity through running, and for making this reunion possible. We’re grateful to the team for the warm welcome and to everyone whose race entry contributed to Free to Run.
