An overseas race event that for many years acted as a springboard for elite athletes coming to compete in Bermuda’s international road races each January has been hit by the loss of its main sponsor.Peter Lever, who was a long-serving member of the Bermuda International Race Weekend race committee until 2011, is appealing for any assistance that can be offered to help keep the race event in the Ukraine from falling by the wayside.For more than 15 years, Lever was responsible for bringing elite runners from Russia and the Ukraine to Bermuda to compete. Many of the visiting athletes he invited first came to his attention at the Sevastopol 10K and 4K races in the Crimea, Ukraine.The event organiser Olena Plastynina is a two-time winner of the Bermuda International Marathon, and set the course record in 1998. She is assisted by the Spartak club and the Sevastopol sports department.Each year the event attracts around 500 participants, many of them children, who get the opportunity to experience a well-organised race. It costs around $6,000 to stage the races. This year the main local sponsor has withdrawn due to the economic hard times.Lever, who still travels to the August 18 race each year and who was a race sponsor from 2007 to 2010, is hoping there may be someone on the Island with a connection to the Ukraine or the region, who will be willing to offer sponsorship assistance.“This event has been held since 2005 and provides opportunities for young Ukrainian runners to participate along with Olympic standard athletes. The kids love doing it,” said Lever, of St George’s.“In general, they have very little the average monthly income is $250. They appreciate T-shirts donated from Bermuda and taking part in a well-organised event. Participants travel from Kiev, Odessa, Donesk and other locations.”Held in hot weather, last year’s race winners were Olympian Alex Sitkovskiy, in 31.20, and European cross-country champion Tatyana Golovchenko in 36.05.When he travels to the Ukraine next month, Lever intends to take further donations of Bermuda T-shirts and leftover race numbers that can be used by the Ukrainians.He is also hopeful that someone in Bermuda, who is familiar with the Ukraine, might offer sponsorship assistance for the race. Anyone who can help can contact Lever on 297-3800 or e-mail: marathon@logic.bm