Istanbul Marathon: the entire Turkey found out about Chisinau Marathon and Sporter Run

From 13 to 15 November the Turkey city of Istanbul hosted the 37th Vodafone Istanbul Marathon 2015.  45 thousand people from around the globe took part in the marathon at distances of 42 km, 15 km, 10 km, and Walk Fun 8 km.

Marathon in Istanbul is the only one in the world, the distance of which is held in two continents at the same time, Europe and Asia. Istanbul Marathon has been held since 1979, and this year it took place for the 37th time. Runners start in Asia, cross the bridge over the Bosphorus and get to Europe, finishing between the Blue Mosque and Egyptian obelisk. Along the way, runners run through the main attractions of the city. Most of the race takes place on the asphalt surface, the route is relatively flat (except for the ups and downs from the three bridges).

The organizers of the Chisinau Marathon, represented by Mariana Manole, the project-manager of Sporter, took part in the Sport Expo, in the framework of the Istanbul Marathon.   20 Moldovan runners of the Sporter Run club also ran the marathon at distances of 42, 15 and 10 km.

The first goal of Sporter is to tell a large audience about Chisinau Marathon, which was first held in April 26, 2015, and now will be held for the second time – April 17, 2016. The second objective is gaining experience in the international marathon organization. These two goals were achieved at the Sport Expo in Istanbul.

Two days in a row, from morning to evening, on the sports show next to the representatives of famous European marathons, Mariana Manole told everyone that we will be conducting the second Chisinau Marathon in the near future, and personally met with each representative of the marathon from Europe: Milano Marathon (Italy), San Valentino Maratona (Italy), Rhein Energie Marathon Koln (Germany), Lattelecom Riga Marathon (Latvia), Prague Marathon (Czech Republic), Banja Luka Half Marathon (Serbia), Sofia International Marathon (Bulgaria), Kazan Marathon (Republic of Tatarstan ) and UFA International Marathon (Bashkiria), as well as many representatives of the Turkish marathons, ultra-marathons and IronMan Turkey.

“Istanbul was the most large-scale sporting exhibition, which I had the opportunity to visit. I saw a lot of new things, met with organizers of other marathons, shared information with them about our marathon, many people expressed an interest and decided not only to run our Chisinau marathon, but also to participate in the Sport Expo. The best part was that our stand was located next to the exhibition of our friends, representatives of the Bucharest Marathon. Another really enjoyable thing was the fact that among the extremely large crowd I was approached by people, who got acquainted with me in other marathons” – said Mariana Manole.  

After receiving the starter packs, walking around the city for two long days, the runners enjoyed the spectacular scenery, historic buildings and ancient streets, and then began preparing their equipment to run the next morning one of the most difficult marathons in Europe. Of course, training did not go without the traditional pasta party, aimed at charging bodies with a good portion of carbohydrates.

And now it is Sunday. From the very early morning, the runners began preparing for the important marathon, because start takes place very early, at 9:00.

Sporter Run team gathered together to move off to the start zone, at the specially organized buses, which deliver all the runners from the European to the Asian part of the city, where, respectively, is the starting line located. After giving their stuff to the portable wardrobe, which is another bus for the personal belongings of each runner by assigned number, after which the bus is routed to the finish line. It is very practical and convenient.

So, the start was off!

The crowd of 45,000 professionals, amateurs and beginners started to RUN, but the Istanbul Marathon is not so easy to win, so if you want to beat a personal record, then this is not the place you should be. Marathon is the most difficult in Europe because of its ups and downs over the bridges.

First of the Moldovan representatives at the finish was Liviu Croitoru, who ran 10 kilometers in 34 minutes and 23 seconds, thus finishing second.

“I expected to run the ten in 31 minutes to become the first, but due to the fact that all sportsmen, running the distance of 10 km, were placed after the marathoners, so I had to run among a large crowd, overrunning and pushing people around.  I ran the entire distance in a zigzag, thus loosing several minutes, because I had to overrun by the beds, roadsides and sidewalks”, – shared  Liviu Croitoru with Sporter.md.

A little later, finishers at the distance of 15 km could be seen, among which 5 representatives of Moldova ran. And in a few hours, the marathon participants were seen, who conquered the 42 km of ruthless Istanbul route.

Here are the results of our runners at the last marathon:

Distance – 42 km:

Men

1. 
   
   1. Kiril Goldshmidt — 3:14:03
   2. Iulian Bercu — 3:41:32
   3. Denis Chiriliuc — 3:44:22
   4. Matcovschi Andrei — 3:47:28
   5. Eugen Lobicov — 4:02:11
   6. Alexei Gutsaga — 4:39:01
   7. Vidrashcu Mihail — 4:47:32
   8. Anatol Ursu — 4:56:10

Women

1. Matcovschi Irina – 3:48:59
2. Ana Cazacu – 4:45:28

Distance – 15 km:

1. Manole Mariana – 1:18:59
2. Alexandra Brinzari – 1:25:23
3. Nemtanu Elena – 1:25:24

Distance – 10 km:

Liviu Croitoru – 34:23

All participants had a great pleasure running through Istanbul, enjoying the sights of the city. After the race, everyone was waiting for each other at the finish line to go together to a restaurant for drinking on the medals.

I would like to note that many of our runners have run the marathon for the first time, and most importantly, they have chosen for this one of the most difficult marathons in Europe, and we congratulate them with the debut.

April 17 will the second International Chisinau Marathon will be held, and a huge number of participants is expected not only from Moldova, but also from around the world. The registration for the Chisinau Marathon is now open and you can submit an application for participation right now on the site: www.marathon.md

Sporter Team thanks the organizers of the Istanbul Marathon for the opportunity to take part in the Sport Expo, as well as for the excellent organization of the races. We are very glad to get acquainted with many people, who we met during the three days in Istanbul.

We also thank warmly the runners’ team of Sporter Run for being with us and achieving new results in one of the most prestigious marathons in Europe!

We are proud of you!

This is just the beginning; we have a lot to come yet!

Photo Report

David Lutsyk for sporter.md