Thousands to cross continents in Eurasia

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Every year, tens of thousands cross the Bosphorus Bridge during the fun run, which is held as part of the Intercontinental Eurasia Marathon in Istanbul. AA photo

Thousands of runners are set to cross continents over the Bosphorus Bridge as the Vodafone Eurasia Marathon is held for the 34th time in Istanbul on Nov. 11.

A total of $1,000,000 in prize money will be distributed between the marathon, 15-kilometer and eight-kilometer races. Most people will eye the eight-kilometer fun run, the trademark event of the day which will attract around 80,000 racing amateurs.

This year, the Eurasia Marathon was promoted to the gold category by the International Association of Athletics Federations’ road race events list, marking an important jump in status.

Turkish Athletics Federation chairman Mehmet Terzi praised the improvement the marathon has made over the years.

“This race has important meaning for me. I have raced here numerous times and had some of my best performances here,” said Terzi, a former long-distance champion. “Comparing today’s situation with the times I have competed, I can say that what was left unchanged is that the marathon is still 42,195 meters. With the participation of elite athletes, the marathon now deserves its gold label.”

The men’s and women’s marathon winners will each receive $50,000, which Alpaslan Baki Ertekin, the chairman of Istanbul Spor AŞ, the municipality’s sports branch, calls “among the top five” in the world. Runners-up will receive $25,000 and third place will get $15,000.

Around 13,000 athletes from 88 countries will participate in the marathon and 15-kilometer race.
Ertekin added that the fun run is limited to 80,000 participants, since there were concerns in recent years that an overload of weight could harm the Bosphorus Bridge.

Race roouts

The marathon will start around 300 meters before the Bosphorus Bridge toll booths and after crossing the bridge, athletes will enter the Barbaros Boulevard to Karaköy. After passing over the Galata Bridge, through Eyüp, Feshane, Unkapanı and Yenikapı, the runners will reach Gülhane Park and eventually Sultanahmet, the finishing point of the race.

The 15-kilometer race will have the same start and finish points as the marathon, but will take a different route after Galata Bridge.

The eight-kilometer race will start at the same point as well, finishing in Tophane.
The three races start at 9 a.m. while the fun run starts at 9:30 a.m.

The fun run starts under the Altunizade Bridge on the Asian side of Istanbul. After crossing the Bosphorus Bridge, the runners will continue the race at the İnönü Stadium in Beşiktaş. Registration for the fun run is still open until the evening of Nov. 10 at istanbulmarathon.org, or at the Marathon Fair in the Istanbul Congress Center.

All the aforementioned roads will be closed to traffic in Istanbul during the marathon.