Turkey’s biggest marathon held after pandemic hiatus

BURSA

Nearly 1,000 athletes from 15 countries participated in the ninth İznik Ultra Marathon this year, which is the biggest in Turkey in terms of the size of the event, following a year of hiatus caused by the pandemic.

In the marathon races organized with the support of Iznik Municipality, athletes toured around the Iznik Lake among the olive groves along the Samanlı and Katırlı Mountains without entering the forest.

While the athletes had an adventurous race on 150, 70, 48, 32, 25, and 14 kilometers long natural tracks, the event ended with the 5-kilometer UNESCO Run and the children’s run.

Turkish athlete Ferhat Semiz came first with a time of 20 hours and 26 minutes in the 150-kilometer race, which is the longest track of the marathon, and was awarded olives equal to his weight.

The winners of the 70-kilometer race, starting from the northwestern province of Bursa’s Orhangazi district and ending in Iznik, were Mahmut Yavuz for men and Seda Kurtuldu for women.

Russian athlete Elena Polyakova, who won the 150-kilometer races twice, this time, she got the trophy in the 55-kilometer race starting from Narlıca.

In the children’s race, all the competitors were declared “the winner of hearts.”

Speaking at the award ceremony, İznik Mayor Kağan Mehmet Usta expressed his happiness because the event, which could not take place last year due to the pandemic, was finally organized and enjoyed this year.

The mayor invited the competitors to take part in the marathon in the coming years.