News
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April 8th, 2022
For A Good Cause
Wings For Life World Run, providing funds for spinal cord research, will be held in 7 cities including Turkey’s Izmir on 8 May.
Wings For Life World Run is organized by the non-profit Wings For Life Foundation, and the full revenue raised by the registration fees is transferred to scientific spinal cord researches. The event has been held since 2014 and it goes with the motto “For A Good Cause” this year. Whilst there is no announced distance of the race, there is no finish line either. The race starts simultaneously in each of the cities where the event is held, and the competitors who are caught by a car are considered to have finished the race. The Catcher Car gives the runners a 30-minute head start, then takes off. The last runner to be caught by the Catcher Car in İzmir becomes the Turkish winner, the last participant remaining in all cities is crowned the world champion.
The physical runs are limited to seven cities due to the pandemic this year, however, it is possible to participate in the race virtually. The event will start at 13:00 CET (14:00 Turkish time) on Sunday, 8 May in Ljubljana of Slovenia, Munich of Germany, Poznan of Poland, Vienna of Austria, Zadar of Croatia and Zug of Switzerland alongside Izmir while the virtual runners in 155 cities of 6 continents will start at the same time by a smart phone application developed for the purpose. Detailed information on the locations and the participation conditions are accessible at www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com.
Timing services of Wings For Life World Run in İzmir, where the number of registrants reached 6,500 with one month to go, will be provided by Depar Timing in cooperation with the German company Datacapo.
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March 30th, 2022
Marathon, Afresh
Having become one of the most prestigious road races in Turkey, the 3rd edition of the MarathonIzmir will be staged on 17 April.
Promoted with the slogan “Marathon, afresh” by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, the organiser of the event, MarathonIzmir is now the most important city marathon in Turkey after the Istanbul Marathon. The race, which attracted several African elite athletes last year, witnessed the men’s all-comers record by 2:09:35.
The 10km race included in the event programme will start at 7:20 on Sunday morning. The marathoners will hit the course at 8:00. Timing services in the event will be provided by Depar Timing.
Detailed information on the event and the entry form can be accessed at www.maratonizmir.org.
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January 9th, 2022
Kenyans Victorious in Adana
Emmanuel Bor and Daisy Kimeli took the top honours with 1:01:39 and 1:13:42 respectively at the Adana Liberation Half Marathon.
For the fifth time in the 12-year history of the event, Kenyan athletes ran away with both titles in Adana. Emmanuel Bor led the men’s race from gun to tape, passing through the 5km mark in 14:53, 10km in 29:13 and 15km in 44:13 on his way to a 1:01:39 win. Getaye Gelaw of Ethiopia, a resident of Turkey, was a close contender throughout the race and finished in 1:01:56. Kenya’s 41-year-old Benard Sang, who was just beside the leaders until the 10th km, ran a relatively slower second half of the race to take the third in 1:04:58.
On the women’s side, Daisy Kimeli was already 48 seconds ahead of the rest of the field when she passed the 5km in 16:37 and she was never challenged until she crossed the finish line in 1:13:42. Burcu Subatan, a rising road runner from Turkey, closed the gap during the last 8km and arrived in 1:13:58. Another Turkish athlete Büşra Nur Koku was the last on the podium by her time of 1:15:23.
Emmanuel Bor’s 1:01:39 is the fourth fastest winning time in Adana while Daisy Kimeli is the fifth slowest winner with 1:13:42. Both men’s and women’s races are won nine times by Africans and three times by Turkish athletes in 12 years.
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January 3rd, 2022
2021 Road Races Performance Rankings
London and Valencia topped the 2021 marathon and half marathon rankings respectively. Istanbul Half finished the year second.
World Athletics 2021 Competition Rankings are finalised following the races held in the new year’s eve. Albeit the results of the race did not meet the world record expectations, Virgin Money London Marathon ranked first once again in the marathons top list. London Marathon, now the 18-time winner of the past 20 years, is followed by the Generali Milan Marathon and the TCS Amsterdam Marathon. Istanbul secured its leadership among the marathons held in Turkey. Ranked 18th in the world rankings, N Kolay Istanbul Marathon finished the year only 41 points ahead of Marathon Izmir where the Turkish all-comers record in men’s marathon was broken. Marathon Izmir, ranked 33rd in its inaugural edition in 2020 when Istanbul was 17th, climbed to 20th position in 2021.
Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon is ranked number one for a second consecutive year among the half marathons and races over shorter distance. Istanbul Half Marathon, having ranged from seventh to twelfth in previous years, falls 59 points short to Valencia to take the second place after its 2021 edition where the women’s world record was broken and three women finished under 65 minutes for the first time in history. In the women-only ranking, Istanbul is first 153 points ahead of Valencia.
World Road Races Performance Rankings are based on the aggregate points of the fastest eight performances and the participation score of the competitors in a race. Top five events in 2021 and the rankings of the Turkish races are as follows:
Marathons:
1. Virgin Money London Marathon, 10857 point
2. Generali Milan Marathon, 10167 points
3. TCS Amsterdam Marathon, 10129 points
4. Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon, 10125 points
5. TCS New York Marathon, 9934 points
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18. N Kolay Istanbul Marathon, 9391 points
20. Marathon Izmir, 9350 points
51. Trabzon Marathon, 8550 pointsHalf marathons and races over shorter distance:
1. Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon, 10828 points
2. N Kolay Istanbul Half Marathon, 10769 points
3. Adizero Road to Records 10km, 10434 points
4. The Giants Geneve 10km, 10216 points
5. Bahrain Night Half Marathon, 10112 points
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50. Trabzon Half Marathon, 8910 points
76. Bebek 10km, 8652 points
115. Marathon Izmir 10km, 8323 points
137. Adana Half Marathon, 8172 points
*165. N Kolay Istanbul Marathon 15km, 7940 points
216. 9 Eylül Izmir Half Marathon, 7687 points
(* After the points deducted due to the elevation difference over 1/1000) -
January 2nd, 2022
Top Five in 2021 Half Marathons
The half marathons in 2021 will mostly be remembered by the fast world records following each other, the women’s in particular.
Ruth Chepngetich opened the year of amazing world records by her 1:04:02 at the Istanbul Half Marathon in April, however, she could take only the third place in the annual top list. Letesenbet Gidey topped the list by her record time of 1:02:52 from Valencia in October.
Jacob Kiplimo was another surprise record-breaker by 57:31 in Lisbon in November, shaving one second off the previous world record, which was believed to last for some years. One month earlier, four of the top five performances of the year were registered in Valencia.
Young Turkish talents produced some promising half marathon performances in 2021. The 23-year-old Sezgin Ataç took the first place in the top list along with Yasemin Can on the women’s side.
Top five athletes in the half marathon list of 2021 are as follows;
Men's half marathon World list:
57:31 Jacob Kiplimo, Uganda (Lisbon, 21 November)
58:07 Abel Kipchumba, Kenya (Valencia, 24 October)
58:09 Rhonex Kipruto, Kenya (Valencia, 24 October)
58:26 Daniel Mataiko, Kenya (Valencia, 24 October)
58:28 Kennedy Kimutai, Kenya (Valencia, 24 October)Men's half marathon Turkish list:
1:02:20 Sezgin Ataç (Trabzon, 21 February)
1:02:26 Kaan Kigen Özbilen (Istanbul, 4 April)
1:03:36 Aras Kaya (Istanbul, 4 April)
1:03:46 Halil Yaşın (Istanbul, 4 April)
1:04:01 Hüseyin Can (Istanbul, 4 April)Women's half marathon World list:
1:02:52 Letesenbet Gidey, Ethiopia (Valencia, 24 October)
1:03:51 Yalemzerf Yehualaw, Ethiopia (Valencia, 24 October)
1:04:02 Ruth Chepngetich, Kenya (Istanbul, 4 April)
1:04:51 Hellen Obiri, Kenya (Istanbul, 4 April)
1:04:54 Sheila Chepkirui Kiprotich, Kenya (Valencia, 24 October)Women's half marathon Turkish list:
1:08:32 Yasemin Can (Istanbul, 4 April)
1:12:15 Fatma Karasu (Trabzon, 21 February)
1:12:17 Yayla Günen (Trabzon, 21 February)
1:12:40 Bahar Atalay (Trabzon, 21 February)
1:13:16 Yasemin Can Arslan (Istanbul, 4 April)
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