Vodafone 15th Istanbul Half Marathon Was Held

Vodafone 15th Istanbul Half Marathon, organized by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality affiliate Spor Istanbul under the name sponsorship of Vodafone, was held on Sunday, September 20, 2020 (today). This year, 8 runners participated in the race, which was promoted to the Gold Category by World Athletics and entered the top 2.500 semi-marathon lists in the world and was run with the unique view of the Historic Peninsula, due to pandemic measures (with limited quota). Sezgin Ataç won the race with a time of 1:03:16 in men and Fatma Demir with a time of 1:13:17 in women.

In the race, which was held by fulfilling all the activity criteria regarding the pandemic in the period when most of the world marathons were postponed or canceled, the categories and number of people were limited in accordance with the "Covid-19 Mass Events Guide" criteria published by the World Health Organization (WHO). The athletes completed the race in a safe environment with works such as the number of people per square meter at the starting point, regulations in the waiting area, hygiene rules, and the application of safe areas.

Vodafone Turkey Executive Vice President Al Peters said: "Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon not only as a sports event, Istanbul We also support the goal of turning the city into a global brand. We were happy to give our name to the half marathon for the seventh time. We experienced a hybrid half marathon due to the pandemic. In addition to physical running, virtual running was also organized. In addition, skating enthusiasts also participated in the half marathon. We embraced the half marathon this year with the environmental theme. We presented all the runners who participated in the physical and virtual running medals that we produced by recycling from e-waste. Another work we will do for the environment will be to donate saplings on behalf of the runners who complete the virtual run through the application. We thank Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for their valuable cooperation and congratulate all participants. "

A first: Virtual Half Marathon in Turkey

For those who cannot take part in the physical run due to the restriction of participants, "Run alone with us!" Created with the slogan of Turkey's most comprehensive virtual race.

Turkey's first virtual half marathon, 21 km and 10 km runners who want to run, run virtual application by downloading it from the Play Store and the App Store (19-20 September) took place in parallel to this history. In this way, the athletes completed the run wherever they wanted, on the track of their choice.

21K Roller Track category

Skating enthusiasts took their place in the Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon track, in the fascinating view of the Historical Peninsula track, with the 21 kilometer Skate category, which was reopened upon high demand. With the Roller Run start at 09.50, the athletes on the track created colorful images.

Safe Area Application

One of the applications within the scope of pandemic measures was the 'Safe Area' application. With the 'Safe Area' provided with HES codes obtained from the athletes before the race, threats to health were minimized.

While the athletes enter the area with the QR codes hung in the event area, this application, which shows that all the volunteers and officers inside are safe, created a safe area for the participants.

Run with the Green Marathon concept

Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon was run in the concept of "Green Half Marathon" this year as well. In this concept, water bottles, chest numbers, bags, chips etc. prepared for athletes. materials were made from recycled materials, keeping printing materials to a minimum.

Hibya News Agency