19th Istanbul Half Marathon to be run on April 28: 16,000 people registered

The 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon will be run this year on Sunday, April 28. The press conference for the race, which is one of the four half marathons in Europe in the "Gold Label" category, was held at the IMM Maltepe Kenan Onuk Athletics Track. At the meeting, Spor Istanbul General Manager Renay Onur said, "The half marathon is now being called the 'new marathon' in the world!"

Don't leave your news choices to an algorithm - decide for yourself what you read. Add 12punto to your preferred sources!

19th Istanbul Half Marathon to be run on April 28: 16,000 people registered

Organized by Spor Istanbul, a subsidiary of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), the 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon will be run on the Historical Peninsula course on Sunday, April 28.

While 12,000 people registered for the marathon, which will start with the slogan "The Fastest Half," last year, that number has reached 16,000 this year. The promotional meeting for the Istanbul Half Marathon was held at the IMM Maltepe Kenan Onuk Athletics Track.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Can Akın Çağlar, Spor Istanbul General Manager İ. Renay Onur, Turkish Athletics Federation President Fatih Çintimar, and Türkiye İş Bankası Deputy General Manager Sezgin Lüle attended as speakers.

ONUR: THE HALF MARATHON IS NOW THE “NEW MARATHON”

Opening the meeting, Spor Istanbul General Manager İ. Renay Onur stated that the popularity of half marathons has increased rapidly in recent years, saying, “The half marathon is now being called the ‘new marathon’ in the world! The high probability of finishing compared to the 42K and its dynamic structure are increasing interest every day. The growth rate of the half marathon in Turkey is 4 times that of the full marathon. The number of people who have run and finished the half marathon in the last 5 years has also recorded an increase of over 100 percent. Our marathon, which hosted Turkey’s first international athletics record in 2021, will achieve another first. For the first time in Turkey, children aged 16 and over will run a half marathon,” he said.

Emphasizing that the Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon offers elite athletes the opportunity to achieve their best times with its altitude as well as its historical atmosphere, Onur stated, “21 male athletes with personal bests under 1:01:00 and 9 female athletes with personal bests under 1:08:00 will participate in the 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon this year. Kenyan Panuel Mkungo, who won last year’s 45th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Marathon, wants to win the Istanbul Half Marathon as well, becoming the first athlete to achieve this in the men’s category,” he said.

Noting that they are waiting for all Istanbulites at the 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon to be run on April 28, Onur added, “According to forecasts, the weather will be beautiful. A pleasant and exciting marathon awaits us again.”

"THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COURSE"

Stating that the 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon has the most beautiful half marathon course in Turkey, Turkish Athletics Federation President Fatih Çintimar drew attention to the organization’s contributions to the country’s sports culture. Çintimar said, “The 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon still carries the title of being one of the fastest races in the world. As a result of constantly rising times, it is now walking with firm steps towards becoming a ‘record course.’ Our Istanbul Half Marathon is also one of the races that contributes to quotas. Increasing and growing the number of these competitions is an important factor for the further development of sports culture in our country,” he said.

AGE LIMIT WAS LOWERED

Türkiye İş Bankası Deputy General Manager Sezgin Lüle, whose bank also undertook the title sponsorship of the Istanbul Half Marathon after the Istanbul Marathon, the only marathon in the world that connects two continents, stated that he believes the 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon will pass in a festive atmosphere and spoke as follows:

“The fact that the 18-year age limit has been removed this year, allowing young people aged 16 and over to run in the Türkiye İş Bankası Half Marathon for the first time in our country, and lowering the age limit to 16, is also valuable in terms of our youth meeting sports and sporting values through such mass events.”

ÇAĞLAR: WE HAVE ADDED 2027 TO THE MARATHONS

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Can Akın Çağlar stated that working for the country is also like a marathon, saying, “We will continue our service marathon from where we left off with the same excitement and pleasure. Now it is time to run together for Turkey.”

Emphasizing that active living and exercise are the cheapest and best medicine we have for individual and social health, Çağlar said, “Its benefits against physical and mental trauma are also a scientific fact. We see sports as a ‘preventive health service’ for Istanbulites. We have two marathons with international prestige in our city. Now, in addition to this, we will organize a sports organization that includes more than one branch for the first time in Istanbul with the 2027 European Games. All these efforts will also give us great experience on the way to bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games to Istanbul,” he said.

Following the speeches, the t-shirts designed for the 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon were introduced with a dance show. The meeting ended with the participants taking a souvenir photo with their half marathon bib numbers and t-shirts.

A FIRST WILL BE EXPERIENCED

The 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon, which drew international attention in 2021 with the world record broken by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich with a time of 1:04:02 in the women’s category, will also go down in history as the first 21K marathon in Turkey where athletes aged 16 and over will run. In previous years, the age limit was 18 and over. This year, there will be participation for the first time from Canada, Malta, and the Virgin Islands. In total, there will be participation from 72 different countries.

THE HALF MARATHON WILL START FROM YENİKAPI AT 09.15

The 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon will start from Yenikapı at 09.15. The race, which will turn towards Karaköy from Kumkapı, Cankurtaran, Çatladıkapı, Sarayburnu, Sirkeci traffic lights, and Eminönü, will cross the Galata Bridge. The race, which will make a “U” turn from the traffic lights at the end of the bridge in Karaköy, will use the same coastal road in the opposite direction by making another “U” turn before reaching Eminönü, Unkapanı, Cibali, Abdülezelpaşa Street, Ayvansaray, and the Haliç Bridge, and will end at the point where it started in Yenikapı.

The 10K race will start in Yenikapı at 08.00. The run, which will take a turn from Sarayburnu, will end in Yenikapı again. The time limit for 10K participants will be 1.5 hours, and 3.5 hours for 21K.

All information regarding the 19th Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon can also be accessed via the race’s official website https://istanbulyarimaratonu.com/.