Official Regulation

Running Competition “Almaty Half Marathon 2023” Official REGULATIONS dated 14.11.2022

 

1. OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPETITION

The Almaty Marathon (hereinafter – the Competition) is an annual running competition with a main distance of 21 km 097 m and additional distances of 10 km, a 10-km Nordic Walking, a 21 km 97.5-m Ekiden Relay. A city festival for sports and race fans, in which every resident and guest of Almaty can take part.

Competition Objectives:

- popularization of running and Nordic Walking;

- preparation of runners for international marathon competitions;

- formation of a healthy nation;

- development of mass sports;

- popularization of a healthy lifestyle among residents of Almaty;

- discouraging bad habits (smoking);

- sports support and development among children with special needs. Implementation of charitable projects.

 

2. MANAGING ORGANIZER OF THE COMPETITION

2.1. “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund provides general management of the Competition.

2.2. Arrangements for preparing and holding the Competition are the responsibility of the Organizing Committee of “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund (hereinafter – the Organizing Committee).

 

3. TIME AND VENUE OF THE COMPETITION

3.1. Day and time of the Competition: 23 April 2023, from 05:30 till 13:30.

3.2. Venue of the CompetitionAlmaty

Start line for all distances: the First President Park (Al-Farabi Ave., Dulati St. corner)

Finish for all distances: Central Stadium (Abay Ave.)

 

4. COMPETITION DISTANCES AND AGE GROUPS

4.1. The Competition Program includes the following distances:

 

4.2. Age groups of the Competition:

4.2.1. Age groups of the Half Marathon (21 km 97,5 m):

4.2.2. Age groups of the 10-km Distance Race:

4.2.3. Age groups of Ekiden:

5. COMPETITION PARTICIPANTS

5.1. Participants of the following age groups are allowed to participate in the Competition:

5.2. Simultaneous participation in the Competition for several distances and Ekiden teams is strictly prohibited.

5.3. During registration for the Competition, your exact full age is taken into account at the time of holding the Competition. 

6. EXPENSES FOR ORGANIZING AND HOLDING THE COMPETITION

6.1. The Organizing Committee bears all the expenses for organizing and holding the Competition.

6.2. The travel, accommodation and meal expenses associated with the Competition shall be paid by the participant sending organizations or participants of the Competition themselves.

7. REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR ADMISSION TO THE COMPETITION

7.1. Registration of participants for the Competition will be available on the website www.almaty-marathon.kz from 14 November 2022 and will end on 10 April 2023, or upon reaching 7,500 (seven thousand five hundred) registered participants.

7.2. Corporate participants of the Competition will be registered upon request sent to info@almaty-marathon.kz. The number of participants in the Competition from the company must be more than 30 (thirty) people. Companies with less than 30 (thirty) participants shall register on the website www.almaty-marathon.kz independently.

Corporate participants are participants participating in singles (21 km, 10 km, 10-km Nordic Walking), participation of which is funded by the participant’s company via bank transfer to the settlement account of the Organizing Committee. Registration shall be made based on an application filed by a representative of such corporate participants by e-mail and by filling out a special application form.

7.3. A participant, who has passed the online registration procedure on www.almaty-marathon.kz and paid the entry fee according to the ID number assigned upon registration for a particular distance of the Competition, is considered registered for the Competition. Only paid applications will be included in the list of participants in the Competition.

7.4. By registering and paying the entry fee, the participant of the Competition agrees with all the terms and conditions of these Competition Regulations.

7.5. Entry fees for Competition distances:

7.6. Change of distance within the Competition is available only until 10 April 2022 (inclusive). If a slot for participation in the Competition has already been purchased, you must contact the Organizing Committee and pay 1,000 (one thousand) KZT for changing the competition distance. In case of changing the distance within the Competition from a shorter to a longer one, the difference in the cost of the slots shall be paid as well. In case of changing the distance within the Competition from a longer to a shorter one, the difference in the cost of slots is not refundable! It is possible to change the distance within the Competition only if there are free slots for the selected competition distance. When changing a Competition’s BIB number with your name on it from one distance to another one, the BIB with the name is lost.

7.7. BIB numbers with names are assigned after registering and paying for a BIB number until 23 March 2022 (inclusive). Your personal BIB number indicates the name you specified in the Name box when passing your registration on the website. The BIB number cannot contain any nickname, obscene words, mottos and other slogans. Before printing, the BIB numbers are checked for correctness.

7.8. Funds paid for participation in the Competition are non-refundable. Funds paid for the wrong or any other ID number are not refundable and cannot be transferred to another participant of the Competition, as well as cannot be transferred for participation in other Competition organized by “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund.

7.9. The participant’s BIB number cannot be returned and exchanged.

7.10. Participants without BIB numbers are not admitted to the Competition!

7.11. The participant’s BIB number must be clearly visible. The participant of the Competition must place the BIB number on the front of his/her chest or waist belt.

7.12. Participation in the Competition under another participant’s number is prohibited! In the event that the transfer of BIB numbers is revealed, the participant of the Competition who transferred the BIB number and the participant of the Competition who accepted the other’s BIB number will be disqualified for this Competition and their result will be cancelled. Admission to the next 3 (three) Competitions will also be denied.

7.13. It is prohibited to participate in the Competition wearing headphones.

7.14. Participants who use wheelchairs, handbikes, special jogging strollers will start from a separate cluster. To apply for the cluster, please contact info@almaty-marathon.kz before 18:00, 20 April 2023. Those participating in wheelchair and their accompanying persons shall have BIB numbers of the Almaty Half Marathon 2023.

7.15. There are some requirements for those participating with a child in a jogging stroller. The stroller must have a safety belt attached to the hand of the accompanying person, pneumatic wheels. Your child must be fastened with a safety belt, and the front wheel must be fixed.

7.16. Participants with disabilities can receive a free slot to participate. For this purpose, please submit your application to info@almaty-marathon.kz before 10 April 2023. Your application shall contain the registration ID for this Competition, full name, distance and the documents confirming your disability. Your accompanying person shall pay for his/her participation anyway. The number of slots allocated for participants with disabilities is limited. If all free slots are already taken, the Organizing Committee reserves the right to refuse a free participation for a disabled athlete.

 

8. ELITE QUALIFICATION

8.1. Elite is a separate start cluster for athletes with pre-confirmed qualification time.

8.2. Athletes will be registered for the elite category of the Competition for the 21 km 97.5-m distance after they pass an electronic registration at almaty-marathon.kz.

8.3. To be qualified for the elite category of the Competition, the athlete or his/her official representative shall send his/her application to info@almaty-marathon.kz and provide his/her confirmed results corresponding to the qualification time before 10 April 2023. The results of competitions held in the last 3 (three) years for the same distance before the application are considered.

8.4. Your workout recording in a mobile app is not a confirmation.

8.5. Qualification time for applicants for the 21 km 97.5-m elite category of the Competition shall be as follows:

• men: max. 1:20:00 for half marathon;

• women: max. 1:45:00 for half marathon.

9. DISTRIBUTION OF STARTER KITS

9.1. Starter kits will be distributed to the participants of the Competition from 21 to 22 April 2023, inclusive, from 10:00 to 21:00 in Almaty. Place of distribution will be announced later.

Attention! Participants of the Competition cannot get their starter kits at other times.

9.2. The participant’s starter kit includes a BIB number, a recording chip, a participant’s handout, a bag, pins.

9.3. Corporate participants of the Competition can pick up their starter kits from 21 to 22 April 2023, inclusive, during the distribution of BIB numbers as specified in clause 9.1 hereof. To receive the participant’s starter kit, a person receiving the starter kit must have a copy of his/her ID card, as well as copy/copies of participant’s ID cards and their Health Status signed personally by the Participants.

9.4. Participants are admitted to the Competition only against the following documents provided together:

For participants under the age of 18:

For participants aged 18 and over:

All documents shall be submitted in a printed form.

9.5. If a participant of the Competition cannot pick up his/her starter kit in person, then other person can do it on special days of issue upon presentation of a copy of his/her ID card, a copy of the ID card (printed) of the participant, who cannot pick up the starter kit in person, and the participant’s Health Status.

9.6. Paid T-shirts will be issued only on the day the starter kits are distributed. If a participant of the Competition failed to pick up the T-shirt, then he/she will not be able to get it in the future!

9.7. If a participant purchased a slot, but cannot participate due to his/her illness, injury, departure to another city, business trip, work shift, the participant can take part at another time or in another location in accordance with the chosen distance and can pick up his/her medal at the office of “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund within 2 (two) weeks after the Competition. For this purpose, you shall present an online tracker with a record of your run and the confirming document to justify your absence on the start line (sick leave, medical report, business trip order / travel certificate, copies of boarding tickets) and a photo or original of the participant’s ID card. The participant shall submit an application for forced online participation before the second day of starter kits distribution, in particular before 18:00, 21 April 2023, to info@almaty-marathon.kz.

9.8. If a participant was not aware / forgot / did not have time to pick up his/her starter kit, it will be impossible to get a medal using the online tracker after the Competition.

9.9. Other cases will be discussed individually when applying to info@almaty-marathon.kz before 14:00, 21 April 2023.

10. EKIDEN 21.1

10.1. Athletes over 15 years old can take part in the Ekiden team relay of the Competition. The team consists of 4 (four) people, each of whom overcomes its own segment of the track.

10.2. Each team should run a distance of 21 km 97.5 m divided into sections of 5 km, 5, km, 5 km, and 6 km 97.5 m.

10.3. It is prohibited to participate in 2 (two) or more teams, as well as to overcome more than one section of the track within the Competition.

10.4. It is prohibited to participate in Ekiden and other distances within the same Competition.

10.5. The cost of participation in Ekiden within the Competition for the team is 140,000 (one hundred and forty thousand) KZT.

10.6. Teams shall pass the registration for the Ekiden team relay of the Competition on the website www.almaty-marathon.kz from 14 November 2022 until 03 April 2023 or upon reaching 40 (forty) registered Ekiden teams. For more information, please contact cc@almaty-marathon.kz.

10.7. Relay exchange points:

11. COMPETITION PROGRAM (to be announced)

11.1. Time limit to pass the distances:

Time limit to pass a 21-km 97.5-m distance – 3 hours 00 minutes,

An athlete participating in the 21-km 97.5-m distance, who ran the first half of the distance in more than 1.5 hours, will not be allowed to run the second lap.

Time limit to pass Ekiden for the whole team – 3 hours 00 minutes,

Time limit to pass a 10-km distance – 2 hours 00 minutes,

Time limit to pass Nordic Walking – 2 hours 00 minutes.

12. LOCKER ROOM

12.1. Participants may leave their belongings in lockers only in the branded bags of the Almaty Half Marathon 2023, which the participants receive at the time of distribution of starter kits.

12.2. The Organizer shall not be responsible for the contents of the Participant’s bag.

12.3. Suitcases, large-size bags and other items not in a branded bag will not be accepted for storage in lockers.

12.4. We recommend not leaving valuables, money, jewellery in lockers. The Organizing Committee will not consider any claims over missing items from your bags.

12.5. When leaving his/her item in a locker, the participant will receive a sticker, which is attached to the BIB number. If the sticker is lost, the bag will not be returned to the Participant on the day of the Competition. The Participant can pick up the bag upon completion of the Competition within a week at the office of “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund and should specify the exact contents of the bag.

13. CALCULATION OF RESULTS AND DETERMINATION OF COMPETITION WINNERS

13.1. Results of the race participants for particular competition distances are recorded by the electronic timing system of the Competition and are confirmed by the Competition’s panel of judges. Winners and prize-winners of particular competition distances are determined on the basis of the participants’ finish time.

13.2. Race winners and prize-winners of particular competition distances are determined in accordance with the World Athletics Rules.

13.3. Official results of the Competition will be published on the website www.almaty-marathon.kz within 24 (twenty-four) hours after the end of the Competition.

Upon receipt of any information about breach of the rules by participants from other persons involved in the organization of the Competition, the Organizing Committee has the right to examine again the venue of the Competition, analyse photo/video records. In case the Organizing Committee finds any previously declared violations by the participants, the Organizing Committee will have the right to make a final decision on changes in the final protocol.

13.4. The result of the participant of the Competition is recorded only if the starting number is correctly placed.

13.5. The Competition Organizing Committee does not guarantee that every participant of the Competition will obtain his/her 100% personal result in the following cases:

• Incorrectly recorded chip;

• Chip demagnetization;

• Chip covered by clothing or otherwise;

• Disqualification on the basis of the resolution made by the Competition’s Panel of Judges;

• Chip damaged by a participant.

13.6. Terms used for displaying results:

IMPORTANT! Race winners and prize-winners of the Competition are determined on the basis of the participant’s GUN TIME.

14. AWARDING OF COMPETITION WINNERS

14.1. Half Marathon (21 km 97.5 m) – participants among men and women are awarded for the 1st – 3rd places in the overall championship.

Winners and prize-winners of the Competition are awarded with cash vouchers, diplomas, medals and valuable prizes. Winners of the overall standings for this particular distance of the Competition are not awarded in age groups.

14.2. Half Marathon (21 km 97.5 m) – participants among men and women are awarded for the 1st – 3rd places in age groups. Winners and prize-winners of this particular distance of the Competition are awarded with diplomas, medals and valuable prizes.

14.3. 10-km Distance Race - participants among men and women are awarded for the 1st - 3rd places in age groups. Winners and prize-winners of this particular distance of the Competition are awarded with diplomas, medals and valuable prizes.

14.4. Ekiden 21.1. Teams in the overall championship are awarded for the 1st -3rd  places.

Winners and prize-winners of this particular distance of the Competition are awarded with cash vouchers, diplomas, medal, cups and valuable prizes.

14.5. No awarding is held for the 10-km Nordic Walking. No awarding is held for online participants.

14.6. All finishing runners (who meets the time limit) of the Competition are awarded with the Finisher’s Medal.

14.7. Cash prizes are issued within 15 (fifteen) business days after the Competition via bank transfer to the competition winner’s personal bank account. To receive the prize, the following documents shall be emailed by the participant of the Competition to info@almaty-marathon.kz within 3 (three) business days after the Competition:

- Certificate of Bank Account, a copy of an ID document;

- A copy of an ID document, name of the bank, address of the bank branch and name of the city in which you will receive the money.

14.8. If a participant of the Competition failed to pick up his/her prize during the Competition, the participant can pick up the prize at the Organizing Committee’s office of “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund from 09:00 to 18:00 within 10 (ten) business days after the Competition, at the following address: Almaty, Al-Farabi Ave., bld. 5, block 1a, office 501.

If a participant of the Competition cannot pick up the prize in person and cannot delegate the receipt of the prize to an authorized person, the winner of the Competition should email to info@almaty-marathon.kz his/her address where the prize can be delivered by the Organizing Committee at the expense of the participant.

This option is available only to residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

14.9. After the specified time periods, the Organizer reserves the right not to give the prizes to the winners.

15. RULES OF CONDUCT ON THE TRACK

The Competition is held in compliance with the World Athletics Rule (hereinafter – WA) 2022-2023.

15.1. Our recommendations:

15.2. It is prohibited to:

16. DISQUALIFICATION

16.1. The Competition Organizing Committee has the right to disqualify a participant of the Competition in the following cases:

16.2. Participants of the Competition will be excluded from the final protocol in the following cases:

17. COMPETITION’S PANEL OF JUDGES

17.1. Competition’s Panel of Judges - judges thoroughly monitor compliance with the competition rules and that the Competition among participants is fair and honest, and that the winner of the Competition is determined objectively. All sport judges serving the Competition represent the Competition’s Panel of Judges.

17.2.  Competition’s Panel of Judges includes:

• Chief Judge of the Competition:

The Chief Judge of the Competition distributes responsibilities among judges of the Competition and after completion of the Competition draws up a competition report and submits it in a writing form to the Competition Organizing Committee.

• Chief Scorer of the Competition:

The Chief Scorer of the Competition processes the protocols and reports the results, draws up the necessary materials to inform judges, participants and spectators about the course of the race in a timely fashion, and after completion thereof draws up the general report on the results.

• Judges of the Start and Finish Zones of the Competition:

The Judges of the Start and Finish Zones of the Competition keep strict watch that the participants of the Competition go to the race distances according to their clusters, all rules are complied with at the start and no one gets any advantages. The Judges at the finish line record the results of the first 10 (ten) finishers according to the finish protocols. The protocols are submitted to the Chief Judge of the Competition for collation of the results with the timekeeping system.

Professional sportsmen and specialists may be invited to the Competition’s Panel of Judges.

17.3. Chief Physician of the Competition.

The Chief Physician of the Competition supervises activities of medical staff and volunteers of the Competition during the race and at the start-finish camp of the Competition. If necessary, the Chief Physician of the Competition can withdraw a participant from the Competition.

18. FORCE MAJEURE

18.1. In case of an official ban imposed on the Competition by the government bodies/agencies/services of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including local government bodies, the Competition will be postponed to a later date. All entry fees previously paid by participants of the Competition will be automatically transferred to the new date of the Competition. The exact (new) date of the Competition will be announced by the Organizing Committee to its participants later through the Organizer’s information sources specified in clause 21 hereof and by mailing to the participants’ personal mail addresses specified in the Profile during their registration for the Competition.

18.2. In the event that a foreign participant of the Competition from another country cannot cross the state border of Kazakhstan on the eve of the Competition and fails to take part in the Competition due to the laws and regulations adopted by government bodies in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the participant can submit to the Organizing Committing a request to transfer his/her entry fee to the next running competition - Almaty Half Marathon 2023. In this case, the request may be mailed to info@almaty-marathon.kz.

19. PROTESTS AND CLAIMS

19.1. Protests shall be submitted to the Competition Organizing Committee and considered by the Competition’s Panel of Judges.

19.2. A participant of the Competition shall be entitled to submit a claim within 2 (two) calendar days after completion of the Competition.

The claims shall be emailed to info@almaty-marathon.kz

When submitting the claim, the participant of the Competition is required to specify the following data:

• participant’s full name (anonymous applications are not subject to consideration);

• the essence of the claim, what the claim consists in;

• grounds for the claim (photo or video records).

19.3. The Competition Organizing Committee shall prepare its official reply to the participant of the Competition within 24 (twenty-four) hours after it receives the protest and/or claim, the reply shall be sent to e-mail, which the claim/protest had been filed from.

19.4. The claims may be accepted only from the participants of the Competition.

20. MEDIA ACCREDITATION

20.1. Media accreditation for the Competition takes place in advance. To pass the accreditation for the Competition, it is necessary to send data (name of the media, full name of the correspondent, operator, photographer, contact phone number and e-mail) to prmanager@almaty-marathon.kz before 21 April 2023.

21. INFORMATION SOURCES OF THE COMPETITION

Detailed information on the Competition is available on web-site www.almaty-marathon.kz, as well as at the following social media sites of the Organizing Committee:

The Competition Organizing Committee assumes no responsibility for the information obtained from any other information sources.

22. MEDIA COVERAGE RIGHTS TO THE COMPETITION

“Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund (hereinafter – the Copyright Holder) holds exclusive media rights to highlight the Competition by broadcasting the image and (or) sound of the sports event by any means and (or) using any technology, and by video recording of the specified broadcast.

The Copyright Holder has the right to enter into agreements in writing with third parties to grant them the rights to cover the sports competition.

23. FINAL PROVISIONS

23.1. These Competition Regulations are the official invitation-call for participation in the Competition.

23.2. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to amend these Competition Regulations.