This Sunday, 13 November, approximately 2,000 citizens and guests of the southern capital ran across the city. Athletes started their run from Astana Square, in the historical center of Almaty, with the event organized by “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund.
Competitors started running from the historic building of the former Government House currently occupied by the Kazakh-British Technical University. Athletes ran along Tole Bi, Nauryzbay Batyr, Shevchenko Streets and went down Panfilov Boulevard. On this day, athletes were pleased with good weather that helped many of them to break their personal records while enjoying the beauty of the city.
Amateur athletes over 15 years old took part in the following distances: 10 km and 5-km Nordic Walking. Rakhimzhan Kelmanov finished the 10-km distance first among men with a 32 minutes 22 seconds result. Svetlana Kudelich (Belarus) became a winner among women. Her gun time is 36 minutes 34 seconds.
“The running season 2022 is very eventful and exciting. In addition to the annual seasonal runs, we held the first cross-country race in the Almaty Region, a 1000-meters race at a stadium, a half marathon in our capital city of Astana and a marathon in the sacred city of Turkestan. The CITY RUN is the final running event for our team and we are so happy that for the first time the run took place in the very center of our wonderful city. We’d like to say many thanks to all participants, city services, medical officers, volunteers, and partners. It’s your help and assistance that made our running festival so bright and memorable,” Race Director of the Almaty Marathon Saltanat Kazybayeva said.
All runners who finished were awarded a finisher’s medal. The overall 10-km winners among women and men were awarded cash vouchers, medals, diplomas and presents from our partners. Winners in age categories were awarded medals, diplomas and valuable prizes from our partners as well.
It stands to mention that many world countries hold marathons and major runs in the very center of their capitals and megalopolises, attracting many participants with their route. For city residents, such races are a grand event, fans get out on the streets, people hang out flags and posters to support runners, thus creating a bright and friendly atmosphere.
“When we learned about the City Run route, my friends and I immediately passed the registration. When you run along beautiful streets of the city, you even don’t notice how time flies and you get maximum pleasure. We really hope the CITY RUN will remain and become a traditional final for all runners,” Alisher Abdrakhmanov, a participant in a 10-km distance, shared his emotions.
Please be advised that registration for the annual Almaty Half Marathon 2023, which will be held on 23 April 2023, is now open. Registration is available on almaty-marathon.kz.
