Anniversary Almaty Marathon to Feature New Courses and Welcome 16 000 Participants

On 27 September, Almaty will host the 15th Almaty Marathon, Central Asia’s largest running event. 16 thousand participants from 60 countries will cross the starting line. The organiser is “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund. For its 15th anniversary edition, the Marathon has introduced completely redesigned courses across all race distances. For the first time, the 42.2 kilometres course will be run as a single loop, with its second half taking participants through Almaty’s central streets and historic districts. Participants will start at Abay Square and finish at Republic Square.

The Almaty Marathon program traditionally includes four individual distances: 42.2 kilometres Marathon, 21.1 kilometre Half Marathon, 10 kilometre Race, and 10 kilometres Nordic Walking. The program also includes the Ekiden Relay Race, with teams of six runners sharing the marathon distance. All courses have been certified as per the World Athletics standards.

The Almaty Marathon has been held since 2012. The first fundraising run under the name of Courage to Be the First united 2500 participants. Over 15 years the number of participants has grown more than six times, and the event itself has become one of the core projects that have had an impact on mass running development in Kazakhstan.

“Over the course of 15 years the Almaty Marathon has stepped beyond an ordinary sporting annual event. It has become one of the projects that have had an impact on the development of running culture and the associated infrastructure: clubs, special-purposed shops, sports medicine, apparel, and services for runners. The Marathon has also helped reinforce Almaty’s stand on the international running map. Next step is to develop sports tourism, expand Kazakhstan’s presence in the international running community and create the legacy which will deliver benefits to the city and its residents,” notes Galimzhan Yessenov, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund.

The Anniversary Marathon will be held under the slogan Start Your Legacy. The guiding idea behind the concept is the legacy which is gradually formed from participants’ personal achievements and years-long involvement of the Almaty Marathon. It is unique to each and every one: the first covered distance, personal record, resuming exercises or an example to inspire the close ones. Participants create their own stories along the distances, and the Marathon impresses on the city life – it develops the running culture, unites the community, supports charitable projects and strengthens Almaty’s standing on the international running map.

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