Official regulations

Turkistan Marathon 2024

Running Competition Regulations

 

The Turkistan Marathon 2024 (hereinafter – the Competition) is a running competition with the main distance of 42 km 195 m, its half marathon distance of 21 km 97.5 m, 10-km distance race, 10-km Nordic Walking, and 3-km children’s race. It is a real city festival for sports and race fans, in which every resident and guest of Turkistan can take part. Moreover, in 2024 the Kazakhstan Marathon Championship (42 km 195 m) in the Masters category will be held for the participants aged over 35 as part of the Turkistan Marathon.

 

1. OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPETITION

 

• 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 and guests of Turkistan;
• discouraging bad habits.

 

2. 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. Time and venue of the Competition: 27 October 2024, from 05:30 till 13:30.

3.2. Venue of the Competition: Turkistan.

Start and finish lines for all distances: Amir Temir 53A, Visit Centre Turkistan (parking lot).

 

4. COMPETITION DISTANCES AND AGE CATEGORIES

4.1. The Competition Program includes the following distances:

• 42 km 195-m Marathon
• 21 km 97.5-m Half Marathon
• 10-km Distance Race 
• 10-km Nordic Walking
• 3-km Children’s Race

4.2. Age categories of the Competition:

4.2.1. Age categories of the Marathon (42 km 195 m);

• 18-24 years old;
• 25-29 years old;
• 30-39 years old;
• 40-49 years old;
• 50-59 years old;
• 60-69 years old;
• 70+ years old

4.2.2. Age categories of the Half Marathon (21 km 97.5 m);

• 18+ years old

4.2.3. Age categories of the 10-km distance race:

• 15-17 years old;
• 18+ years old

4.2.4. Age categories of the 3-km distance race:

• 10-12 years old;
• 13-14 years old.

 

4.2.5. Age categories of the 42-km distance, Kazakhstan Marathon Championship, Masters:

• 35-39 years old.
• 40-49 years old;
• 50-59 years old;
• 60-69 years old;
• 70-79 years old.
• 80+ years old

 

5. COMPETITION PARTICIPANTS

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

• 42 km 195-m Marathon – participants aged 18 years and over.
• 21 km 97.5-m Half Marathon – participants aged 18 years and over. 
• 10-km Distance Race – participants aged 15 years and over. 
• 10-km Nordic Walking – participants aged 15 and over.  
• 3-km Children’s Race – participants aged 10 to 14 years.

5.2. Simultaneous participation in the Competition for several distances 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 singles (42 km 195 m,  21 km 97.5 m, 10 km, 10-km Nordic Walking, 3-km race) is available on the website almaty-marathon.kz as from 15 July 2024 and will end on 14 October 2024, or when the number of participants will reach 3,000 (three thousand) 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. Organization’s and company’s teams with less than 30 (thirty) persons shall register their participants on the website almaty-marathon.kz at their own.

An organization or a company shall pay for the corporate participation in the Competition singles (42 km 195 m, 21 km 97.5 m, 10 km, 10-km Nordic Walking) via bank transfer to the settlement account of the Organizing Committee. Registration shall take place only upon request sent by e-mail and filling out a special form.

7.3. A participant is considered registered for the Competition if he/she:

1) has passed the registration procedure at  almaty-marathon.kz;

2) has received a participant individual number;

3) paid the entry fee.

Only runners who have paid their applications will be included in the list of participants in the Competition. 

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

7.5. Entry fees for the Competition distances:

• 42 km 195-m Marathon – 12,500 (twelve thousand five hundred) KZT
• 21 km 97.5-m Half Marathon – 12,000 (twelve thousand) KZT
• 10-km Distance Race – 12,000 (twelve thousand) KZT
• 10-km Nordic Walking – 10,000 (ten thousand) KZT
• 3-km Children’s Race – 6,000 (six thousand) KZT

7.6. Participants can change their distances only before or on 14 October 2024. If a slot for participation in the Competition has already been purchased, you must contact the Organizing Committee and pay a fine of 1,000 (one thousand) KZT for changing the 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 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 one distance to another one within the Competition, a BIB number will be lost.

7.7. BIB numbers with names are assigned after registering and paying for a BIB number until 2 September 2024, inclusive. The personal BIB number will contain the name you entered in the Name box in the course of your registration on the website. The BIB number is prohibited to contain any nickname, obscene words, mottos and other slogans. Before printing, the BIB numbers are checked for data accuracy.

7.8. Funds paid for participation in the Competition are non-refundable. Funds paid for the wrong or any other participant’s identification 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. The BIB number cannot be re-registered to another person.

7.9. A participant cannot return and change his/her BIB number.

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

7.11. A participant of the Competition must place the BIB number on his/her chest or waist belt to make it clearly visible.

7.12. Participation in the Competition under another participant’s number is prohibited. If it becomes known that a participant of the Competition has transferred his/her BIB number to another participant, the Organizing Committee will disqualify both participants and cancel their results, as well as deny both participants access to the next three Competitions. 

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 special cluster. To apply for the cluster, please contact info@almaty-marathon.kz in advance before 18:00 on 20 October 2024. Those participating in wheelchair and their accompanying persons shall have BIB numbers of the Turkistan Marathon 2024.

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 14 October 14. The application shall contain your name, distance and the documents confirming your disability. Your accompanying person shall pay for his/her participation anyway. The number of slots for participants with disabilities is limited. In the event that all free slots are already taken, the Organizing Committee reserves the right to refuse an athlete to participate for free.

 

8. ELITE QUALIFICATION

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

8.2. Athletes will be registered in the elite category of the Competition for the 42.2 km 195 m, 21 km 97.5 m distances 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 results confirming the qualification time before 16 September 2024. Only results of competitions for a similar distance held within three years prior to the date of your application will be considered.

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

8.5. Qualification time for applicants for the 42 km 195-m elite category of the Competition shall be as follows:
• Men – at most 2:50:00 for marathon.
• Women – at most 3:50:00 for marathon.

8.6. Qualification time for applicants for the 21 km 97.5-m elite category of the Competition shall be as follows:
• Men – at most 1:20:00 for half marathon.
• Women – at most 1:45:00 for half marathon.

9. DISTRIBUTION OF STARTER KITS

9.1. Starter kits will be issued to the participants of the Competition from 25 to 26 October 2024, from 10:00 to 20:00. Place of issue: Turkistan. The exact address to pickup your kit will be announced later.

Attention! No distribution of starter kits will be made to the participants of the Competition on other days.

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

9.3. Corporate participants of the Competition can pick up their starter kits from 25 to 26 October 2024 during the distribution of BIB numbers as specified in clause 9.1 hereof. To receive a starter kit, you should present your original ID card or its electronic copy and the original ID cards or their electronic copies of other participants and their Health Acknowledgements signed in person by those participants. The person receiving a starter kit may pick up a maximum of 5 (five) starter kits of the participants of the Competition (including his/her own starter kit) at once.

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

For participants under the age of 18:

• ID card (original or in electronic form) / Birth Certificate (printed);
• Acknowledgement Note from parents or guardian(s) giving permission to participate in the Competition (printed);
• ID card of parents or guardian(s), who signed in person the Acknowledgement Note (original or in electronic form).

For participants aged 18 and over:

• ID card (original or in electronic form);
• Health Acknowledgement (printed or signed online).

Participants can sign the Health Acknowledgement online by visiting the Almaty Marathon website or by scanning a QR code on the starter kit distribution day. The Egov mobile app with valid electronic digital signature (EDS) keys must be used to sign online. If you signed the Health Acknowledgement online, its paper version is not required.

9.5.  If a participant of the Competition cannot pick up his/her starter kit in person, then this participant’s representative can do it. The representative should present originals or electronic copies of both the participant’s and his/her own ID cards, and the Health Acknowledgement (printed or signed online) signed by the participant of the Competition. The representative receiving a starter kit may pick up a maximum of 5 (five) starter kits of the participants of the Competition (including his/her own starter kit) at once.

9.6. Paid T-shirts of the race will be issued only on the starter kit distribution day. If a participant of the Competition failed to pick up the T-shirt, it will not be issued in the future.

9.7. If a participant has bought a slot, but currently cannot participate due to illness, injury, departure to another city, business trip, work shift, in this case the participant may pass the distance at another time or location in accordance with the selected distance and pick up his/her medal at the office of “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund within 2 (two) weeks after the Competition. To pick up the medal, please provide the participant’s online tracker with run records, a document proving the reason for missing the competition (sick leave, doctor’s certificate, business trip order or travel document, copies of flight boarding cards) and a photo or original ID card. The participant should apply for forced online participation before the second day of the starter kit distribution, in particular before 18:00 on 14 October 2024 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 issue 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 on 14 October 2024.

 

11. COMPETITION PROGRAM (to be published later)

11.1. Time limits to pass distances:

• ·       Time limit for the 42 km 195-m distance – 6 hours 00 minutes. A participant, who has run the first half of the distance (21 km 97.5 m) for more than 3 hours, will not be withdrawn from the Competition.
• ·       Time limit for the 21 km 97.5-m distance – 3 hours 00 minutes.
• ·       Time limit for the 10-km distance – 2 hours 00 minutes.
• ·       Time limit for the Nordic Walking – 2 hours 0 minutes. 
• Time limit for the 3-km distance – 40 minutes.

 

12. LOCKER ROOM

12.1. Participants may leave their belongings in lockers only in the Turkistan Marathon 2024 branded bags, which the participants receive on the starter kit distribution days.

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

12.5. When leaving his/her items in the 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 within a week upon completion of the Competition. For safety reasons, the participant will be asked to accurately describe the contents of the bag. The place of issue will be published later in the official information sources.  

 

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 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 at almaty-marathon.kz within 24 (twenty-four) hours after the end of the Competition.

In the event that the Organizing Committee receives information on any violation of the Competition rules by its participants, the Organizing Committee has the right to examine the competition venue and analyse the photo and video records. The Organizing Committee has the right to change the final scoresheet if the violations are proved. 

13.4. The result of the Competition participant is recorded only subject to correct placement of the BIB number on the chest and waist belt.

13.5. The Competition Organizing Committee does not guarantee that personal results of the Competition participants will be recorded in the following cases:

• Incorrectly fixed chip.
• Chip demagnetization.
• Chip covered by clothing or otherwise;
• Disqualification of the participant on the basis of the resolution made by the Competition’s Panel of Judges.
• Chip damaged by a participant. 

13.6. How to interpret your results – terms used:

• DNS – Did not start (participant did not start);
• DNF – Did not finish (participant did not finish);
• DSQ – Disqualified (participant is disqualified);
• CR – Championship Record (record of competitions);
• GUN TIME – Finish time of participant. The time from the start gun commencement till crossing of the finish mats by the participant
• CHIP TIME – Personal time of participant. The time from start mats to finish mats crossed by the participant.

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. Marathon (42 km 195 m) – participants among men and women are awarded for the 1^st  – 3^rd places in the overall championship.

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

14.2. Marathon (42 km 195 m) – participants among men and women are awarded for the 1^st  – 3^rd places in age categories.

Winners and prize-winners for this particular distance of the Competition are awarded diplomas, medals and valuable prizes.

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

Winners and prize-winners of the Competition are awarded cash vouchers, diplomas, medals and valuable prizes.

14.4. 10-km Distance Race – participants among men and women are awarded for the 1^st  – 3^rd places in age categories. Winners and prize-winners of this particular distance of the Competition are awarded cash vouchers, diplomas, medal and valuable prizes.

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

14.6. 3-km Distance Race – participants among boys and girls are awarded for the 1^st  – 3^rd places in age categories. Winners and prize-winners for this particular distance of the Competition are awarded diplomas, medals and valuable prizes.

14.7. All finishing runners who meet the time limit are awarded the finisher’s commemorative medal.

14.8. The cash prizes are paid out within 15 (fifteen) business days after the Competition via a bank transfer to the personal account of the winner. In order to receive the cash prize, the winner of the Competition should, within 3 (three) business days after the Competition, submit the following documents:

• For residents of Kazakhstan : a Bank Account Certificate and a copy of identity document.
• For non-residents of Kazakhstan: a copy of identity document, bank name, address of the bank office and the city where you will receive the cash prize.

The documents should be sent to info@almaty-marathon.kz.

14.9. If a participant of the Competition failed to pick up his/her prize during the Competition, the participant can pick up the prize within 10 (ten) business days after the Competition. The exact address to pickup your kit will be announced later on official information sources. If a participant of the Competition cannot pick up the prizes in person and delegate the receipt of the prizes 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.

14.10. Upon expiration of the above term, the Organizer reserves the right not to give the prizes to winners.

 

15. RULES OF CONDUCT ON THE COMPETITION TRACK

The Competition takes place in compliance with the World Athletics (hereinafter – WA) Rules. 

15.1. Our recommendations:

• Do not run in a row with two or more participants.
• If you slow down to a walk, please keep to the right side of the track.

15.2. It is prohibited to:

• Use any mechanical aids (push scooters, bicycles, rollers, etc.) for everyone except wheelchair athletes and participants with special jogging strollers.
• Use headphones. Participants must hear warnings from other runners, judges, organizers and officials organizing the Competition.
• Participate with animals.
• Participate in the competition in a state of alcohol or drug intoxication.
• Participate with any items that could be dangerous to other participants.
• Participate with strollers.
• Stop on the track. If you feel unwell, please stop running, if possible, and move to the side of the track without interfering with the movement of other runners of the Competition.
• Obstruct the movement of other participants and the competition in any other way.
• None of the team officials, other persons have the rights to walk, run, move near a participant at the time when the participant takes food or drinks.
• A participant may be disqualified for violation of these rules.

 

16. DISQUALIFICATION

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

• a participant starts running before the official start;
• a participant starts running after the start zone is closed;
• a participant participates without a BIB number;
• a participant neglects the instructions and comments of the Organizing Committee, judges or a chief physician of the Competition;
• a participant violates the Competition Regulations;
• a participant runs 2 (two) distances or participates in 2 (two) or more teams, which will result in the disqualification of both the participant and the teams from the Competition.

16.2. A participant, who:

– took or received food or water at a place other than an official catering facility, unless they have been provided for medical reasons by or under the direction of the competition judges,

– or took food from another participant,

must be first warned by a judge by showing a yellow card. For the second violation, the judge shall disqualify the participant by showing a red card.

16.3. The Organizing Committee has the right to disqualify a participant if he/she uses a video camera, mobile phone or smartphone, radio, players, headphones and other equipment in the course of the Competition.

16.4. Participants of the Competition will be excluded from the final scoresheet in the following cases:

• a participant participates under another participant’s number registered for another person;
• a participant has reduced the distance;
• a participant ran a wrong distance;
• a participant uses mechanical means (bicycle, scooter, etc.);
• a participant starts running beyond the start zone;
• a participants starts running not from his/her cluster;
• a participant runs without an official number for a particular competition or the number is hidden under his/her clothing;
• a participant violates rules set forth in these Regulations.

16.5. A participant may be disqualified for unseemly, rude or abusive language towards event organisers, judges, volunteers.

16.6. The Competition participants are prohibited from holding unauthorised political, social and other rallies, making provocative appeals, political solicitations, protests, demonstrations, and using any political, social attributes, logos. Those participants violating this clause will bear responsibility in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

 

17. COMPETITION’S PANEL OF JUDGES

17.1. Competition’s Panel of Judges thoroughly monitors 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 certain judges of the Competition and submits a report to the Organizing Committee upon completion of the Competition.

• Chief Scorer of the Competition

The Chief Scorer of the Competition processes scoresheets 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 results of first 50 (fifty) finishers according to the finish scoresheets. The scoresheets 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 later by publishing in the Organizing Committee’s information sources specified in clause 21 hereof and by mailing to the participants’ e-mail addresses specified by the participants 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 of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the participant can submit to the Organizing Committing a request to transfer his/her entry fee to the Turkistan Marathon 2025. In this case the request should be sent 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);

• essence of the claim;

• 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 2 (two) business days 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. To pass the media 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 23 October 2024.

 

21. INFORMATION SOURCES OF THE COMPETITION

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

• https://www.facebook.com/almatymarathon/
• https://www.instagram.com/almatymarathon/
• t.me/almaty_marathon
• https://vk.com/almatymarathon

 

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

 

22. RIGНТS ТО COVER THE COMPETITION

22.1. “Courage to Be the First” Corporate Fund (hereinafter – the Copyright Holder) owns exclusive media rights to cover the Competition: broadcasts of an image and (or) sound of the sports event through any means and (or) by using any technology, as well as video recording of the broadcasts.

The Copyright Holder has the right to enter into agreements in writing on the acquisition by third parties of 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.