Young Almaty residents ran their first race

On May 19, The Central Park of Culture and Recreation hosted First Children’s Race – a sporting event in the framework of the Almaty Marathon for the youngest runners. The age of the participants ranged between 3 and 14 years.

Young runners covered the distance of 200 meters, 500 meters and 3 km. The fastest at a distance of 200 meters were among the boys Roman Tregybov and among the girls Malika Shalekenova. First place at a distance of 500 meters among boys won Batyr Jumat and Yaroslava Salagaeva among girls. The leaders at a distance of 3 km were Artemiy Kuznetsov among the boys and Karina Kankova among girls.

“For many participants, it was their first competition. I should note that all of the participants were concentrated and followed the route. After all, the most important thing in sports is discipline. And today we saw in the young athletes their willingness, the desire to win, to the finish line and the cherished medal. Special thanks to the parents who bring the young athletes to the competition and do it with great pleasure and support them!” – Saltanat Kazybayeva, the director of Almaty Maraton thanked the participants.

“I myself ran 10 km on Almaty Marathon this year, I think that parents should be a role model for their children,” - comments Murat Muturganov, the most famous circus artist and clown in the country. “Only looking at adults, they will strive to develop physically. As a man who performs shows before the children, I should also try to be a role model for them. Running is a unique sport. It is not necessary to try to defeat someone, the first person you win covering meters or kilometres, is you. It helps a lot in different life situations.”

The next running event of the Almaty Marathon is Summer Race, which will be held on July 14. There will be several distances, including a children’s race at a distance of 3 km. Also swimming competition of the Almaty Marathon will be held on July 1. Totally, this year the Almaty Marathon team plans to host more than 20 sporting events.    

The organizers of the competition are the Corporate Fund "Courage to Be the First", the World Class Almaty Fitness Club and the Academic Shahmardan Yesenov Science and Education Foundation.