The Yakutsk Half Marathon was held for the fourth year. This time, a record number of people registered to participate in a large-scale sports event - 1011. Everyone could apply - both professional athletes and amateurs. Of these, 879 runners came to the race — 777 adults and 102 children. Last year, 485 people ran the half marathon.
The grand opening of the half marathon was held at the Tuimaada Stadium. As organizers told News.Ykt.Ru, before the start of the race, another significant event in the world of sports took place: Yakutsk took the torch relay of the VII Sports Games of the Peoples of the republic.
Torchbearers led by the head of the Tulagino-Kildyamsky district administration, Egor Popov, handed a torch with fire to the head of the city, Sardana Avksentieva. The mayor handed it to the head of the relay Dmitry Gorokhov. On June 24, the relay participants will pass the flame of the games to the Megino-Kangalassky district of the Republic.
The half marathon races have traditionally been held in several categories. 138 people ran a five-kilometer distance, 275 athletes covered a distance of 10.5 km, and 339 runners covered 21.1 km. The runners started at exactly midnight. Among them were boys and girls wearing different costumes. Many people remember the participant who ran the distance in a funny dinosaur costume.
102 children from 7 to 12 years old participated in the children's race, which was held at the Tuimaada stadium in the afternoon.
For the first time this year, an inclusive race was held. 11 disabled athletes took part in the half marathon together with 12 escorts. The participants of the inclusive race started together with torchbearers carrying the flame of the VII Sports Games of the Peoples of the Republic at 23:45 - a little earlier than the other runners.
Volunteers from Sinet Group organized food points for runners on the track with water and fruit.
"There was a very kind and festive atmosphere," the organizers of the half marathon “Fitness Life” Fitness studio told News.Ykt.Ru, “Together with the support group, we met each participant at the finish line as a winner! They handed everyone a commemorative medal, a can of Coca-Cola, a bottle of water and a banana so that they could recover after the race. And we met the last runner with sparklers, because his race closed the Yakutsk half marathon - 2019."
"I would like to express my gratitude to the partners and sponsors of the half marathon, to all participants and fans," the organizers noted, “Special thanks to the people who came to be volunteers. This year, there were 60 people in the volunteer team who helped the runners overcome the distance, supported them throughout the race. It is very cool. Thanks to the efforts of many people, we managed to hold a real sports festival!"
"For me it was the first half marathon," participant of the Yakut half marathon Petr Filippov told News.Ykt.Ru,”My friends and acquaintances used to ask me all the time: why don't you participate in the races? And this year I decided to try. The organization of the event was on top: excellent design of the venues at the stadium, inspiring speeches of athletes, the mayor of Yakutsk and other guests of the holiday. There were many help points where water was distributed. It was very atmospheric at the race itself: you are running in a crowd of runners like you, who have been preparing for a half marathon for a long time. Along the way, we were met by volunteers with words of support and posters: "You can do it! Come on, come on!“ All this made the race easier. Many thanks to the organizers for such a wonderful event, and many thanks to the volunteers for their work!"
Lydia Popova, the winner of the women's half marathon at a distance of 21.1 km, said that she was participating in this race for the second time. "I've been running since April last year," Lydia said, I'm participating for the second time, and this year I wanted to improve the time. As a result, I ran the distance about 13 minutes faster. Our race can be called ideal in terms of conditions: comfortable weather, smooth track, high level of organization, everything went without any hitches and delays. There was a lot of support - volunteers, friends, acquaintances, it certainly helped a lot. Now I plan to take part in other races - "Taiga wilds", "Duluur".
Winners of the Yakutsk Half Marathon
The absolute winners at a distance of 21.1 km were Lidia Popova (01:27:51.98) and Dmitry Sarantsev (01:19:05.06).Nikita Fedorov (39 minutes 44 seconds) and Evdokia Efimova (46 minutes 59 seconds) won the first places at the distance 10.5 km race.
Nadezhda Lukina (21 minutes 46 seconds) and Konstantin Olenov (19 minutes 21 seconds) overcame the five-kilometer distance the fastest.
According to the results of the inclusive race, Alyona Ignatieva and Dulustan Zakharov were awarded the title of winners. Alyona covered five kilometers in 27 minutes 21 seconds, Dulustan - in 32 minutes 19 seconds.
The winners of the children's race were Maximilian Gogolev (1 minute 11 seconds) and Anastasia Filippova (1 minute 14 seconds).
At the end, each participant of the half marathon who overcame the distance was awarded a medal. You can see the results of all runners here.
The Yakutsk Half Marathon has been held since 2016. The “Fitness Life” Fitness Studio is the organizer of a large-scale sports event. This year, Sinet Group became the title sponsor of the race, and MyTona company became the general sponsor.
