The Istanbul Marathon (, also known as Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an international

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

event hosted in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, in November, first held in 1979. It is the only

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

in the world whose course spans two continents,

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The three race categories for men and women are: marathon, 15 km and public run. A special category for disabled persons exists also. Participation in the public run was with 150,000 people a record set in 1998. The event is organised by Istanbul Sports Events, which also hosts the annual

Istanbul Half Marathon The Istanbul Half Marathon () is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance (21.1 km) that takes place on the streets of Istanbul, Turkey in April. The event is sponsored by Vodafone. It was promoted to the IAAF Gold Label ...

in April.

History

The Istanbul marathon has previously been known as "Vodafone Istanbul Marathon" as well as "Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon". In 1997, Moges Taye of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

set the course record for men at the time of 2:13:37. In 2005,

Madina Biktagirova Madina Ulfatovna Biktagirova (, ; born 20 September 1964 in Osh, Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union) is a retired long-distance runner. She competed for both Belarus and Russia. Professional career In 1992, Biktagirova set a course ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

set the course record for women at the time of 2:34:25. In 2006, Madina Biktagirova broke her own course record for women from the previous year with 2:28:21, and the course record for men was broken by the

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n athlete Mindaugas Pukstas in 2:12:52. Also, for the first time in 2006, time keeping for marathon and 15 km was effected by means of a single-use

chip Chip may refer to: Food * Chip (snack), thinly sliced and deep-fried gastro item ** Potato chips (US) or crisp (UK) * Chips (fried potato strips) (UK) or french fries (US) (common as a takeout side) * Game chips, thin chip/French fries * Choco ...

, which was placed on the athlete's shoe tied by

shoelaces Shoelaces, also called shoestrings (US English) or bootlaces (UK English), are a system commonly used to secure shoes, boots, and other footwear. They typically consist of a pair of strings or cords, one for each shoe, finished off at both e ...

. An athlete without this so-called champion-chip would not receive an official time. In addition, the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon that year incorporated the 4th

European Police Marathon Championships European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

for the first time, which contributed to top results. In 2012, the month the marathon was generally held was changed from October to November. That year, the 34th edition of the marathon was named "

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

Istanbul Eurasia Marathon". Also that year, because the marathon had become a significant marathon event, it was awarded IAAF Gold Label status. In 2013, around 20,000 local and foreigner athletes participated at the road race in different categories, among them wheelchair runners. The event saw also for the first time security measures concerning the bridge stability. Two years before, the running crowd on the Bosphorus Bridge caused dangerous instability by self-induced vibrations in the structure which could result in its failure. Influenced by this lesson, several start times with ten minutes intervals were held after the first start, which took place on 9:30 hours. The groups were not allowed to run on the bridge rather than to walk only. In order to avoid stopping for taking pictures, the outmost lanes of the bridge were blocked by barriers.

Course

The course is asphalt, mostly flat and is free of traffic. It is the only course in the world where the

includes two continents,

and

, in one race. The marathon starts on the Asian side of the city, shortly before the First Bosphorus Bridge, crosses the bridge giving an outstanding view of the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

and Istanbul, passes many historic sites including the Blue Mosque and

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

, and ends in the

İnönü Stadium İnönü may refer to. İnönü family * İsmet İnönü (1884–1973), President of Turkey from 1938 to 1950 * Mevhibe İnönü (1897–1992), First Lady of Turkey from 1938 to 1950 * Erdal İnönü (1926–2007), physicist and politician Plac ...

in the European part. In all, the race crosses three bridges, one over the Bosporus and two over the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...

. The course changed three times over the years, therefore winning scores differ. In 2020, during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the course was altered to begin and end in

Yenikapı Yenikapı () is a port and a quarter in Istanbul, Turkey, in the metropolitan district of Fatih on the European side of the Bosphorus, and along the southern shore of the city's historically central peninsula. Yenikapı is notable for the ongoing ...

and cross the Bosphorus Bridge twice, so runners would start and finish the marathon in Europe, but both enter and exit Asia during the run.

Qualification

To register for the marathon, participants must be 18 years of age or older on the race day. In 2020, due to the

, athletes over the age of 65 were disallowed from participating in the marathon.

Prizes

Money prizes are given to the first 25 male athletes and 15 best female athletes in the marathon category, the first 3 ranks receiving US$35,000, US$15,000 and US$10,000 respectively. An athlete, who broke the course record, is awarded with a bonus of US$5,000. Bonuses exists also for times run between 2:14:00 and 2:04:55 or better for men and between 2:33:00 and 2:15:25 or better for women, scaled from US$500 up to US$100,000. Prizes are also provided for the best ranking athletes in other competition categories. In 2013, the total amount of the money prizes was US$1 million.

Winners

Key: Course record (in bold)

By country

Recent results

;2016 38th marathon was held on November 13, 2016 ;2015: 37th marathon was held on November 15, 2015. Prize money (both for men and women): *Winners: US$50,000 *Runner-up: US$25,000 *Third place: US$15,000 ;2014: 36th marathon was held on November 16, 2014. ;2013: 35th marathon was held on November 17, 2013. NB Original race winner

Abraham Kiprotich Abraham Kiprotich (born 17 August 1985) is a Kenyan-French long-distance running, long-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon, Men's marathon but did not finish. ...

was disqualified for a doping offence. ;2012: 34th marathon was held on November 11, 2012. ;2011: 33rd marathon was held on October 16, 2011. ;2010: 32nd marathon was held on October 17, 2010. ;2009: 31st marathon was held on October 18, 2009. Awards: *Winner men's: US$50,000 *Winner women's: US$50,000 ;2008: 30th marathon was held on October 26, 2008. ^†) Course changed Prize money: *Winner men's: US$60,000 *Winner women's: US$60,000 *Course record: US$10,000 *World record: US$100,000 ;2007: 29th marathon was held on October 28, 2007.
Motto: "Sağlıklı Çevre, Sağlıklı Nesiller, Yaşanabilir Bir Kent" (Healthy Environment, Healthy Generations) Awards: *Winner men's: US$60,000 *Winner women's: US$60,000 *Course record: US$10,000 *World record: US$100,000Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon Guide: History, About, Practicalities, How to Apply and Prepare
by goodistanbulguide.com ;2006: 28th marathon was held on November 5, 2006.
Motto: "Sigarasız Bir Dünya İçin Koşuyoruz" (Smoke-Free World) ;2005: 27th marathon was held on October 2, 2005. ;2004: 26th marathon was held on October 10, 2004. ;2003: 25th marathon was held on October 19, 2003. ;2002: 24th marathon was held on October 27, 2002. ;2001: 23rd marathon was held on October 11, 2001. ;2000: 22nd marathon was held on October 14, 2000. * CRM Course record Men's * CRW Course record Women's * FCRM Former Course record Men's * FCRW Former Course record Women's

Notable participants

* Ian Thompson in 1983 *

Mehmet Terzi Mehmet Terzi (born 5 May 1955) is a medal-winning former long-distance runner from Turkey, who specialized in running marathons. He served as the president of the Turkish Athletic Federation () (TAF) for nine years between 2004 and 2013. Terzi ...

in 1985 * Terry Mitchell in 1991 and 1992 *

Elvan Abeylegesse Elvan Abeylegesse (also formerly: Hewan Abeye (አልቫን አበይለገሠ, Amharic) and Elvan Can ( Turkish); born 11 September 1982) is an Ethiopian-born Turkish middle and long-distance running athlete who competed over distances from 150 ...

in 2013

Notes

References

External links

Official Web site

Official Web site of the Eurasia Marathon
*

{{Road running competitions in Turkey Recurring sporting events established in 1979 Marathons in Turkey Sport in Istanbul 1979 establishments in Turkey Annual sporting events in Turkey Autumn in Turkey Hagia Sophia