The Istanbul Half Marathon () is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

event over the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

distance (21.1 km) that takes place on the streets of

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 in April. The event is sponsored by

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 ...

. It was promoted to the IAAF Gold Label status for 2017.

History

The event was established in 1987 under the name "Haliç Yarı Maratonu" ("Golden Horn Half Marathon"), and continued to run until 1993. After a break of 17 years, it revived in 2010 under the name "8th International Golden Horn Half Marathon" with participation of around 1,500 athletes from 22 nations. The organization of the half marathon took afour-year break until 2015 when the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality re-established the road running event under the name "Istanbul Half Marathon", and Vodafon took over the sponsorship. The start-finish line of the event was relocated to Balat on the coast of

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 first edition immediately attracted high caliber elite runners, resulting in quick winning times of 1:00:13 minutes in the men's category and 1:06:38 minutes in the women's race. A total of 2,095 runners finished the inaugural mass race in Istanbul. The event was organized by Istanbul Sports Events – the organizer of the long-running

Istanbul Marathon The Istanbul Marathon (, also known as Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an international athletics event hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, in November, first held in 1979. It is the only marathon in the world who ...

event. The half marathon course begins and ends in Eyüp in the central-western part of the city, following a route south to the seafront area of

Eminönü Eminönü, historically known as Pérama, is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is l ...

. Among other sights, it passes the

, Yenikapı square and Kadir Has University. A

10K run The 10K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 10K road race, 10 km, or simply 10K, it is one of the most common types of road running event, alongside the shorter 5K and longer half ...

is also hosted for amateur runners and this section had over 1500 finishers in 2016. The 2016 edition of the race gained IAAF Bronze Label status and the field included world record breakers

Zersenay Tadese Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase ( Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean former long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal i ...

and Leonard Patrick Komon. That year, the event was staged on the same weekend as the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey.Road closures for two races in Istanbul on Sunday
''Daily Sabah'' (2016-04-23). Retrieved on 2016-04-24. In December 2016, it was announced that the event was promoted to IAAF Gold Label status for 2017. The race in 2021 ended with a course record in 59:32 by Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie, and a world record for women in 1:04:02 by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich.

Past winners

Legend: *CR: Course record *WR: World record

References

External links

* {{European half marathons Sport in Istanbul 2015 establishments in Turkey Recurring sporting events established in 2015 April in sports Eyüp Sport in Fatih Golden Horn Half marathons in Turkey Spring (season) in Turkey