Runfire Cappadocia Ultramarathon, shortly RFC, ( tr, Runfire Kapadokya Ultramaratonu) is an international multiday

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

event of desert concept that takes place mostly across the historic

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...

region in central

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The event is run in the provinces

Nevşehir Nevşehir (from the Persian compound ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city"), formerly Neapolis (Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις) and Muşkara, is a largely modern city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of T ...

and

Aksaray Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς ''Arhelays'', Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια ''Koloneya'', Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα ''Garsaura'') is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Aksaray Province. In 202 ...

in six days. The Runfire Cappadocia Ultramarathon was established in 2012 taking place on July 7–15. It is considered a race of high-degree difficulty. The event is organized by Argos Culture & Arts. Map of Cappadocia-pt

The route starts in front of the Uçhisar Town Hall in

. Following the Valley of Pigeons (Güvercinlik Vadisi),

Ortahisar Ortahisar is a district and second level municipality in Trabzon Province, Turkey. According to Law act no 6360, all Turkish provinces with a population more than 750,000 would be metropolitan municipality and the districts within the metropoli ...

Acıgöl Acıgöl, () formerly Dobada, is a town and district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcon ...

Damsa Dam Damsa Dam is a dam in Turkey. Its development was backed by the Turkish State Hydraulic Works The State Hydraulic Works ( tr, Devlet Su İşleri) is a state agency, under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Turkey, responsible for the ...

, Analipsis Monastery (Yüksekli Kilise),

Güzelyurt Güzelyurt, formerly Gelveri (Cappadocian Greek: Καρβάλη), is a town and district of Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia Region, Turkey, Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at a distance of from the city of Aksaray. According to 2000 ...

Avanos Avanos is a town and district of Nevşehir Province in the Cappadocia region of Central Anatolia, Turkey, located north of Nevşehir, the capital city of the province. In 2011 the population of Avanos town was 16,000. Historically known as Veness ...

Ihlara Valley The Ihlara Valley (or Peristrema Valley; Turkish ''Ihlara Vadisi'') is a canyon which is 15 km long and up to 150 m deep in the southwest of the Turkish region of Cappadocia, in the municipality of Güzelyurt, Aksaray Province. The va ...

Mount Hasan Mount Hasan ( tr, Hasan Dağı) is a volcano in Anatolia, Turkey. It has two summits, the high eastern Small Hasan Dagi and the high Big Hasan Dagi, and rises about above the surrounding terrain. It consists of various volcanic deposits, includ ...

and around Lake Tuz before crossing through Çavuşin and the

Ürgüp Ürgüp ( el, Προκόπιο ''Prokópio,'' or Cappadocian Greek: ''Prokópi'', ota, Burgut Kalesi) is a town and district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is located in the historical region of Cappadoci ...

and

Göreme Göreme (; grc, Κόραμα, Kòrama) is a village of around 2,000 people in Nevşehir province in Central Anatolia. It is well known for its fairy chimneys (Turkish: ''peribacalar''), eroded rock formations, many of which were hollowed out ...

valleys, the marathon ends in Üçhisar, where it started. The longest daily stage is on salt flats around Lake Tuz with . The route features elevations between , valleys, salt lake flats, spectacular rock formations and

UNESCO World Heritage sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

as well as cave churches and galleries, historic underground cities that made Cappadocia a world-famous tourism destination. The event is accredited by

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is a single-stage mountain ultramarathon, first held in 2003, that follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc. Since UTMB Group's partnership with IRONMAN Group in 2021, UTMB World Series will formally launch ...

, one of the world’s most prestigious marathons. Finishers are awarded four points, which entitle them to participate at the world’s major ultramarathons. The International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) included the RFC in its competition calendar, and titled it a bronze-label event in 2013. At the first race in 2012, some 60 local and foreign athletes of both gender took part, among them ultra runners from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

Winners

Key:

References

Gallery

File:Uçhisar.jpg , Aerial view of Uçhisar File:Cappadocia Pigeon Valley 2.jpg , Valley of Pigeons File:Cappadocia March 2006.jpg , Ortahisar File:GüzelyurtGesamt.jpg , Güzelyurt File:Ihlara-Est (11).jpg , Ihlara Valley File:Turkey.Mount Hasan001.jpg , Mount Hasan File:Turkey.LakeTuz004.jpg , Lake Tuz File:Çavuşin-Rocher (3).jpg , Çavuşin File:View of Ürgüp (1).jpg , Ürgüp File:Cappadocia - Göreme Valley wza.jpg , Göreme Valley {{Road running competitions in Turkey Ultramarathons Multiday races Cappadocia Nevşehir Province Aksaray Province Sport in Nevşehir Sport in Aksaray 2012 establishments in Turkey Annual events in Turkey Marathons in Turkey Recurring sporting events established in 2012 Summer events in Turkey