The sixth edition of the Nova Poshta Kyiv Half Marathon on 17 April was a resounding success. From a participation standpoint, the race attracted a bumper field of 7100 participants from 41 countries which represents an increase of nearly one thousand competitors compared to last year’s event.
The race is the biggest on the burgeoning Ukrainian road running circuit and has been given a five-star endorsement by European Athletics Running For All.
The race has also received backing from one of the biggest names in Ukrainian sport: retired boxer Vitali Klitscho, who now serves as the Mayor of Kyiv.
'Everyone knows that the mayor of Kyiv likes sports!” said Klitscho, who took part in the two kilometre road race staged in conjunction with the half marathon.
“The city administration is doing everything so that the people of Kyiv would feel comfortable, do sports, lead a healthy lifestyle and get pleasure from it because only a healthy body can have healthy mind. I am grateful that we all joined in the race and are ready to help those who need it.”
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The oldest participant to take part was Oleh Shetanko, 75, who covered the half marathon distance in 2:34 but the organisers put a strong emphasis on engaging young runners to take part. With support from McDonald’s, a record 900 runners aged one to fourteen took part this year.
'McDonald’s social programmes promote the comprehensive development of children, and sport is an important part of it. By supporting children’s races within the half marathon, we provide every child with an opportunity to participate in this running festival free of charge,” said Yuliia Badritdinova, the director of marketing and communications at McDonald's Ukraine.
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And there was also a strong emphasis on charity. There was a dedicated 2km charity race where runners took part to raise funds to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for the Kiev City Maternity Hospital to support prematurely-born babies. Factoring in other causes, some 805,000 UAH - and counting - has been raised from the sixth edition of the event.
'This year, the Kiev half marathon set new records: the largest number of participants ever, numerous fan zones along the course who actively supported the runners, new course records - all of this is 'Nova Poshta Kyiv Half Marathon 2016,' said race founder Dmytro Chernitskyi, although he shows no signs of being willing to rest on his laurels.
“The running culture of Ukraine is developing, the participants of our events become more demanding, and it encourages us to organise better events, such as the next Kiev Half Marathon to be held on 30 April 2017.”
For more information on the Nova Poshta Kyiv Half Marathon visit the event website.
The European Athletics Quality Road Race standards act as an assurance for road runners throughout Europe. They distinguish between races that respect the standards and those that haven’t sought certification or assessment. They form the foundation of Running for All, a strong recognisable brand for running activities throughout Europe.
More information on Running for All:
Website: european-running4all.org
Twitter: @runningforall
Contact: [email protected]