Istanbul Marathon to unite Asia and Europe again

Thousands of people will once again enjoy running, or walking, over the Bosporus when the Istanbul Marathon, unique for spanning the Asian and European continents, is run for the 37th time on Nov. 15.

The 37th Vodafone Istanbul Marathon, organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, is set to start at 9:00 a.m. Participants will start the race on the Asian side of Istanbul and cross to the European side by running over the Bosporus Bridge.

The marathon event will end in historic Sultanahmet Square.

Apart from the marathon, a 15-kilometer race, a 10-kilometer race and an 8-kiometer fun run with no timing or ranking will take place.

This year, the marathon will be run with the theme "Say Stop to Violence Against Women." Speaking at a press conference on Nov. 12, ?smail Özbayraktar, the general manager of the Istanbul Municipality's Spor A.?., noted the country has seen the worse example of violence against women.

"We are against all kinds of violence, and our main theme will be violence against women," said Özbayraktar. "While we run for the love of Istanbul, we will also say stop violence against women."

Istanbul Deputy Mayor Göksel Gümü?da? said the marathon, formerly known as the Eurasia Marathon, aims to be among the top five organizations in the world.

"There is a great interest in city marathons, such as Belin, Paris and New York," Gümü?da? said. "But the Istanbul Marathon gives its participants the unique chance to run between two continents. We are continuing our international efforts to promote the race and aim to become one of the major marathons worldwide."   

While registration for the races and fun run are closed, late registration will be offered to around 5,000 people who...