MINSK, 10 September (BelTA) – As many as 15,000 runners joined the Minsk Half Marathon in the Belarusian capital on 10 September, BelTA has learned.
Minsk Half Marathon is a traditional sporting event held in the Belarusian capital since 2013. This year’s edition featured 15,000 runners, including the best athletes of Belarus and 17 countries: the United States, Switzerland, Lithuania, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Austria, Turkiye and others.
This year the Minsk Half Marathon participants started from Kirova Street near Dinamo Stadium and crossed the finishing line inside the stadium.
The Belarusian open half marathon championships took place on the same day. The Minsk Half Marathon participants had a chance to run together with athletes who performed at the Olympic Games and won medals.
The Minsk Half Marathon program includes three distances: 5km, 10km and the 21km half marathon. The 10.5km and 21.097km races started at 9.00, the 5km race – at 12.00. A family race slated to start at 13.00 will feature children aged up to 12 years old and their parents performing a 1.4km race. A number of interactive inclusive venues at Dinamo Stadium invite children to take part in various activities.
All runners crossing the finishing line get medals. The awards feature iconic architecture of the Belarusian capital that the runners pass by as part of the event. The main feature of the medal is Hippocrates’ message, which has remained relevant since the fifth century BC. It says: “If you want to be strong — run. If you want to be beautiful — run. If you want to be smart — run”.
Minsk Mayor Vladimir Kukharev welcomed the Minsk Half Marathon participants before the start. In his words, the half marathon is a traditional sport festival, which takes place on Minsk City Day. “I want to wish everyone good luck and, of course, new achievements and victories,” he said.
Photos by Ramil Nasibulin and Sergei Sheleg
