The 17th Split Half Marathon will be held this Sunday, February 26 at 9am. The organizer is Marathon club Marjan.
An event that began in 2001, the Split Half Marathon was first constrained to the Marjan peninsula, and since 2015, the race began to encompass all of Split. With strong support from the City of Split and Split-Dalmatia County, the number of participants this year rose to an incredible 2,000 - and as compared to 2014 - represents a huge increase, reports Dalmacija News on February 22, 2017.
The race boasts many renowned half marathon runners from around the world that have even participated at the Olympic Games, and participants also include a large number of our fellow citizens who have decided to take on the challenge and join representatives of some 40 countries from all continents.
The top Croatian athletes who have recognized the value and strength of the Split half marathon will this year be joined in the promotion of well-known and famous singers such as Nevena Rendell and Ecija Ojdanic who have already run the half marathon, and Neno Belan, Mladen Badinovac, Marijan Ban, Davor Dretar, Vedran Mlikota, Goran Markovic, Mijo Elegović, Hana Hegedušić will also be in attendance.
As part of the event, and in addition to the big 21.1 kilometer race,the END POLIO RUN will be presented for the first time in Croatia in collaboration with the Rotary Club Kaštela. There will be a citizens race of 5 kilometers which will contribute to the fight against polio and we hear footballers from Hajduk will also be in attendance. As in all previous years, the “Split miles - walk against cancer" will be held in collaboration with the County League against cancer.
“We are ready for another half marathon. It will be of special pleasure to see the Riva full in February with a town full of tourists. Year after year we have grown and I hope that soon we will have five to six thousand people at the start. This is our ultimate goal. The half marathon over the last two years has become a real brand for Split as a destination for all runners at this time of year,” said the president of the organizing committee Kristijan Sindik on Radio Dalmacija.
Who are the favorites for the 17th Split Half Marathon?
“Certainly the athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia, especially in the men's competition. For the women we have three runners that participated in the last Olympics in Brazil. We are awaiting a very good race and it is important that the citizens of Split come to the streets support this event,” concluded Sindik.
On Sunday, prepare for temporary traffic regulations
All of the streets within half marathon route will close at 8:30am, and traffic regulations will be begin (the streets will be put into circulation) after the passage of the last vehicle accompanied by the regulation of the traffic police.
The following streets are located on the route of the competition (in the order race): Marmontova, Kralja Tomislava, Zagrebačka, Livanjska, Domovinskog rata, Zagorski put, Sarajevska, Domovinskog rata, Put Stinica, Put Supavla, vojarna „Lora“, Z. Frankopanska, Stadion Poljud, Poljudsko šetalište, Z. Frankopanska, Sedam Kaštela, Matoševa, Tartaglijina, Meštrovićevo šet., Branimirova obala, Trumbićeva obala, Obala HNP.
