Baku Marathon-2017 expects to welcome 10,000 participants

The goal of the Baku Marathon2017 is to support the development of sports, promote healthy lifestyle and unite people for the noble purpose.

Director of "Sport Marketing Group" company Ayaz Ahmadov made the remark while addressing a press conference of the Organizing Committee "Baku Marathon-2017".

Ahmadov provided general information on the registration process for participation in the Marathon, which will be organized on the initiative of Heydar Aliyev Foundation on April 30, as well as training and preparation for the competition.

The registration process for participation in the marathon began on February 10 and will continue until April 20. As many as 6,385 people have passed registration as of April 7, according to Ahmadov.

"This year, up to 10,000 people are expected to participate in the marathon, including up to 2,000 foreign participants," he said.

Awards for the Baku Marathon 2017 will be granted in two categories: the first three places among men and women. Winners of the first places in both categories shall be awarded 3,000 manats (over $1,500), whereas the second and third prize winners are to get 2,000 manats (over $1,000) and 1,000 manats (over $500) respectively along with gifts, medals and certificates.

The winner of the "Baku Marathon 2016", Namig Asadov, in turn, said that for those, who have been registered to participate in the marathon, the organizers hold training twice a week.

"All participants can join the training. There are many who participate in training. We conduct propaganda among students, and we see their great interest in the marathon," he said.

Answering the question about the participation in the marathon of Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva, Foundation’s speaker Gulshan Aliyeva noted that Leyla Aliyeva is also among the participants, who were registered.

"Of course, we cannot now say whether Leyla Aliyeva will participate, but she is among the participants who have been registered," Gulshan Aliyeva said.

The marathon is held with the support of the Boulevard Department and the Baku Olympic Stadium.

This year’s semi-marathon is open to anyone (both Azerbaijani and foreign citizens) above the age of 16 upon prior registration.

The marathon, which will cover a distance of 21 kilometers, will start from the State Flag Square and end in front of the Baku Olympic Stadium.

The registration points are located in the shopping centers "28 Mall", "Port Baku Mall" and "Genclik Mall". The points are open daily from 10:00 to 21:00. Those wishing to pass an online registration can visit the website of the Baku Marathon 2017 www.bakumarathon.az.

The registration procedure requires filling out an application form, presenting a copy of valid ID (student ID in case of students) and paying the admission fee.

The partners and sponsors of the "Baku Marathon 2017" are the Ministries of Education, and Transport, Communications and High Technologies, SOCAR, the IDEA Public Association, "Regional Development" Public Association, "Azәr Türk Bank", "Turkish Airlines", "GreenCar" "Coca Cola", "Huawei", "Alfa Romeo" and "GoSport" sports goods store.

The first semi-marathon event held on May 1, 2016 got over 7,000 registered participants. The semimarathon attended by Leyla Aliyeva, the Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, along with the Azerbaijani participants, brought together almost 500 expats from Spain, France, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, Czech Republic as well as representatives of embassies of other countries living and working in Azerbaijan. The participants also included tourists from Austria, Germany, Spain, France, Russia, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, etc.