4th Carrefour Warsaw Halfmarathon summary
What a weekend! The 4th Carrefour Warsaw Halfmarathon has proved to be the greatest in its history! For the first time in Poland there have been more than 4000 runners and Krakowskie Przedmieście (The Royal Duct) has never been as much alive before. It is time for summaries and thankyous:
There were 3950 runners out of which 8 did not reach the finish line. However, we should remember that our competitors also run in Afghanistan and in Lebanon: in total there was about 4035 of runners! It is an absolute knockout!
The winner was once again the legendary man - Michael Karonei (1.04:21), however, for fans the hero was Michał Kaczmarek, who was leading until the 20th kilometer and who finished just 4 seconds after the unconquerable man from Kenya. It has never happened before that a Polish representative was so close to victory. Alemayehu Shumye from Ethiopia – predicted for another victory – this time he did not manage and, exhausted, he reached the third place.
Among women, an incredible Małgorzata Sobańska (1.13:13) triumphed and, although the most titled Polish marathon runner has not set a new record, it was a great success. After taking two second places in a row in the Warsaw halfharathon, she has finally stood on the highest podium. However, before reaching that point, she had to struggle hard to be the first to cut the finishing line. The run-up on Sanguszki – a difficult test for many competitors, came out to be beneficial for Sabańska – this is where she managed to leave her rivals behind. After her tremendous efforts, Natalia Sergeeva from Russia, ran into the second place, just 3 seconds behind the winner. Meseret Dugo from Ethiopia, privately in a relationship with Alemayehu Shumye, registered herself on the third place.
This weekend was supposed to be also a holiday of spring and joy – and it surely was! Thanks to the fantastic weather and atmosphere we had tons of fun and laughs throughout Saturday. We started at 10.00 with the 5x5 Relay. Among 132 teams the Pumarunning Team turned out to be the best. In the classification of Run-Friendly Companies the winner was the Antalis Team.
Next, on Krakowskie Przedmiescie was joined by two-person teams with Carrefour trolleys. A huge interest in the event will certainly cause its continuation. Soon, further participants appeared by the finishing gate: competitions: "O Brother, Where Are You?", "The Digital Wall", "The Family Rally" and the Trikke rides came out to be a hit in a bull's eye, especially for the youngest competitors. The "Male Run" proved to be an event for the real men – the final run in aprons, flippers and a rose held in one's mouth will surely be remembered not only by participants, but by all of us.
The finals of Saturday's events were the "Night Maneuvers - City Game". The winner of this orientation run with elements of an urban game was Karol Galicz. In one word – a lot was going on! And it is going to be like this every year! Jeff Galloway – a special guest of the halfmarathon invited by Timex – when asked about his impression of the event, said:
Some statistics:
- For the first time the start of the halfmarathon was transmitted live by 4 TV cameras.
- 565 women took part in the Halfmarathon, representing 14.5% of all competitors. So far women in such events in Poland usually made 6-8%.
- 5 minutes – this is how much time the competitors needed to pass the start line after hearing the starting shot.
It is time for your marathon!
The end of the halfmarathon also means it is time to prepare the marathon. The first official meeting will take place on 25 April during the first Marathon Cup - a series of events which, every year, are to prepare runners for the legendary distance of 42 km and 195 meters. One of the challenges will be to maintain our little tradition: each marathon was bigger than the previous halfmarathon. Will this also happen this time?
You may already sign in on www.maraton2009.pl!
Thanks
Every success has many fathers; we would like to thank all the runners, fans, drummers from the drum school Klick & Drum, masseurs and the group of 300 volunteers – this event was made for you and without you it would not exist. Thank you all!
