White City

by Karl Jorssen,  Editor-In-Chief

The 23^rd Belgrade Marathon was held 18 April. The scenic 42 kilometer course traditionally starts at the beginning of Bul. Kralja Aleksandra and takes runners through Vracar then over to New Belgrade and Zemun, finishing at Terezije. At 20 degrees, it was ideal running temperature.

In total this year’s marathon had 1,500 runners, which includes runners for the 21 kilometer half-marathon that covered some of the same route. The main race featured runners from over 25 countries that participated in the scenic and challenging course. The timing of the Belgrade marathon usually means strong winds, and this year was no different with winds of over 20 kph, the final 5 kms featuring both a headwind and about a four per cent grade to the finish line.

The race was won by Kenyan Johnstone Kibet Maiyo in a time of 2:16:23 in a race which saw Kenyan runners capture the top ten spots. The winner who travelled to Europe just to compete in the Belgrade Marathon actually competes without sponsorship. “I have no sponsors,” said Kibet Maiyo, who said that his coach takes care of his travel expenses. He also made mention of the conditions; “Too windy,” and had some nice words about the venue; “Belgrade is a very good place, a very good country,” when interviewed by White City.

Kenyan runners also came in second and third with Kibet Sammy Kipkorir finishing with a time of 2:18:15 and Lopio Paul Lomol who had a time of 2:18:19. Hellen Mugo, also from Kenya took the top spot in the women’s category with a time of 2:41:19 ahead of Belarusian Volha Rezkaya (2:53,57) while Kranj, Neža Mravlje (2:59,30) from Slovenia finished third.