Half Marathon "Kharkiv Half Marathon” is held in late March, so this event can be called a discoverer season of Ukrainian races for a distance of 21 kilometers. In 2019, the organizers changed the route - from now on the old route will be summer "Kharkiv Night Half Marathon“. It is very good gift from the organizers of the half marathon, because you can appreciate the updated route, and then run the old route on the summer night half marathon in an updated format. It was impossible to miss such an interesting event, so I decided to run along the track.Kharkiv Half Marathon” in early 2019.
Registration
You could register for the "Kharkiv Half Marathon" on the website sportevent.com.ua. Runners were offered two distances to choose from - the main - 21 kilometers and the satellite distance - 5 kilometers. The route of the "Kharkiv Half Marathon" consisted of two laps through the streets of Kharkiv. Each circle was 10.5 kilometers long and had three hydration stations. Starter packs were issued on the eve of the event and just before the start of the half marathon.
There was one very interesting feature - to take part in the "Kharkiv Half Marathon", you must provide a medical certificate or health insurance data. Frankly, I do not like this requirement of Ukrainian marathons.
The path to the starting town
I left for Kharkiv from Kyiv the day before the start of the half marathon. That's why I arrived in Kharkiv in the morning on the day of the start of the half marathon and quickly went to get my starting set, because there was very little time left before the start of the running event. Starter kits were issued from 8:00 to 9:30. The start was scheduled for 10 am and the start was common for both distances of 5 kilometers and 21 kilometers.
Unlike Gdynia, which greeted me with gloomy rainy weather, Kharkiv pleased me with a clear but slightly cool morning. He quickly took his starting number, warmed up and waited for the start of the "Kharkiv Half Marathon".
Run
Before the start, the organizers of the half marathon held a preliminary warm-up for the participants of the race. Exactly at 10:00 we started. I decided to follow the strategy I followed during the half marathon. ”Gdynia Half Marathon“, Namely - to focus on the pacemaker, setting a time of 1 hour. 50 min. The whole race I tried to keep up with his pace, but somewhere at the fourteenth kilometer began to gradually give up. At the beginning of the half marathon, I knew absolutely nothing about the new track, except that it consists of two laps.
It turned out that the route of the half marathon was quite exhausting - many ascents and descents made themselves felt. On the one hand, it was very tiring and irritating while running, and on the other hand, it gave a wonderful feeling. This gave confidence that the "Kharkiv Half Marathon" was a rather difficult test.
Residents and guests of the city provided great support to the participants of the Kharkiv Half Marathon throughout the route. Despite the fact that it was cool at first, the day turned out to be just wonderful - just what you need to run.
Finish
After crossing the finish line, runners could quench their thirst and treat themselves to a variety of delicacies. Each participant of the "Kharkiv Half Marathon" crossed the finish line in the same way as the winner - this is a very nice feature of this half marathon.
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