Half Marathon “Kharkiv Night Half Marathon” - one of the few night half marathons, taking place on the territory of Ukraine. Its peculiarity is that the participants overcome the distance after sunset. That is why the participants of the half marathon have to run with special headlights - as there are unlit sections on the distance.
“Kharkiv Night Half Marathon” is held in Kharkiv on Belgorod Highway, near the Ski Base of KhPU. G. Frying pans. The half marathon includes three distances: 21,097, 10 and 5 kilometers. There are age restrictions for the 21-kilometer distance - only those who are 18 or older at the time of the start can take part in it.
Information about the race
- Official name: Kharkiv Night Half Marathon
- Venue: Kharkiv (Ukraine)
- Time: June
- Type: road race
- Distance: 21, 10 and 5 km.
- Time limit: 3 hours (half marathon), 1 hour 30 minutes (10 kilometers) and 45 minutes (5 kilometers)
- Route: bicycle path - asphalt
- Approved distance: yes
- Route certification: UAF
- Running series: Kharkiv Grand Prix
- Registration: from 300 UAH
- Website: sportevent.com.ua
- Facebook: -
- Instagram: -
History
As of now, the "Kharkiv Night Half Marathon" has been held twice - in 2019 and 2021. And each edition of the race gathered about 300 participants. The first half marathon included only two distances - 5 and 21,097 kilometers. Also night Kharkiv Half Marathon entered the running series “Kharkiv Grand Prix” and became its second stage. A distance of 10 kilometers was added to the 2021 competition. And yet - they changed the route a bit and removed the unlit areas. Therefore, in the second edition of the half marathon, there was no requirement for participants to have headlights. Although, as for me, the race with flashlights looks a little nicer.
In general, night races are a fairly new practice for Ukraine, compared to the running traditions of other countries. In this format, after sunset, the competitions take place in the Dnieper (night half marathon "DneprNight"), Zaporozhye (in 2021 there was a night marathon), Kiev ("Uklon Night Run" and "Kiev Night Five"), Vyshgorod (“Night Marathon-Fest”) and takes place in the Carpathians night mountain trail "Night Montenegrin Marathon". In Ukraine, night races are less popular than their day counterparts.
In the world night marathons and half marathons somewhat more popular. There are not as many of them as there are daily ones, but the number of participants in most European races reaches several thousand. For example, the "Night Half Marathon Luxembourg" gathers an average of 15,000 participants. A similar race in Wroclaw, Poland - "Wroclaw Nocny Polmaraton" - 12 thousand runners.
Route
The start and finish of the "Kharkiv Night Half Marathon" for all three distances are located on Belgorod Highway opposite the Velocentr stop, next to the monument to the cyclist. Participants registered for 5 and 10 kilometers run one lap. The distance of the half marathon consists of two laps: the first lap for 10 kilometers and the second lap for 11,097 kilometers. Along the distance are: medical care, toilets, food. There are also women's and men's locker rooms and lockers at the half marathon.
