Long wanted to meet marathons of Cyprus, and together with the island itself, even last year, when he planned his participation in the "Larnaka Marathon". But due to reasons known to everyone, my plans and hopes had to be cancelled. However, at the end of this year running season fate gave me a chance to make my dream come true after all run through the streets of the city of Larnaca during the local marathon. Since I still have a valid registration for these competitions from last year.
Registration
To register for “Larnaka Marathon” you need to go to the official website running event larnakamarathon.com. Here, each of the participants can choose one of three distances, the main distance of 42 kilometers, shorter distances of 21 or 10 kilometers. It is also necessary to pay the registration fee, the cost of which depends on the date of registration and the chosen discipline.
Route
The main distance “Larnaka Marathon” consists of two circles, a small one - 11 kilometers and a large one - 31 kilometers. Marathon route in Larnaca partly passes through the streets, embankment and outskirts of the city, so athletes can enjoy both the local architecture and the surrounding nature during the race.
The surface of the marathon course is asphalt, but there are a few small sections with cobblestones, in addition, there are minor ups and downs on the route. Marathon organizers food points were provided every 5 kilometers. Here you can restore your strength with the help of water, isotonic, cola and bananas.
Run
My running adventures in Cyprus began on Friday morning at Kyiv airport. I would like to note right away that among all my foreign starts, I met such a crowd of runners at the airport for the first time. I had the impression that if you were to conduct a survey among the passengers of the flight Kyiv - Larnaca that morning, most likely most of them flew to the marathon.
As for the specifics of the flight, upon arrival in Cyprus it was necessary to present a vaccination certificate or PRL test and fill out a form on the “CyprusFlightPass” platform, indicating one of the options, vaccine, PRL test or antibodies and hotel. where will you stay If the passenger did not have a valid vaccination certificate or PRL test with him upon arrival in the country, then the latter could be done directly at the airport before passing passport control. Also, a certificate about a vaccine or PRL - I was asked for a test in restaurants and when I received it starter pack for a marathon.
Larnaca itself greeted me with sunny weather, which made me very happy and probably for me this airport turned out to be one of the most convenient of those I have ever visited in my life. In particular, this concerns the infrastructure, because when I got to the bus stop, I immediately saw a list of almost 10 buses going to Larnaca, and in general, I didn't have to wait long for the bus I needed. The fare there is 2.5 euros. In addition, the resort itself is located about 5 kilometers from Larnaca and there is a paved sidewalk along the road, which, if desired, allows you to simply walk or run and admire the salt lake that is located nearby (between the resort and the city).
I spent Friday mainly getting to know the city and its architecture. I scheduled to pick up my starter pack with the number on Saturday. By the way, their issuance began four days before the marathon at the "Passengers Hall of the Larnaka Port". On the day of the marathon, the athletes also had the opportunity to receive their starting package, in particular, this happened two hours before the start at the starting town “Larnaka Marathon”. In order to receive a starting package with a number, a T-shirt and a backpack, it was necessary to present your documents (international passport) and vaccination certificate (PRL - test).
The most important thing is the start marathon in Larnaca started at 7 o'clock Sunday morning. Here everything took place according to the classic scenario, first the participants of the main distance - the marathon - started, followed by the participants of the half-marathon and the 10-kilometer race. Among the features that I did not meet at other marathons this year, I can note the need to stand in the starting corridor on the appropriate stickers (there was 1.5 meters between the participants) and the volunteers carefully followed this, so there was no usual crowding that occurs before the start.
After the start countdown, the participants set out to conquer the track marathon in Larnaca. The beginning of the marathon was not bad for me personally, I covered the first lap (11 kilometers) in 59 minutes. I did it not alone, but in the company of Oleksandr Hrytsyn from Lviv. In addition, there were many other Ukrainians among the participants of the marathon, which only made running more comfortable and easy. The only thing that caused a little discomfort on the short circuit was the side wind that the marathon participants encountered on the embankment.
After overcoming the small circle, it was time to overcome the main marathon circle, 31 kilometers long. It was basically a solo run. I admired the promenade and the surrounding nature of Larnaca. Since the weather was cloudy, the distance was mostly covered quite comfortably (16.3 km. – 01:24:42, 26.8 km. – 02:26:58, 32.7 km. – 03:05:06). The only trouble that happened to me was a downpour that suddenly happened somewhere at 30 kilometers. She refreshed me well, but completely discouraged the desire to run further.
But further on, about 7 kilometers before the finish line, Artem Pedorchenko caught up with me and together, supporting each other by talking, we continued running, counting the remaining kilometers to the arch with the inscription "Finish". I crossed the finish line with a time of 4 hours and 18 minutes and that's mine the best result at the marathon distance. This made me very happy, because when I was going to Larnaca, I did not expect any extraordinary results for me. It was my third marathon of the fall, not including other starts, and the last marathon of the season.
Impression
“Larnaka Marathon” I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of organization. And although I was missing the already usual for such events as the marathon, "SportExpo" and "PastaParty". However, the marathon route was completely blocked and interesting, because it passed by the main architectural monuments of the city, along the embankment and along the salt lake. As for the support of the marathon participants by the residents and guests of the city, it was also very decent, but the most uplifting support of Ukrainian fans, because when you run and see the flag of your native country, hear shouts of "our", you immediately forget the number of kilometers you have to cover before the finish line.
