ISTANBUL
Dozens of elite athletes will run in the 41st Vodafone Istanbul Marathon as the world's only intercontinental marathon is set to be held on Sunday.
A total of 58 elite athletes will join the marathon to start from Istanbul's Asian side and end in the European part.
Sponsored by world-famous British telecommunication conglomerate Vodafone, the sports event will have three categories -- 42.2-kilometer (26.2 miles) marathon, 15-km run (9.3 mi) and 8-km (4.9 mi) FunRun as well as a wheelchair competition.
A total of 140,000 people from 106 countries will join Sunday's race as approximately 100,000 people are expected to attend the 8-km FunRun.
The motto of the 2019 marathon is "Istanbul is yours. Don’t stop, run!"
Total prize amounts to $306K
The marathon will award $306,000 monetary prize in total.
The winners of the 2019 marathon in men's and women's category will earn $50,000 each.
In the Turkish athletes category, winners in both genders will bag 50,000 Turkish liras ($8,760) each.
The Istanbul marathon has been in the Gold Label Road Races list of the international governing body for athletics, the IAAF since 2012.
Recent champs to run for 2019 title
The champions in the recent years such as Elias Kemboi Chelimo from Kenya (2015), Evans Kiplagat from Azerbaijan (2016), French athlete Abraham Kiprotich (2017) and Kenya's Felix Kimutai (2018) will run to win the 2019 title.
In women's, Ethiopian Fatuma Sado -- coming third in 2018 -- and locally famous Turkish athlete Elvan Abeylegesse -- ranked fifth in 2018 -- are the favorites for Sunday's marathon.
Marathon to begin at 0600GMT
The 42.2-km marathon will begin in the Asian part of Istanbul at 9 a.m. local time (0600GMT) nearby the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge.
Meanwhile the 15-km run will kick off at 9.15 a.m. (0615GMT) and the 8-km FunRun will start at 9.45 a.m. (0645GMT).
The wheelchair competition will begin at 8.45 a.m. (0545GMT).
Roller skate running to make debut
In addition the roller skate running will make debut in Sunday's Istanbul marathon. It will be tested as part of the competition as 300 people will join the international race.
Detailed information about Sunday's sports event can be viewed on "https://en.maraton.istanbul/"
