Award ceremony | Registration opens
Registration opened and the campaign for the 3rd Subotica Half Marathon launched at a press conference
On this occasion, impressions from last year’s race were presented to the media and the public, as well as figures confirming that the race in Subotica grows year after year, both in the number of runners and in the scale of organisation of the whole event.
Tímea Horváth, Deputy Mayor, first of all pointed out how significant a sporting and tourism event SUPM is for the City of Subotica, and accordingly announced the wholehearted help of the city administration this year too.
The Athletics Federation of Serbia has included the Subotica Half Marathon in the official annual calendar of races in Serbia, and the expectations are that this year the Subotica race will gather over a thousand participants in all three races.
Gyula Mester, Olympic champion and celebrated volleyball player, who as promoter of the 2nd Subotica Half Marathon described his experiences and recalled all the beautiful moments he lived through during the race.
I thank the organisers for inviting me to take part in this great race that gathers athletes from Serbia, the region and other European countries, and since I have already started my preparations, I would like to run one of the races at the 3rd Subotica Half Marathon.
Bálint Pásztor, Member of the National Assembly and member of the sports association Horizont, the race organiser, also addressed the numerous media at the conference, pointing out the importance of holding this event for the City of Subotica and recalling the growth of the Subotica Half Marathon.
From this year we have also included a 10 km race, which means we have three on offer, as well as the children’s races, which puts us among the rare races in the region with such an offer. The 5 and 10 km races are run in one lap, and the 21 km in 2 laps of a certified course with an A licence. Around 300 people from the police, emergency service and Red Cross were involved in the whole of last year’s event. On the streets of Subotica, besides the runners, there were our young fellow citizens, volunteers from 3 secondary schools, the Medical School, the School of Economics and the Grammar School, and the Teacher Training Faculty, as well as volunteers from the Red Cross. Around 50 people took part in the organisation, and their number will increase this year in line with the expansion of the event and the growing number of runners.
Finally, the Vice-President of the sports association Horizont, Žika Savin, addressed the journalists and guests, thanking the Subotica Police Department, who ensured the safety of runners and spectators at the race itself, as well as the public enterprise Subotica Trans, who provided the people of Subotica with a special public transport service during the race.
Our plan this year is to connect with races in the region and Hungary on the basis of reciprocity, in order above all to exchange experiences. We are eager to meet people who think like us, and we certainly want to bring their runners to Subotica, just as we would like our runners to visit their races. It is also our great wish to expand in terms of the tourist offer, and to offer accommodation at registration to runners who would like to stay in our city for several days. In other words, so that they don’t have to think much, but get the complete sporting and tourist offer in two or three clicks. Thank you to everyone who helps us in this great and responsible task, and welcome to the 3rd SUPM.
After the press conference, plaques were presented as a token of gratitude to everyone who contributed to the successful completion of last year’s race and, as is customary, a cocktail reception was held for all present.