BRAVO SUBOTICA! The 7th Subotica Half Marathon held successfully
On Sunday 25 August Subotica was all about running, as the long-awaited 7th Subotica Half Marathon took place, this year bringing together more than 1,400 competitors from 17 countries. In the 21-kilometre race, the fastest woman was Marien Sipősné Macsai, who ran the course in 1:37:51, while the fastest man was Gábor Jedlinszki with a time of 01:19:47. On the 10 and 5 kilometre courses, the winners were Anita Calbert and Denis Firulović, and Valentina Kenjereš and Nemanja Rajković respectively.
“This is the fifth time I have come to take part in this half marathon, and this year I managed to win for the first time. Of all the half marathons I have taken part in so far, I like this one the most because of the crowd, the organisation, but also the atmosphere and the setting itself,” said Marien Sipősné Macsai.
“It’s my first time here; I found out about the Subotica Half Marathon on the internet, so I registered. This half marathon served me as good preparation for further competitions, since I mostly take part in marathon races,” said Gábor Jedlinszki.
Besides the 21-kilometre race, participants also had shorter courses available, of 5 and 10 kilometres. The best over 5 kilometres were Anita Calbert and Denis Firulović, and over the longer one Valentina Kenjereš and Nemanja Rajković. The unmissable race for the youngest was held too.
Smiles on faces, good spirits and the great energy that spread through the centre of Subotica and along the streets the runners ran through are sufficient proof that the organisation was a success, which is confirmed by Organising Committee member Žika Savin. “The impressions are phenomenal; of course, as every year, there are always some slips: we had a small mishap at a turn in the 5 and 10 kilometre races, so about twenty competitors lost some time, but the mistake was corrected on the go. As for the race itself, attendance is higher than last year, so we are very pleased, and what I would single out is that this year we also had a souvenir shop, where people could buy our new brand called ‘SUPM Community’.”
Our interviewee adds that this year the runners did not manage to break the still-standing race record of one hour and nineteen minutes. “Many came to run and break their personal records; not everyone succeeded, but some are very pleased precisely because of that. They mention our strudels, which is why they always come back to us; at the finish competitors are served ice, water, supplements from our sponsor the Goodwill pharmacy, Maximalium products and beer, and VODAVODA refreshed the competitors at the refreshment stations… I must say the programme was great this year, lots of music, in Dudova šuma the BoomBox dance group entertained competitors and visitors. As organisers we are very proud of our volunteers and all the people who worked on the race; it really was up to standard and I am sure we will be even better next year. I am glad we have also launched some innovations such as the souvenir shop, and that we have started the promotional side of our race, to encourage some of our friendly races to advertise and promote themselves with us, and us with them,” Savin concluded.
The Organising Committee of the 7th Subotica Half Marathon thanks all the runners, participants and guests for choosing the Subotica Half Marathon as their sporting event again this year. We congratulate everyone who achieved the results they wanted, and we want to motivate everyone else to register as early as next year, spend time with us, feel the positive energy, reach their goal and run through history!
