Around 25,000 people compete in White Nights Marathon in St. Petersburg

The 34th White Nights Marathon took place in St. Petersburg. Around 25,000 people took part in one of the country's largest running events. TV BRICS is the international media partner of the event.

The race was organised by the Committee on Physical Culture and Sports of St. Petersburg and the city government, with the support of the Running Community. Participants could choose between two distances – 10 km or 42.2 km – or run the marathon as part of a team. As usual, there were amateur and student relays.

The 10 km race started at 8:30 p.m. Moscow time, and the marathon runners started at 10 p.m. More than 100 professional athletes took part, including from Belarus, Kenya, China, Turkey, and Ethiopia. The winner in the absolute standings in the 42.2 km distance among men was Turkish athlete Ilham Tanui Ozbilen with a result of 2:11:55.

Russian athlete Ildar Minshin took first place in the national men's standings. According to him, participating in the marathon was special – he ran a personal best and dedicated his victory to his children.

"I am very happy – I ran a personal best. Thank you to the foreign athletes. We tried to drop out twice, but it didn't work out. This is my first night marathon and my eleventh overall. Everything worked out. Perhaps the secret is that my son was born in the winter. I promised my eldest son I would bring him a medal, and I simply dedicated this race to my youngest," he said.

Russian athlete Dina Aleksandrova won the national women's competition. She noted that the race went well and gave her the opportunity to truly prove herself.

"I am very happy with both the result and the race itself. At the 25th kilometre, it became a little difficult, and I had to slow down, but at the 38th kilometre, I perked up and realised that I needed to get back into it. This time, I really worked as I should have. I hope the coach will be satisfied. I can definitely say that the training camp in Kenya was beneficial, and everything went perfectly," she said.

All participants who completed the distance within the allotted time received commemorative medals. Special badges were prepared for runners for whom the marathon was the second stage of the BRICS Marathon League, and about 2,700 people received them.

The next event organised by the team is the SPB Half Marathon. The Northern Capital, scheduled for 3 August. Participants will be able to choose between 10 or 21.1 km distances.

Photo: White Nights Marathon