The Girne Half Marathon, organised for the 4th time this year by the Municipality of Girne, will be held on Sunday, April 30. The event is jointly organised by Girne Municipality and the main sponsor Pasha Group. A press conference was held at Girne Grand Pasha Hotel with the participation of all sponsors. Girne Mayor Murat Şenkul, Pasha Group CEO Uğur Pirinççioğlu, Cyprus Turkish Athletics Federation Vice President Prof. Dr. Cevdet Tınazcı, Girne Municipality Council Member and Sports Committee Chairman Halil Oktunç and Girne Municipality Sports Unit Supervisor Seran Kaşif all made speeches. After the press conference, the sponsors and their guests attended a dinner.
On behalf of City of Girne and himself, Mayor Murat thanked everyone who will continue to contribute to the marathon, and announced that the sponsors had adopted, for the event, the slogan “We Are Girne Together”. Pointing out that the previous marathons had been a success, Şenkul stated that they hope to raise approximately one and a half million Turkish Liras from ticket sales this year.
Şenkul stated that with the money collected, they aim to start a project that will enable all animal-loving associations to unite around the Girne Municipality Animal Shelter, starting with a pet hotel for our animal friends. He expressed the aim to find a permanent solution to the issue of stray animals in this way. Şenkul expressed his belief that the foreseen budget would be sufficient to realise this objective. Şenkul emphasised that, unlike the previous administration, the money collected for the marathon this year will be deposited into a separate bank account and care will be taken not to mix it with any other account of the municipality and underlined that this will ensure that this money is used in accordance with its purpose. Şenkul thanked all the sponsors, especially the Pasha Group, and the Turkish Cypriot Athletics Federation, who support this project, and reiterated his goal for Girne to be outstanding with the marathon and in every other sense. Şenkul emphasised that they aim, with this marathon, to promote Girne as the pearl of the Mediterranean, as with many other fields, adding to its attraction.
Pi̇ri̇nççi̇oğlu: “We Will Always Continue To Contribute.”
Speaking on behalf of Pasha Group, the Main Sponsor of the Marathon, Pasha Group CEO Uğur Pirinççioğlu said, “I would like to thank the Mayor of Murat Şenkul for being the pioneer of our contribution to such an event.” Emphasising that, as Pasha Group, they attach great importance to activities that enable future generations to adopt a healthier life with sports. Pirinççioğlu underlined that they are always ready to contribute to such events. Showing his belief that all people will contribute to the marathon, Pirinççioğlu thanked all the Cypriot people in this regard.
Announcing that the marathon will start on Sunday, April 30 at 07:45, the President of the Cyprus Turkish Athletics Federation Prof. Dr. Cevdet Tınazcı said that marathons which are named after cities always come to the attention of the world. Tınazcı said that they are eager for the city of Girne, which is very valuable for everyone, to be showcased in this way, and thanked everyone who served this purpose.
Girne Municipality Council Member and Sports Committee Chairman Halil Oktunç stated that they are happy to organise the Girne half marathon in a short time, and thanked everyone who contributed and put in their effort.
Marathon Course to International Standard
Girne Municipality Sports Unit Supervisor, Seran Kaşif, stated that the 4th half marathon will be held under more professional conditions and stated that they have received track approval at international standards in order to increase the brand value of the marathon. Observing that the athletes participating in such events from abroad make a significant contribution to the promotion of the country and the development of sports tourism, Kaşif stated that athletes from Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia will participate in the marathon. The entry fee for the 21 kilometre race is 300 Turkish Liras, for the 10 kilometre race it is 200 Turkish Liras and online applications are available. Kaşif stated that the applications for the 3-kilometre public walk with a 75 Turkish lira participation fee will start on Monday, April 3rd.
Noting that the winners of the 21 and 10 km races will be awarded a total of 100 thousand Turkish liras, the sponsors will present gift packages to the winners in the 9-year-old category and stated that the award ceremony will be held in front of the Atatürk Monument after the races.
Source (Turkish): Girne Municipality
