İznik Ultramarathon
| İznik Ultramarathon | |
|---|---|
Lake İznik from space.
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| Date | April |
| Location | İznik, Bursa Province, Turkey |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance |
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| Established | April 14, 2012 |
İznik Ultramarathon, shortly İznik Ultra, is an international trail running ultramarathon event that takes place at İznik town of Bursa Province in northwestern Turkey. It was established in 2012 with the first race held on April 14-15. Lasting two days, the race is Turkey's longest single stage athletic event.
The course is a loop around the Lake Iznik with a distance of 133 km (83 mi) and a total elevation gain of 2,248 m (7,375 ft). İznik Ultra consists of the part races as the 80k "Orhangazi Ultra", the 42k "İznik Mountain Marathon" and additionally a city fun run "İznik 10k". The winners are bestowed with medals specially made out of İznik pottery, which made the town famous in the Ottoman Empire era.
In 2013, 250 athletes from 17 nations participated at the event. The race for 2014 is scheduled on April 19-20.
Lake İznik is located northeast of Bursa, and the historic city of İznik (formerly Nicaea) is situated at the eastern shore of the lake. The trail running race starts at the square in front of Hagia Sofia Museum (Turkish: İznik Ayasofya Camii) in the town center, and leaves İznik on its south through Yenişehir Gate (Turkish: Yenişehir Kapısı). Running on state and country roads between villages as control points, the route continues along the mountainous southern coast of İznik Lake, gaining elevation before and after Derbent at 13 km (8.1 mi). It descends towards Narlıca at 41 km (25 mi), ascends and descends once again before Solöz at 60 km (37 mi). The route after Solöz until the finish line is almost flat with an elevation difference not exceeding about 100 m (330 ft). Örnekköy village is the westernmost point of the route at 75 km (47 mi). From there on, the route follows north of the lake. After the villages Ilıca at 95 km (59 mi), Boyalica at 103 km (64 mi) and Dikilitaş at 120 km (75 mi), it arrives in İznik at the same place it had started, passing through İstanbul Gate (İstanbul Kapı) in the north of the town. Qualification time is limited by 25 hours. İznik Ultra is accredited for giving three points to the North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.
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