31. Maratonina Isontina 2009

31st Half Marathon Isontina 2009

The castle in Gorizia, Italy

The town of Gorizia has a turbulent past. In the 19th century, it was a multiethnic town where Italian, Slovene, Friulian and German were widely spoken until fierce battles between Italians and Austrians took place here in World War One. In the 1920s, public use of Slovene was prohibited and many Slovenes emigrated. World War Two left the province of Gorizia divided by the Italian/Yugoslav border.

Things have changed, fortunately. On March 1st, Italians and Slovenes will celebrate a running festival together and run united a 21km lap across the border to Slovenia and back to Italy. The mildly undulating route will take you through different parts of Gorizia with its impressive castle hill, tree-lined avenues and elegant villas and to the Slovene town of Šempeter. In addition, there will be a lot to entertain you: on Saturday a marathon expo, children's races, guided tours, a youth basketball match, music and cabaret, and on Sunday a tour of historic Fiat cars before the start and a pasta party after the race.

Country: Italy/Slovenia

Venue (Map): Gorizia, Italy

Date: 1 March 2009 (Sunday)

Start time: 10.00

Race distance: 21.1 km; certified by FIDAL

Start and finish: Piazza Cesare Battisti

Race course: one lap, mildly undulating, from Gorizia across the border to the Slovene town of Šempeter and back to Gorizia

Entries: by post, fax or e-mail (details on the event website); entries close 24th February 2009;

Entry fees: until 31 January: 10 EUR; until 24 February: 15 EUR

Race centre: open on Saturday (28 Feb) from 15.00 to 18.00 and on race day from 08.00 to 09.30

You get: pasta party, race pack for the first 800 entries; massage, changing facilities, showers

Prizes: First 15 M, first 5 F; category prizes

Presentation and pasta party: 12.00

Number of finishers 2008: 574

Event website: www.marciatorigorizia.it

No guarantee is made as to the accuracy or completeness of the information on this page.