Zagreb (Croatia), Sunday 13 November 2011
Croatia's Zoran Žilić and Slovenia's Daneja Grandovec are the winners of this year's 25th Polumaraton "Ivan Starek" which was held on Sunday at Lake Jarun in Croatia's capital Zagreb.
Almost 300 runners completed the three-lap course around the artificial lake, which is situated in the south-western part of Zagreb, on the left bank of the River Sava.
The event is popular for its pleasant setting and the completely flat and fast course.
Many runners set a personal half marathon record, despite very low temperatures at the start of the race, and fog as thick as pea soup lingering over the lake. Half an hour into the race, however, skies brightened up and temperatures rose quickly.
Both Žilić and Grandovec decided the race on the third and final lap, against tough competition from Hungarian and Croatian athletes.
Zoran Žilić, currently Croatia's best half marathon runner, beat Hungary's elite runners László Tóth and Tamás Oláh.
Daneja Grandovec, four-times Slovenian marathon champion, claimed victory over Réka Bátai of Hungary and Croatia's top marathon runner Marija Vrajić.
Results - 25. Polumaraton Ivan Starek 2011
Men: 230 finishers
| 1. | Zoran Žilić | CRO | 1:11:47 |
| 2. | László Tóth | HUN | 1:12:18 |
| 3. | Tamás Olah | HUN | 1:12:34 |
Women: 58 finishers
| 1. | Daneja Grandovec | SLO | 1:18:54 |
| 2. | Réka Bátai | HUN | 1:19:16 |
| 3. | Marija Vrajić | CRO | 1:20:20 |
Daneja Grandovec of Slovenia on her way to victory at Lake Jarun.
Zoran Žilić of Croatia - the strongest and fastest of all finishers.
The first part of each lap is run along the dike of the River Sava, ...
... the second part along the 2km-long rowing regatta course.
Running coach Dragan Janković (left) set the pace for a group of runners to finish in 1hr 53min.
Some athletes decided to run on the pavement, others on the road.
In Croatia, as in most countries, ...
... men are chasing women.
Always in a good mood - Croatia's Hrvoje Habuš. On the left: Réka Bátai of Hungary (2nd place women).
General information and map of the venue:
Race information:
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