📩 25/10/2023 14:34
The 45th Istanbul Marathon, which is the only marathon held between two continents in the world, will be run on November 5 this year, under the title of 'Run of 100 Years', with the participation of 45 thousand people and under the sponsorship of Türkiye İş Bankası. İBB President who attended the introductory meeting of Türkiye İş Bankası 45th Istanbul Marathon Ekrem İmamoğlu, to a journalist's question, "Are you a 100-meter athlete or a marathon runner?", he replied, "In fact, I am this kind of person in sports: In politics, I am like a goalkeeper with a look that will never turn his back on his friends. I'm a good 100 meter runner who knows when to sprint. "But I am a marathon runner who will never give up on life, his principles and his stance in politics."
The 45th Istanbul Marathon, which is the only marathon held between two continents in the world, will be run on November 5 this year, under the title of 'Run of 100 Years', with the participation of 45 thousand people and under the sponsorship of Türkiye İş Bankası. İBB President who attended the introductory meeting of Türkiye İş Bankası 45th Istanbul Marathon Ekrem İmamoğlu, to a journalist's question, "Are you a 100-meter athlete or a marathon runner?", he replied, "In fact, I am this kind of person in sports: In politics, I am like a goalkeeper with a look that will never turn his back on his friends. I'm a good 100 meter runner who knows when to sprint. "But I am a marathon runner who will never give up on life, his principles and his stance in politics."
The 45th Istanbul Marathon, which is the only marathon held between two continents in the world, will be held on November 5 this year, organized by Spor Istanbul A.Ş., a subsidiary of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). It will be run under the sponsorship of Türkiye İş Bankası. A press conference was held to promote the Türkiye İş Bankası 100th Istanbul Marathon, which will be held on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, under the title "Run of 45 Years" and with the participation of 45 thousand people. At the press conference, respectively; Spor Istanbul General Manager Renay Onur, Turkish Athletics Federation President Fatih Çintımar, Türkiye İş Bankası General Manager Hakan Aran and IMM President. Ekrem İmamoğlu made a speech.
HE DRAW ATTENTION TO THE SIMILARITIES OF THE REPUBLIC AND MARATHON
Stating that the marathon is one of the oldest races of humanity, the highlights of İmamoğlu's speech were as follows:
“We share this race with you, together with the Republic, whose 100th anniversary we will celebrate this week. This precious legacy, this greatest legacy left to us by our leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms, has perhaps many similarities with the marathon. It will also be valuable that our marathon will be launched this year under the name 'Run of 100 Years'. Marathon running is a race that requires mental endurance as well as physical endurance. When leaving long distances behind, the difficulties one must truly overcome test one's will and patience. People's lives are also a marathon. In fact, the long-term perspectives and road walks of institutions are very similar to marathons. Being resilient is essential. Today, as we celebrate our 100th anniversary, we understand much better how important the endurance and will shown while saving our country from the enemy and establishing a brand new country within our borders of the National Pact. Everyone who reads the sources of the period sees and accepts how unique the will was shown against the greatest armies of the period, who set their sights on our country, and how great the difficulties were overcome. We should be proud, we should be honored, we should be grateful. The great will of our nation, united by a leader whose genius is acknowledged by the whole world, has been going on for exactly 100 years. The run of the century continues unabated.
“FEEL YOURSELF EXCEEDING 42 KILOMETERS AND PREPARING FOR THIS RACE…”
“To complete a marathon, it is necessary to set a specific goal and to achieve this goal, it is necessary to have a regular and disciplined training routine. While preparing yourself for this run that exceeds 42 kilometers, you must work in accordance with your goals and be ready. These preparations must be based on absolute scientific principles and you must go through a very good training process. Perhaps the thing that Ataturk and all his friends who founded our Republic did best was; The fact that a nation that has survived wars, unfortunately lost most of its workforce, and is economically underdeveloped, sets modern and contemporary goals no matter what, is actually our moment of tremendous beginning. We all knew that our young Republic entered the civilization race with great disadvantages. It seemed very difficult to catch up with the countries that were ahead of us and widen the gap, and to catch up and surpass their level. Maybe it even seemed impossible for many at that time. I would like to express that walking the path with confidence in science and especially modern science, when the founders of our country set the right goals and carried them into the lives of our people with appropriate revolutions - from education to many areas - is an important character of this journey. In his speech to the public in Çankırı on August 31, 1925, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said, 'We draw strength from civilization, science and science, and we walk accordingly. The words 'we do not recognize anything else' remain current today.”
“THE RACE OF THE CENTURY STARTED WITH THIS CONFIDENCE AND CONTINUES”
“The first person you trust to run a marathon is yourself. It is not possible to complete such a long run without trusting your abilities, physical capacity and spiritual endurance. In one of the toughest races in sports, as you leave distances behind, you also leave your insecurities behind. You know very well how difficult it is to re-motivate a nation that is injured, has lost the geographies it dominated, and is experiencing great economic difficulties. But maybe the whole secret is 'Turkish; Although it may seem very simple, such as 'food, work, trust', it is an extraordinary challenge that has instilled incredible confidence and hope in all of us on this journey. That great feeling of confidence lay behind our people's self-confidence, their ability to stand up again and to establish a magnificent country while the whole world was in chaos with wars and revelations. The run of the century started and continues with this confidence. We are all aware that we carry Atatürk's endless trust in our nation in our hearts and minds today. Without this trust, we cannot achieve anything. "We give up in the first meters of the race."
“YOU NEVER RUN THE MARATHON ALONE”
“Another similarity between marathon running and our Republic; You never run the marathon alone. Many stories about people are written on the route exceeding 42 kilometers. The most memorable 'fair play' stories in the history of sports took place in this long-distance race. Here we saw the moments when we picked up our exhausted competitors and went to the finish line together. In the marathon, it is very, very important not only to be a champion, but also to finish, regardless of the degree. Marathon is as much an individual as it is, let's face it, a social sport. Over long distance you lose all differences. You are equal and together. Finishing the race and leaving the difficult track behind is the common goal of every participant. Even though we experience some polarization from time to time and forget to cooperate in our Republic, which is entering our 100th year, we see that we are actually largely successful. We all experience together that we have moved our country to a very special point, unlike our neighbors who are experiencing civil wars and, today, major international crises and wars. That spirit of unity that keeps us together and enables us to write unique stories. I would like to remind you that millions of our people, who have embraced the Republic and reflected its values in every aspect of their lives, are a society that is a candidate to write a much greater history, if we leave some social tensions behind.”
“THE CHILD RUNNING AFTER İŞ BANKASI KUMBARA MAGAZINE BECAME THE PRESIDENT OF IBB IS A PRODUCT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY”
Sharing the information that following the establishment of the Republic on October 29, 1923, the Turkish National Olympic Association was established on Sunday, November 2, 1923, İmamoğlu said, “A magnificent view. And in January 1924, our National Olympic Association law was passed. We are also participating in Paris 1924 with 22 of our athletes. 100 years later, we will be in Paris, France again, this time with over 100 of our athletes. With our strong running character, we continue our journey with the desire to be the city that demonstrates the will to make Istanbul the most beautiful Olympics in the world in 2036. "We will prove to the whole world that Turkey is an Olympic country and Istanbul is an Olympic city from the very first days, with our passion for this marathon and hopefully hosting it in 2036," he said. Drawing attention to the importance of sponsoring the 45th Istanbul Marathon by Türkiye İş Bankası, which was established in 1924 with the directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, İmamoğlu said, “I am very proud that the two institutions came together and achieved such a marathon together in the 100th year.” . As a child, in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth grades of primary school, a child waited in front of İş Bankası for 'Kumbara Magazine' before the bank opened; today, in Istanbul, a Municipality prepares and runs the Istanbul Marathon together with İşbank. "I think being the president must be a product of the Republic of Turkey," he said.
“A CITY WHERE SPORTS CAN BE DONE ON ITS STREETS IS A CITY WITH SUSTAINABLE LIFE”
“A city where sports can be done on its streets is a city with a sustainable life,” said İmamoğlu, adding, “We explained this once again with the Istanbul Bicycle Tour, which we organized for the first time this year. We will underline this once again with our 45th marathon. We will host athletes from all over the world in the streets and avenues of our city and on the bridge with the most unique view in the world. We will explain that Istanbul is a metropolis where sports can be done in every corner. We will once again explain to all world sports management institutions that we are a very suitable candidate to host many major sports organizations in the future. Hundreds of thousands will come together again in our public race. People will run together and cross the Bosphorus together, without being separated according to age, gender or economic status. We will showcase the best examples of social solidarity, unity and the power of sports to bring people together. Türkiye İş Bankası 4th Istanbul Marathon will be run in the most beautiful city of the world, around many of our historical and cultural heritage. "It will be an opportunity to once again convey to the world what a beautiful city we are and the cultural capital of the world," he said.
ÇİÇEK INTRODUCED SOLON ŞENSOY TO THE HALL
Stating that he was a special guest of the meeting, İmamoğlu said, “Cicek Solon Şensoy, who has been living with the Olympic dream since the age of 17 and running all over the world, is here with us today. He introduced Şensoy to the participants with the words "I would like to thank Mr. Şensoy, who lives and keeps alive the ideals shown by Atatürk and is Turkey's first permanent female athletics coach, for what he has contributed to our sport." After the speeches, İmamoğlu and other participants answered questions from journalists. İmamoğlu, from journalist Bagis Erten, said: “Marathon is a metaphor that politicians use a lot. But Can Yücel also defines Deniz Gezmiş as a hundred meter runner who can best run 100 meters. To the question "Are you a 100-meter athlete or a marathon runner?", he said, "I am actually like this in sports: In politics, I am like a goalkeeper with a look that will never turn his back on his friends. I'm a good 100 meter runner who knows when to sprint. "But I am a marathon runner who will never give up on life, his principles and his stance in politics." Following the question-answer session, the t-shirts to be worn in the marathon were introduced to members of the press.