Right after the starting point the Istanbul marathon stuns with a real sensation – the crossing of the Bosphorus on the Ataturk bridge with a magnificent view of the historical center of Istanbul on the left and along the Bosphorus to the Black Sea on the right! It makes you forget that there are some minor organizational flaws and that you have to shorten your early morning marathon prep somewhat in order to catch the 7h30 a.m. bus that leaves from Hagia Sophia and takes the participants to the starting point on the Asian side of Istanbul. And there is yet another reward to enjoy – the view of the Blue Mosque, bathed in the orange light of the morning sun.

Having left the bridge the route slopes downhill for quite some time, along the Bosphorus back towards the Golden Horn, which you reach shortly before kilometer 10. And once more there is a magnificent view, this time of the New Mosque and the Süleymaniye Mosque. After another kilometer things are quieting down: at this point the 15 kilometer loop branches off and it is taken by the majority of the runners. The route along the Golden Horn and the rather diverse and colorful buildings on the other side of the street, however, help to keep your spirits up! You then move away from the Golden Horn, over a hill along Ataturk Bulvari to the Sea of Marmara. This is approximately the point of the half marathon and it is also where the “long” kilometers begin – once you are through with admiring the big tankers anchoring in droves along the coast, there is not much left to keep you entertained (and the support offered from along the route is quite poor). The only thing to do is to keep focusing on the spot about 2 meters in front of your feet and to run! This does not change until a few kilometers before the finish line – when you suddenly see the Bosphorus bridge again and the densely built up hills around the Seraglio Point shimmering in the sun.

To make this marathon really and truly unforgettable another sensation is waiting for you in Istanbul – first you run through Gulhane Park with the beautiful play of alternating light and shade and thenyou have to run quite a bit uphill passing a number of restaurants and cafés, where the tempting aromas emanating from them lets you imagine the delicious tidbits before you – and before these images escape from your mental eye, you have already reached the finish line.

In a nutshell: Istanbul is a city you absolutely have to see and since the Istanbul marathon takes place at exactly the right season for visiting cities my recommendation for every marathon runner is: Don’t miss it!