The marathon is the longest and hardest athletic discipline. It was named after the Greek soldier Pheidippides, who, according to the legend, ran from the Marathon field to Athens so as to declare the victory of the Greeks over the Persians. Marathons (42 km and 195 m in length) and half marathons (21 km and 97 m) are held across the world, with thousands and thousands of participants.
The Mostar Half Marathon promotes a healthy lifestyle and the importance of exercise. It includes all generations, and is unique in the world since it runs over 7 bridges connecting Mostar. The Old Bridge, the most famous bridge in Mostar, is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List together with the city’s old town.
The aim of the Mostar Half Marathon is to raise awareness on the importance of exercise, to influence the improvement of the population’s health, humanitarian work and to promote Mostar, Herzegovina and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Besides the half marathon, there is also a 4 km long humanitarian race for the wider population, and a 1km long child race in the city centre, with the aim of creating positive habits of exercise from an early age. All the children are winners and receive a medal, because their joy is the greatest success.
(Željka Šaravanja)
