RunningIstanbul: January 2011

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

THE DEERS on TRAIL RUN

In 2011, there will be a new trail run event in the Belgrad Forest: The Deers on Trail Run.

This trail race will take you deep through the Belgrad Forest on forest trails and paths. The race is set up in two different courses - 14 kilometres for seasoned runners and 4 kilometres for newcomers to trail racing and less experienced runners. Want to test your limits off the beaten track and enjoy the beautiful, unspoiled forest where the deer still roams free? If yes, come along!

Dates
Deers on Trail Run I (14k and 4k ) Sunday, January 16, 2011
Deers on Trail Run II (14k and 4k ) Sunday, March 20, 2011

Race Programme for January 16, 2011
08:00 - Start of Registration. Distribution of bip numbers and chips (personal ID required)
09:30 - Close of Registration.
10:00 - START for 14k and 4k races.
10:30-12:00 Runners that have completed the race will hand over their electronic chips.
12:30-13:00 - Award Ceremony

What’s a trail run?
A trail run is an off-road running race held typically on trails on varied terrain, taking the runners around lakes, through forests, mountains or deserts. Courses are sign-marked.

Trail runs can be just a few kilometres long or take the form of an ultra-marathon or week-long trekking tour. Trail runs have become very popular throughout the world as more and more people prefer to run and work out on the relatively soft surface of trail courses (they put less strain on the joints), while enjoying the fresh air and beautiful natural surroundings.

RACE COURSES
The 14k Deer Trail Run

The 14k course is one of the most beautiful trails in the north-eastern part of the Belgrad Forest. It starts on a relatively wide road and then continues to wind along forest trails and paths, sometimes only shoulder-wide, and across hilly terrain. Green valleys and challenging hill climbs, gentle descends and breathtaking surprise views - you’ll want to run this course again again. The soft forest ground requires a steady step and can be quite muddy on wet days.

It’s quite a challenge! In fact, the 14k course can be as strenuous as running a half marathon distance in a road race - you’ll need to adjust your pacing strategy and energy requirements accordingly. Total elevation gain and loss along the course is 350 m.

Pictures below show the course layout, the satellite view (with the 14k course marked red) and elevation gain/loss (measured via Garmin Forerunner).

On the 14k course, medals and awards will be given to winners in the Men’s and Women’s categories in the following age groups:

18-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65+

The 4k Deer Trail Run

If you are relatively new to running and less experienced on trails, the 4k course will be just right for you. This course is a gentle trail run with some hilly parts. The effort required to complete it is comparable to the 6,5k lake course in the Belgrad Forest. Although relatively short and easy, the ground can be slippery and muddy on wet days. Be prepared for many shades of green and a fast beating pulse!

The 4k course is marked in blue on the map below.

On the 4k course, medals and gifts will be awarded to the winners in the Men’s and Women’s categories without age group differentiation.

Where to Run? (European Side)

Everywhere I go in Istanbul, I see people taking advantage of the walking and running paths available to them. Unfortunately, the places suitable for foot-powered recreation in Istanbul are extremely limited. It is possible, of course, to walk almost anywhere. However, in order to get the psychological and physical benefits that come with aerobic walking – in which you keep the heart rate elevated for at least twenty minutes – you need space to move freely, without frequent stopping or slowing down for traffic.

Gathering my courage to face the dark, cold February mornings, I started exploring the “inner-city” paths where one can walk or run with relative freedom from traffic. To date, my experiments have been limited to the European side.

Maçka Park and Sarayburnu: From Taksim, my favorite paths are Tophane-Sarayburnu and Gümüşsuyu-Maçka Park. Both paths are accessible by way of less-traveled streets, making the entire work-out pleasant during almost any time of day. Maçka Park has the added advantage of an earthen path.

From Eminönü to Santralistanbul: I’ve also found that the southern shores of the Golden Horn provide an exceptionally attractive place to run. (Beware the dogs, however, which can be aggressive.) Thanks to the underpass, one need not fight more than a couple of lanes of traffic to cross Atatürk Boulevard (mind the cars as you cross the entrance and exit ramps). The down-side is that the pleasant waterside park and its long, comfortable path do not extend all the way to Santralistanbul. (Surely there are plans for this!) One can continue along the gritty road from Eyüp to the Bilgi University Campus, but the narrow sidewalk is disappointing and discouraging, particularly after running several kilometers next to the water.

The Bosphorus: For an early morning run along the Bosphorus, it’s possible to get to Kuruçeşme from Taksim within 15 minutes by bus (numbers 40 and 40T). The return trip is also fairly prompt – the earlier the better, of course. Heading north from Kuruçeşme, one follows one of the world’s most spectacular and thought-provoking courses. And if it’s cold, dark and foggy, there’s that much more room for thoughts to wander.

From Taksim to Zeytinburnu: For a longer run, head from Taksim to Yenikapi (via Tarlabaşı and Atatürk Boulevards) and continue west along to sea to the Veli Efendi Race Track in Zeytinburnu. My running mate and I tried this course, having noticed the horse park on the map, where it appears to be a generous expanse of green space. Alas, as you pass the park on your way to the Zeytinburnu Metro station, you run on a narrow sidewalk squeezed between a six-lane road and a high concrete fence. The hippodrome might as well be a factory. (To avoid this sad, ugly mess, return to Taksim along the sea, curving around Sarayburnu to the Galata Bridge, about 30 km in all.)

Utopian[?] Dreams
Running leaves so much time to think about alternatives. Might the Istanbul Municipality, for example, upgrade the sidewalks linking Zeytinburnu with the seafront? Spacious, tree-lined pedestrian paths would undoubtedly encourage people of all ages to get out of the house, elevate the heart rate and take a new look at their surroundings. And might the city, in Phase II, not also develop pedestrian and bike paths linking Gaziosmanpaşa and the Alibeyköy Reservoir with Kağıthane and Eyüp. And, eventually, Phase III would link Zeytinburnu with Şişli, Mecidiyeköy, Levent and Beşiktaş. In Phase IV, the paths would extend from Levent to Maslak to Bahçeköy and from there into the heart of Istanbul’s beloved Belgrade Forest. If you build it, they will come.

Belgrade Forest: It seems everyone – or at least anyone with access to a car or specially arranged bus service – runs in the Belgrade Forest on weekends. Indeed, the dirt path around the reservoir is a perfect place to run hard and breathe easy. Last weekend, three of us from the Cihangir Running Group joined Adim Adim for their work-out in the forest.

Adim Adim keeps running, giving and growing. Adim Adim is a rapidly growing group of very friendly, encouraging people whose company makes training more fun. As they trained for the 2011 Istanbul Eurasia Marathon, hundreds of Adim Adim members raised well over 300,000 YTL from thousands of individual donors for TOFD (The Spinal Cord Paralytics Society of Turkey), TEGV (Education Volunteers of Turkey), Bugday (Ecological Foundation), and TOG (Social Volunteers of Turkey). Adim Adim is open to anyone looking for camaraderie with other runners and advice on training – how to avoid injury, staying flexible, developing the proper stride, etc.

My advice to readers interested in the future of running in Istanbul is to pay attention to Adim Adim (www.adimadim.org).

RunningIstanbul

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

THE DEERS on TRAIL RUN

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Where to Run? (European Side)