A British athlete is the winner in the trans-border marathon Via Pontica

LIVE RESULTS

The British Nathan Flier won the cross-border marathon between Bulgaria and Romania, held this Sunday on the Black Sea coast. The Welsh ran 42 kilometers along dirt and sandy roads for 3 hours, 17 minutes and 30 seconds. Boryana Nikolcheva was the fastest woman with time 4:01:02.

More than 200 participants started in the third edition of Via Pontica - the only cross-border marathon in Bulgaria and Romania.

Green foot as a club has a goal to promote active life in nature as well as conservation of the wildlife, such as the beaches on the northern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The cross-border event, however, has yet another purpose - it demonstrates the benefits of freedom of movement. The participants cross the border without stopping for a second. Thanks to the exceptional assistance of the Border Police representatives from Bulgaria and Romania, the document control is carried out before the start. Thus, Bulgarians, Romanians and participants from other countries can enjoy the freedom to flee on the territory of two countries. And all this happens exactly 100 years after the last war in which the representatives of the two nations were facing each other. This year, Via Pontica also marks a century of peace between Bulgaria and Romania, the organizers said.

The route passes through some of the most beautiful corners of the area called coastal Dobrudzha. The start is on the huge beach near Krapets, running along the Durankulak Lake - an extremely important habitat for birds and various animals, passing by the northern wild beaches in Bulgaria to reach the Romanian resort of Vama Veche - the capital of rock and hippie culture in Romania, where night life continues throughout the day and where runners diverge with dancing people in front of bars and discos. The end point of the route is May 2 in Romania, where is the start of the distance 21 kilometers. In this discipline the winners are Dancho Petrov (1:21:28) and Kristiana Petkova (1:45:07).

Ivo Valev (0:51:38) and Maya Petkova (1:38:47) won in the shortest distance.

The event was possible thanks to Shabla Municipality and Limumanu Municipality in Romania, Yako stores, Inter Engineering, Barbarian Raw Bar, High Five and Terra Ross.

 

Welcome to the third edition of the trans-border marathon Via Pontica

taking place on Sunday September 2nd , 2018 by the Black Sea

The Roman way, and the way of the birds - ignore borders!

Route and Check Points:

The distances are 42, 21, 13 km and kids’ run 2 km. Runners of 13 and 2 km will not enter Romania. Runners of 42 km will run the whole distance in both directions.

The final of all the distances is on the beach near Krapets. There is the start of the distances 2, 13 and 42 km and the place from which the runners of 21 km will be taken by bus to their start point. The route runs along a dirt path partly covered with sand, along the edge of Durankulak Lake, Cosmos Camping to the last beaches in Bulgaria. We then enter Romania through a border control point ( Durankulak), go through the pleasant Romanian resort of Vama Veche and reach Mangalia. Then we go back to the start point. The coordinates of the Start/Final are 43°38'35.00"N and 28°34'24.00"E. The competitors in 21 km run will start in front of the Municipality of  2 Mai in Romania. They will be taken by bus from the camping in Krapets.

Control and Aid stations are spaced about kilometers 2-nd, 6-th, 10-th, 15-th, 21-st, 26-th, 31-st, 35-th and 40-th for the marathon runners and at kilometers 5-th, 10-th and 15-th and 19-th for the 21 km distance and at kilometers 2-nd and 6-th and 11-th for the 13 km distance. Water, fruit, basic medical supplies and plastic bags for trash will be provided at the control and refreshment stalls and the Start/Final. Bibs of the competitors will be recorded at Control and Aid stations. Trash disposal is only allowed at or within 50 m of the Control and Aid stations.

Kids’ run (2 km) is free, with registration at the Start/Final.

Time limits for finishing are: 6:30 hours for 42 km, 3:30 for 21 km and 2:30 for 13 km.

Time schedule:

The day before the competition - 1 September 2018 (your presence is not obligatory):
18:00–20:00 Preliminary distribution of the bibs near the Start/Final;

19:40-19:55 Technical conference
20:00–20:30 Pasta party.

 Coming to Krapets on the day of the competition (2 September 2018):

• Not later than 6:30 for competitors in 42 km in order to have their documents checked before the start at 7:00;

• Not later than 6:30 for competitors without bibs (21 km);

• Not later than 7:00 for competitors with bibs (21 km);

• Not later than 8:00 for competitors without bibs (13 km);

• Not later than 8:30 for competitors with bibs (13 km);

Time schedule for the day of the competition (2 September 2018):

• 6:00 Starts the distribution of the bibs (in Krapets);

• 6:30 Checking of the documents of the 42 km runners and final distribution of the bibs for them (in Krapets);

• 6:45-6:55 Instruction before the start of 42 km runners;

• 7:00 Start of 42 km from Krapets;

• 7:15 End of distribution of the bibs of the 21 km runners (in Krapets);

• 7:30 Leaving of the buses from Krapets for competitors in 21 km;

• 8:00 Start of 2 km kids’ run from Krapets;

• 9:00 Start of 13 km from Krapets;

• 9:00 Start of 21 km from 2 Mai in Romania;

• 13:00 Award ceremony.

Note: All the competitors of 21 km must travel with our buses from Krapets (Bulgaria) to 2 Mai (Romania) because at the border will be made checking of the documents. The documents will be collected by the Border police. The documents of the competitors of 42 km will be collected by a representative of the Border police in Krapets before the start. All the documents will be given back at the final. The competitors will cross the border with their bib according to the list, given to the Border police by the Organizer before the competition and with the ID cards/ passports that during the competition will be at the border control point.

Registration and fees:

Registration for the competition starts on 1-st June until 30-th July with a fee of 30 lev for 42 km and 21 km and 25 lev for 13 km distance. After that, until 27-th August the fee is 40 lev for 42 km and 21 km and 35 lev for 13 km. If there are any bibs left, registration and payment can be done at the start but with a fee of 40 lev only for the 13km distance.
The fee includes:

• a T-shirt from the event;

• fruit and water at the Start/Final and at the Control and Aid stations;

• electronic time measuring and final placing;

• a bus from Krapets to the Start for 21 km;

• prizes and raffle;

• a medal;

• health care at the Start/Final;

• toilets at the Start/Final.

Entry fees can be paid electronically with PayPal and ePay.

It is preferrable to pay right after registration. If you pay later, use the link that we send you by e-mail after your registration. If you haven't received our e-mail, look for it in the spam folder and if it is not there, write to us on the e-mail that you see at the bottom, on the left on each page. After the payment, the system will approve your registration and next to your name in the list of competitors will be written “Yes”.

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