Ahmet Arslan, an Alanya trail runner with World and European championships, visited the Board Members of the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), whom he received support from during the ultra marathon race held in 2017, and presented his 2018 project. Mehmet Dahaoğlu, Vice President of both ALTAV and the Alanya Association of Tourism Professionals (ALTİD), stated that they would continue to provide support because Arslan represents Alanya on a global scale. Dahaoğlu said, “Trail running races have begun to increase in popularity worldwide. As Alanya, we also want to make our name known and become a brand in these races. For this reason, we will promote our athlete and the Alanya Ultra Trail 2018 organization at approximately 21 international fairs.” During his visit, Arslan provided the following information:
“ALANYA ROUTE IS FULL OF SURPRISES”
Alanya Ultra Trail said ‘Hello’ to ultra-marathoners and sports enthusiasts for the first time this past March. Athletes both competed in the race and discovered many aspects of the city on foot amidst Alanya’s wonderful natural beauties, historical riches, and challenging mountains. We view this race not merely as a running race, but as a city tour of a different style. The athletes who competed last year greatly enjoyed the race courses and Alanya. Many athletes expressed their views, stating, ‘It was a challenging course, but it was the most enjoyable, most exciting race course with endless surprises that we have ever run.’
“TARGET 500 ATHLETES”
To take the strong start we made last year to even higher levels and to create a very important ultra trail running brand in Alanya, we will host sports enthusiasts and ultra marathoners for the 2nd time on March 24-25, 2018, under the slogan ‘Let it be a short ultra!’ Within the scope of the organization, there are 4 different races catering to athletes of all levels: 66 KM, 45 KM, 21 KM, and 5 KM.
We are working to hold an organization at a much higher level in every field for the year 2018. We aim to have a total of 450-500 athletes compete, including 350 athletes in the 21 KM, 45 KM, and 66 KM distances, along with a 5 KM public run.
“REGISTRATION HAS STARTED”
However, our main goal for the upcoming organization is to reach a significant number of participants across the country and bring our courses and the beauties of Alanya together with a wider athlete base. We aim to ensure that the athletes participating in the organization enjoy the race and return to their countries and provinces happily. Requests for participation in the organization have begun, and so far, 165 athletes from 11 countries, 21 of whom are foreign, have registered. You can visit our website at www.alanyaultra.com to obtain detailed information and to register.