Changes on the main marathon day

According to Tartu Maraton race director, Indrek Kelk, planning a marathon like this is even more time-consuming and complicated than usual, because belonging to the Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour adds new factors to consider. As a result, several changes have been made. “We have decided to postpone the start time by one hour. This is a completely voluntary decision – a live broadcast of the marathon will be showed in many countries and if we do not change the start time, we will compete with the Beijing Olympic women's 30 km skiing broadcast,” he explains.

 

For the second time in the history of Tartu Maraton, wave starts will be held. “Last year we had wave starts because we received permission from the Estonian Health Board to organize the event only for groups with a limited size,” says Kelk. According to him, participants feedback about wave starts was very positive. Skiers said that there was more space on the track, less accidents and therefore more skiing pleasure. “Of course, mass-start for us has been a tradition from the beginning, but time goes on, world changes and the feedback from our participants must be taken into account,” says Kelk.

 

On 63 km distance, skiers are divided into groups of thousand people and the start interval is 10 minutes. First start of the 63 km race will be given at 9.50, when the women's elite group will start. At 10.00 the first thousand skiers will start, at 10.10 the next thousand etc. The first start of 31 km in Arula will be given at 13.30 and the other one 13.40.

 

New challenges in virtual racing

Virtual Tartu Maraton will last longer this year – from December 20th to March 20th. As an innovation, a 63 km and 2x63 km combo is planned, which means that the distance can be covered in sections, a minimum of 6,3 km at a time. "We want to give people even more motivation to move in the fresh air regularly with a purpose," says Kelk.

 

It is also possible to choose 16 km, 31 km and 63 km in virtual Tartu Maraton. It can be done in classic technique or freestyle. The price stays the same for the whole period, and if there is not enough snow, there is an option to run, cycle or roller skate. Registration for the virtual race begins in December.

 

The cheapest way to register for the Tartu Maraton is until 13.12.

The open track and relay marathon will take place a week before the main raceday, on February 13th.