Those who run for good have created miracles again!

For those unfamiliar with the Istanbul Marathon and our campaign, here’s the link to my previous post: http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/istanbul-maratonunda-hep-birlikte-iyilige-kosuyoruz

On the morning of last Sunday’s run, I left home around 7:15 a.m., taking advantage of my Anatolian side residence. I got out of the car near Altunizade. The police had blocked the road before the Altunizade exit leading to the bridge and wouldn’t let any runners through. We waited for them for 15 minutes. Then the crowd started to get upset; after some yelling and complaining, “Why are you stopping us?” the police cleared the road, and we quickly headed towards the venue. Then I found some TİDER members. The pre-run conversation was, as always, very enjoyable. These are the images that emerged:

My next-door neighbor, who lives in the same building, took this picture by randomly raising his hand in the air. He then noticed me and sent the photo to me.

Meanwhile, the Anatolian side of the bridge quickly filled up. Just as the clock struck 9, the marathon runners started. I abandoned my cheerful conversation and headed towards the start area for the 15 K runners. Of course, walking from where I was impossible. The road was jam-packed. Someone saw me struggling to reach the 15 K runners from somewhere behind the 10 K runners and said, “You can’t go any further from here. You can only get to the 15 K area by the side road.”

Breaking the barriers…

I looked up, saw the man was right, and instead of moving forward, I said, “That’s logical,” and started walking sideways, towards the barriers. There was only one problem: I had to clear a 3-meter barrier to get to the side road. What do you think an entrepreneur like me would do?

Of course, he’d find a way to get over the barrier. That’s exactly what I did. When I reached the barrier, realizing there was a structural problem and that it wouldn’t support me if I tried to jump over it, I asked the runners there to hold on to both sides. “We’ll do it, but you need to be careful; the distance is long, and there’s nowhere to climb,” I told them, “You hold the barrier and leave the rest to me.” When they said, “Okay,” I started climbing. Although I wasn’t as fit as I used to be, having climbed plenty of mulberry trees as a child, I had confidence. There was no place to put my foot, so I sidestepped and jumped, reaching the top and pulling myself up. When I reached the top of the barrier, all the runners in the immediate area were looking at me. Every climb has a descent. I swung myself over the barrier and then successfully jumped down. “Voila!” I had accomplished the process without any injuries. I thanked the runners behind the barrier who were holding the barrier for me and then ran to the 15 K zone.

By then, I realized I’d gone a bit too far. When I headed towards the side entrance, I was quite surprised when the female representative there, looking at the color of the numbers in front of me, said, “Sir, this is the marathon runners’ area; yours is the public run.” (I hadn’t arrived at the 15 K run, but the marathon runners’ area was further along. My assistant had normally purchased the 15 K run beforehand, but for some inexplicable reason, I had been given a bag for the public run, which was a separate category. I had adjusted myself to the 15 K run. So, I found the side entrance to the 15 K area further back. Just before entering the area, I ran into some friends from Adım Adım. We took a selfie together.

Then I took my place among the crowd in the 15 K zone.

And the run began…

Then I took my place among the crowd in the 15 K zone.

Making the visiting runners feel at home

I kept up the pace. I met some interesting people during the run. First, I ran into some Spaniards. I asked in Spanish, “Where are you from?” They said, “From Madrid.” Then they explained, “We were actually going to run amongst the marathon runners, but it was so crowded we couldn’t move forward. We started with the 15 K runners,” and asked, “Would that be a problem?” I told them, “How you start the race doesn’t matter; the important thing is to start and finish somehow, so it’s okay.” They thanked me. They asked where I learned Spanish. When I told them I was the Honorary Consul of Costa Rica, they said, “Pura Vida!” I smiled and said, “Pura Vida, and I wish you a great day.” After they thanked me, I quickened my pace and broke away from the group.

Ahead, I encountered a Jamaican. I saw he had a Jamaican flag on him and asked, “Everything irie mon?” This means “Is everything alright, okay?” in Jamaican jargon. When he replied, “Yes, everything irie mon,” I said, again in Jamaican jargon, “Ya mon.” The black runner looked at me in surprise, smiling and saying, “Thank you, brother.” Happy to have made our guests feel at home, I wished him a good run, increased my pace once more, and then broke away from him.

Further on, I encountered South Africans. Two white runners were running with the South African flag. I smiled at them and asked, “This isn’t like Table Mountain, is it?” They were surprised and replied, “Not at all,” with a laugh. “But this place has many beautiful aspects, too,” I said. “For example, you were running on the Asian side a moment ago, and now you’re circling on the European side. Isn’t that so much fun?” They replied, Absolutely,” and then asked, “How do you know about our country?” I replied, “I came to Cape Town for the World Cup in 2010.” They seemed pleased with what I said. “The World Cup was a wonderful event, wasn’t it?” they asked, and I replied, “Yes, it was very enjoyable, and you have a beautiful country too.” After exchanging good wishes, I increased my pace and left them as well.

NGO solidarity at the Istanbul Marathon…

What I enjoyed most during the run was the sight of all kinds of NGOs gathered along the running track to support the runners. Some NGOs and institutions even brought a band to play music. There was a real carnival atmosphere. I tried to always run on the far right side of the track during the run. I congratulated every NGO I saw and gave them a high five. Frankly, I was even more delighted that everyone knew and embraced TİDER. The efforts we’d been making since 2010 were bearing fruit. Furthermore, this solidarity was a reflection of the collaboration we launched with TİDER and other NGOs at the beginning of the year.

Here’s a picture and video that illustrates this:

Tesla conversation with Serbian runners

A little further on, I encountered three women with ‘Tesla’ written on the back of their T-shirts. I asked them in Turkish, “Has Tesla come to Türkiye?” They looked at me blankly and said they didn’t understand Turkish. So, I repeated my words in English. They said, “No, we’re from Serbia. We wore these T-shirts because Tesla was Serbian.” Then they started telling their story. I interjected, “I know his story well; you don’t need to tell it.” I told them that Tesla had accomplished amazing things for humanity, that I admired him greatly, that he was a very valuable person, and that they were right to be proud that such a genius had hailed from their country. They smiled and thanked me. It was time to leave them too. I said my goodbyes again and increased my pace.

These were just a few examples of the 10 or so runners I chatted with throughout the run. Ultimately, I had a comfortable run, staying on pace and only slowing down to chat with other people (I rested during those slowdowns, of course). I finished the 15 K run in 1 hour and 15 minutes, at a comfortable pace.

Image of my stopwatch taken right after the run

The person with the bag and medal running with the marathon runners 🙂

This time, the finish line was set just beyond Yenikapı. In previous runs, the round trip was in Eminönü and the finish line was in Eminönü. The 15 K finish was near the 10 K finish. This time, since our TİDER volunteers and professionals were waiting at the 10 K finish, I had to return about 6 K. So, after collecting my medal and bag at the finish, I set off back. But this wasn’t going to be a walk. So, I started running at a slow pace with the bag in hand. At that moment, marathon runners started passing me. After a while, I became curious about the marathon runners’ pace and started running with them. The funny thing was, I had the medal they give to finishers on my chest, and I had the bag containing bananas, water, chocolate, and a raincoat. So, I was running with the marathon runners on the other side of the road, bag in hand. After running like this for about a minute, I noticed a photographer jumping over the roadside guardrails and coming at me. He was clearly determined to capture the person running with a bag next to the marathon runners, and in confusion, he was trying to get into the right position to take my picture. Even though I told him, “Don’t take a photo,” he didn’t listen. As he crouched down to take a photo, I hid the bag behind my back and smiled. The sight was hilarious. Afterward, I stopped to take selfies while taking in the view.

Enjoying fish and bread

I also bought a drink from the Red Bull stand and sipped it as I ran. The spectators were smiling and looking at me. I ran into some acquaintances on the way back. After all, I had run another 6 K on top of the 15 K, and I returned to the 10 K finish line, quite exhausted.

Defne, daughter of Pınar, our Step by Step representative, the symbol of TİDER. This sweet and athletic girl, just like her mother, was rightfully celebrating her medal after finishing the 10 K run.

I told the TİDER volunteers and professionals present, “We’re almost finished with the race. Let’s have fish sandwiches soon.” After the last of our volunteers arrived, the group split into two. Some came to eat fish sandwiches with me, while the others went to Karaköy.

After enjoying our delicious fish sandwiches, we headed to the metro. I’d like to share the photos we took on the bridge where the metro is located with you.