New scenic course
On 23 May Nordea Riga Marathon participants will have opportunity to run along the new course. This year start and finish will be located together on 11.Novembra krastmala – place, where most major events in Riga take place.
All participants will cross Vanšu Bridge and enjoy views of the most beautiful sites in the centre of Riga. This year participants will also have the opportunity to run along the charming streets of Old Riga.
Contemporary timing service
Nordea Riga Marathon will be one of the first marathons’ in Europe to use timing system with disposable timing devices. The timing device is a disposable microchip attached to the participant’s number. The timing service will be provided by Timing Data Service (Italy) which provides the timing services to the Rome Marathon, Venice Marathon and Prague Marathon, and many others. The company has experience in registration over 1,000,000 runners’ times annually.
Distances
At Nordea Riga Marathon 2010, participants are offered 5 distances: 42km, 21km, 5km, a marathon relay (4 participants run a 42km distance), as well as the “Unity kilometre” distance for wheelchair division. First Riga marathon organized by Riga City Council took place 20 years ago.
There is Marathon relay distance for 4 participants to cover full 42 kilometres distances. The length of each leg varies from 7.5 km to 14 km, thus each runner may choose their favourite distance. Each relay team can divide legs just on Marathon morning as there is no prior subscription requested.
Registration
Online registration is available on official website www.nordearigamarathon.lv by May 19, 2010. Up to date there are already 4,500 participants from 34 countries registered for the race. The majority of runners are from Latvia (3,570 participants), and many participants are from Finland (185 participants) and Germany (102 participants). This year the anticipated number of participants is 10,000.
Number pick-up
Participants’ numbers will be issued at the Hotel Reval Latvia conference centre at 55 Elizabetes Street, Riga. The numbers will be issued on 20–21 May 2010, from 12.00 – 20.00 and on Saturday, 22 May, from 10.00 – 20.00. In the case if international participants are arriving just on Marathon day with the prior notice there will be exceptional number pick-up before the start.
About the Nordea Riga Marathon:
The marathon in Riga has been taking place since 1991. In 2007, the marathon was named the Nordea Riga Marathon. It is the fastest growing marathon in northern Europe, and in 2009, the event brought together almost 8,600 participants from 35 countries around the world. Ever since 2007, the marathon has been organised by agency “Nords Event Communications” in cooperation with the Riga City Council. Title Sponsor – Nordea bank, Technology partner – Lattelecom, sponsors – Hanzas Maiznica, adidas and Coca-Cola, official airlines – airBaltic, official hotels – Reval Hotels, Islande hotel, partners – LIVE RIGA, Arena Riga, AFI, BMW WESS Select.