— This year, we decided to open the registration for the Almaty Marathon much earlier. Our goal is to gather about 17,000 people to participate and we plan to give particular emphasis to foreign guests. In 2018, about a thousand of 14,000 participants came from abroad. Throughout the world it is customary to pick running route for major racing events through the most beautiful places and sights of the city.

So, participants of the Paris marathon start running from the most famous street – the Champs Elysees and in Bangkok participants run along the royal residences. Sport tourism as an independent type of tourism has long been gaining momentum around the world. We believe that our city can also be shown to foreign guests in all its glory and consolidate the status of the sports capital, - comments Saltanat Kazybayeva, Director of the Almaty Marathon.

Almaty marathon distances remain the same: traditionally 3 km for children, 10 km Sputnik race, 21.1 km half marathon and 42.2 km marathon. For fans of Nordic walking 10 km distance and for corporate participants Ekiden relay race is presented. The start and finish of this year’s marathon will be in Republic Square.

— We are often asked where do the start fees of the Almaty marathon participants go? Since the first year of existence, the marathon has set itself charitable goals. Every year we choose institutions and organizations for which we build sports grounds, purchase special and sports equipment. For seven years we have helped more than 2500 children, implemented 14 projects in 11 institutions. These are special boarding schools, a children's hospice, a nursery school and a rehabilitation center, "comments Aizhan Yessim, the founder of the Almaty Marathon, a member of the Board of Trustees of the CF "Courage to be the first" - These goals help us to implement the start fees of the participants of the marathon.

Recently, the Almaty Marathon team donated the sports grounds to the hospice for children with cancer "I'm with you", the special boarding school for visually impaired children in Esik, and to the special boarding school No. 6 for children with intellectual disabilities. As reported by A.Esim, the charity goals of the marathon for 2019 will be announced in October.

The organizers are the Corporate Fund "Courage to be the First", the World Class Almaty Fitness Club and Academic Shahmardan Yessenov Science and Education Foundation, with the support of the Akimat of Almaty.