Great success for the Naples City Half Marathon, the half marathon with breathtaking scenery

LThe Naples City Half Marathon, now in its tenth edition, took over the streets of the Campania capital yesterday, February 26, 2023.

A swarm of runners – almost 5000 between professionals and amateurs – peacefully invaded the city for 3 hours. Each with his own motivation, but all with the same passion: the one that pushes the less gifted to stoically indulge even the discomfort and suffering for the pleasure of making it and that determines the expert athletes to achieve the result and maybe the record.

A competition, the Naples Half Marathon organized by Napoli Running, which attracts the attention – and captures the desire to be there – of athletes from all over Italy and from all over the world for the charm and magic of the city.

A race that with its classic 21,097 km passes through the most beautiful and iconic places of Naples - a UNESCO heritage site - establishing itself as the one with the most breathtaking view of the Mediterranean. The route, renewed this year - except for the first 9 km - has been made faster by the absence of almost twenty curves, three climbs and a descent with an uneven surface.

At 9,00:XNUMX sharp the athletes began their challenge starting from Viale Kennedy and then returning to the finish line. In the meantime, the Caracciolo seafront - with Vesuvius and Capri in the background - via Partenope, Castel dell'Ovo, Via Nazario Sauro. Then Piazza Bovio and Corso Umberto, continuing towards Piazza Garibaldi and then embarking on the conquest of the finish line.

The weather, which had been feared due to the forecasts indicating heavy rain, was instead quite mild and allowed the participants to ensure a race assisted by an almost adequate temperature, only crossed by a light humidity in the first 5/6 km and cooled by wind and drizzle, which arrived 2 hours after the start.

The Napoli City Half Marathon, an event awarded the prestigious Label recognition of World Athletics and the 5-star Quality Award European Athletics, for the men's race decreed the winners in the trio formed by the Ethiopian Muktar Edris (1h00'27''), the French Mehdi Frére (1h00'43'') and the Kenyan Dennis Kibet Kitivo (1h02'31''). The Italian Nekagent Crippa took sixth place with 1h03'00''.

The winner of the women's race was Polish Angelica Mach with a thrilling finish of 1h12'34'' and an average of 3'26''/km, with just one second to spare. Immediately behind was Mircheva in 1h12'35'' and, third overall and first Italian, Rebecca Lonedo in 1h14'05''.

 Annamaria Cafaro