Moroccan Tarik Marhnaoui wins the inaugural Monaco Run (© IAAF.org)
Moroccan Tarik Marhnaoui and Italian Ornella Ferrara were the respective winners of the men’s and women’s races of the inaugural Monaco Run (23.8km) which was held in the principality yesterday (20).
To continue the philosophy of the Marathon across three countries, the Fédération Monégasque d’Athlétisme with the assistance of the Principality of Monaco, the Italian city of Ventimiglia, the French cities of Menton and Roquebrune Cap Martin, have developed a race line along the seaside and its breathtaking scenery, with a departure from the center of Ventimiglia in Italy and a finish at the heart of the Principality of Monaco on the Port Hercule, for 23.8 km. This time with a start in one country, crossing a second and with the finish in a third, the runners have really done a unique race in the world!
Parallel to the Classic and for the eighth consecutive year, a 10km race was organized with a start, route and finish in Port Hercule, in order to encourage as large as possible participation by the public.
In the end 1600 enrolled from 32 different countries across both events and went home with their heads full of wonderful images of their journey cruising along the shores of the Riviera and the Principality on a sunny day on the first day of spring.
Monaco Run
For the first edition of "Monaco Run, the weather conditions fortunately much improved during the morning after a rainy week and a violent storm the previous night, which caused some damage to the course and forced the organizers to intervene on the ground during the night.
Everything was finally in place in the morning for the start of this first edition in the Riviera Classic town of Ventimiglia, and it was under a clear sky and with a great party atmosphere that the 1000 runners took off at 9:30, under the orders of the Mayor of Ventimiglia Gaetano Scullino.
The race started at a very fast pace, with two athletes ahead of the pack, the Moroccan Tarik Marhnaoui and Italian Corrado Bado. It was at the border that the Moroccan accelerated and took the lead in the race, and never let it go. He then steadily increased his margin over his pursuers, easily winning in 1:18:52 ahead of the Italian in 1:21:52 and Menton Marathon club athlete Eric Domerego in 1:25:56. The first representative of Monaco was Denis Abry who ranked 13th in 1:30:19.
On the women side, it was Italian Ornella Ferrara, 5th in the Marathon at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, who led the entire race to win easily in 1:30:43, ahead of another Italian Paola Ventrella in 1:31:04, with France’s Marie-Pierre Hoffmann in third, 1:32:30. The athlete of AS Monaco Mariana WEBER finished 6th in 1:44:01.
10km
Previously, the 700 runners of the 10km of Monte Carlo had started at 9am on the port of Monaco to be the first to arrive home before the Classic runners. From the Boulevard Albert I to Fontvieille and around the Stade Louis II, passing in front of the port a second time and the Avenue Princesse Grace, and finally back to the Port Hercule, many spectators were posted to encourage the runners. On this new really fast route, the legionnaire Lahcen Amguil won with authority, establishing a new record for the race in 29:38, ahead of Morocco's Mohamed EL Mounim in 31:28, and the Monegasque Hervé Banti in 31:59.
For the women, it was Algerian Hayet Ferahtia who won in 36:19, establishing a new record as well, ahead the Italian Celestina Malugani in 36:47, and AS Monaco athlete Adriana Di Guisto in 39:38.
Awards ceremony
The awards ceremony took place under a sunny sky and in front of a large crowd, in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II, President of the Fédération Monégasque d’Athlétisme with many personalities of Monaco and the towns of Ventimiglia, Menton, and Roquebrune Cap-Martin, to close the first edition of the "Monaco Run," which has a bright future!
Rémy Charpentier - Fédération Monégasque d'Athlétisme - for the IAAF
