After the Istanbul Marathon, David really wanted to run another race. Several of our friends signed up for Runtalya and he decided to join them. A month before the race, David sprained his ankle and was on crutches for over a week. It took a while, but it healed enough for him to run in the 10K.
We left after school on the last day of March and traveled south to Antalya. It was a very quick trip. We got in late on Friday, hung out Saturday, they ran Sunday morning, and we left Sunday afternoon.
Where we stayed: We stayed at Altun Apart Hotel and highly recommend it. Each “room” is a small apartment with a bedroom, living area, and small kitchenette. It was very clean and the owners were friendly and accommodating. We had two rooms; the guys stayed in one and they let us squeeze five girls into the other.
It was nice to have a day before the race. We slept in and walked to Konyaaltı Beach, just a few blocks from our hotel. It was overcast and foggy, but we could still see an outline of the mountains in the distance.
We found a cafe near the water for breakfast. It was a little chilly out, but warmer than it was in Ankara.
I love Turkish breakfast! You can find it buffet style at most hotels. Restaurants also serve single portions or family style. Turkish breakfast includes cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, meat, pastries, fruit, bread, and çay. Yum!
After breakfast, we went to the race check-in at Terra City mall. Then we got coffee and walked around the old city. The port was really pretty at night:
The next morning was race day. It was a smaller event than the Istanbul Marathon. Still, the energy at these races just might be enough to inspire me to run one someday.
Three of us tagged along as cheerleaders. We went up on the overpass before the start of the 10K. It was a sea of bright colors below us!
Here’s David in the last stretch of his race:
And there he goes to the finish line! He passed a couple of people at the end.
There is something really incredible about the race community. Here’s a group called Adım Adım (“step by step”) that runs for charity:
We saw runners both young and old:
This man is an incredible athlete. We also saw him at the Istanbul Marathon.
There was even a man who juggled while he ran:
All of our friends ran the 10K. After they finished, we stuck around to see the first place marathoner:
It was a great weekend getaway!
David was happy with his time of 52:36 considering he had just come off of an injury. See his results on the Runtalya website. You can search for “Benedid.”
