Baku Marathon 2016 – Azerbaijan’s great event, MP says

The Baku Marathon 2016, which is being held in the capital of Azerbaijan, is a great event, Rauf Aliyev, Azerbaijani MP, told Trend May 1.

"A lot of people, namely, athletes, ordinary people, representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan, have gathered here," Aliyev said. "I am sure that the number of the marathon participants will increase from year to year."

"Sports is the guarantee of health," he said. "Sports promote communication of people from different countries and belonging to different religious confessions. Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated its tolerance to the world."

The Baku Marathon 2016, organized at the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, kicked off May 1.

The course of the marathon covers a distance of 21 kilometers from its start point at the Flag Square to the finish line at the Baku Olympic Stadium.

The marathon started at 10:00 (UTC/GMT +4 hours). It will take a maximum of four hours and a half to overcome a 21 kilometer-distance.