Skip to main content

The 2011 Venice Marathon in Video and Pictures


by Brett Larner

photos by Mika Tokairin
elite race video by Alberto Stretti
running video by Brett Larner

For the third straight year JRN was on-hand to cover the Venice Marathon, this year helping to host Courir Magazine editor-in-chief Yukiya Higuchi who ran the race for a feature article in the November issue of Courir.  After several days of rain the entire race weekend saw excellent conditions on the cool side with sunny skies at the start outside Villa Pisani on the banks of the Brenta in Stra.



The excellent weather was conducive to good times in the elite races, where Kenyan Helen Kirop took nearly four minutes off the Venice record with an outstanding 2:23:37 and Ethiopian Tadese Tolosa Aredo led three men under 2:10 with a 2:09:13 win. Defending champions Harun Makda Haji (Ethiopia) and Simon Mukun (Kenya) both finished 2nd.





At last year's 25th anniversary race the Venice city council had for the first time granted permission for the race course to pass through Venice's most famous landmark, the Piazza San Marco. Unexpectedly high water forced organizers to use a backup course which bypassed the piazza, leading the council to grant permission again this year to make it up to all those who came last year in the expectation of being the first to run San Marco. Nature cooperated, and this year's marathoners were rewarded with a scenic dogleg through the crowded square with just over 1 km to go.  JRN's Brett Larner ran the marathon with a video camera to capture the fourteen bridges in the last 3.5 km and the first-ever running of the Piazza San Marco segment.



The course proved very popular with both runners and spectators, with tourists adding to the cheering crowds. It wouldn't be surprising to see the San Marco course become a regular feature, an essential attraction of the Venice Marathon even if the 7000 available places already sell out six months in advance. JRN's Mika Tokairin focused on photos in and around the Piazza San Marco. Click any photo to enlarge.

In high spirits just before heading into the piazza.

Two-way traffic amid thick crowds at the entrance to the piazza.

Turning around at the Museo Archeologico end of the piazza.

Higuchi hard at work in the turnaround with the camera he carried while running.

Supporters in front of the Torre dell'Orologio.

Passing the Basilica di San Marco with 1.2 km to go.

Almost out of the piazza, in front of the Palazzo Ducale.

Out of the piazza and heading along the waterfront to the finish near the Giardini Pubblici.

Post-race pasta and pie in the Giardini Pubblici.

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
photos (c) 2011 Mika Tokairin
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

TokyoRacer said…
Looks like a lot of fun!
I refer, of course, to sitting at an outdoor cafe next to the water with a cappucino and watching the runners go by.
October 28, 2011 at 9:39 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

World Marathon Majors Japanese Entries

We're back from a short summer break. A week and a half out from the first race of the season's four World Marathon Majors races, here's a look at Japanese athletes scheduled to run. Everything right now is about qualifying for the MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to be held in the fall of 2027 in Nagoya. The JAAF makes no mistake about wanting to keep its top people racing domestically where it can get a share of revenue from the TV broadcast and race operations, so anyone who decides to race overseas has to do it in a WA platinum label race and hit either 2:06:30 or 2:23:30, regardless of place, course or weather if they want to make the trials. At the same time concessions are make for domestic races, like for example the late-August Hokkaido Marathon where up to 3 men and 3 women can qualify if they go 2:12:00 or 2:32:00. As a result, you get things like last year where amateur runner Yudai Fukuda made the trials by finishing 3rd Jap...
1 comment
Read more

Nakajima Breaks 100 mH NR Twice, Kitaguchi Returns - August Track Roundup

Catching up on what's been happening in track and field this month during our summer break: Men's 3000 m NR holder Nagiya Mori was just off his 5000 m PB at the IFAM Oordegem meet in Belgium on Aug. 1, taking 16th in 13:15.01. Shota Nakano was 26th of 28 in 13:35.02. This year's national champion Ryoma Aoki ran the 3000 mSC but didn't finish. Naoto Hasegawa was the only Japanese athlete at Mutaz Essa Barshim 's What Gravity Tour stop at the Monaco Athletics Festival meet on Aug. 5. Having cleared 2.30 m for the first time earlier this year Hasegawa only managed 2.18 m in Monaco, taking 7th of 10. There were a lot of good performances at the Fuji Hokuriku World Trial meet in Fujiyoshida on Aug. 9, but the one that got the headlines was a 12.62 (-0.2) NR in the women's 100 mH by Hitomi Nakajima . Nakajima actually did it twice, running 12.62 (+2.0) in the heats before repeating in the final. Masumi Aoki also ran big in the heats, with a 12.68 (+2.0) for al...
1 comment
Read more

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more