İznik Ultramarathon, shortly İznik Ultra, is an international trail running ultramarathon event that takes place at

İznik İznik is a town and an administrative district in the Province of Bursa, Turkey. It was historically known as Nicaea ( el, Νίκαια, ''Níkaia''), from which its modern name also derives. The town lies in a fertile basin at the eastern end ...

town of

Bursa Province Bursa Province ( tr, ) is a province in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the ...

in northwestern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It was established in 2012 with the first race held on April 14-15. Lasting two days, the race is Turkey's longest single stage athletic event. The course is a loop around the

Lake Iznik A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

with a distance of and a total elevation gain of . İznik Ultra consists of the part races as the 80k "

Orhangazi Orhangazi is a rural district of Bursa Province in Turkey. The region Orhangazi was established in was conquered by Orhan I of the Ottoman dynasty in 1326. Orhangazi is named after Orhan I who was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire. * Olive ...

Ultra", the 42k "İznik Mountain Marathon" and additionally a city

fun run A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors pr ...

"İznik 10k". The winners are bestowed with medals specially made out of

İznik pottery Iznik pottery, or Iznik ware, named after the town of İznik in western Anatolia where it was made, is a decorated ceramic that was produced from the last quarter of the 15th century until the end of the 17th century. İznik was an established ...

, which made the town famous in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

era. In 2013, 250 athletes from 17 nations participated at the event. The race for 2014 is scheduled on April 19-20.

İznik Ultra

Lake İznik is located northeast of Bursa, and the historic city of İznik (formerly

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...

) is situated at the eastern shore of the lake. The trail running race starts at the square in front of Hagia Sofia Museum ( tr, İznik Ayasofya Camii) in the town center, and leaves İznik on its south through Yenişehir Gate ( tr, Yenişehir Kapısı). Running on state and country roads between villages as control points, the route continues along the mountainous southern coast of İznik Lake, gaining elevation before and after Derbent at . It descends towards Narlıca at , ascends and descends once again before Solöz at . The route after Solöz until the finish line is almost flat with an elevation difference not exceeding about . Örnekköy village is the westernmost point of the route at . From there on, the route follows north of the lake. After the villages Ilıca at , Boyalica at and Dikilitaş at , it arrives in İznik at the same place it had started, passing through İstanbul Gate (İstanbul Kapı) in the north of the town. Qualification time is limited by 25 hours. İznik Ultra is accredited for giving three points to the North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

Orhangazi Ultra

Orhangazi Ultra is the part of İznik Ultra that ends in Örnekköy with an elevation gain of . Time limit is 13 hours. The event gives two points to the North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

İznik Mountain Marathon

İznik Mountain Marathon is the part of İznik Ultra that ends in Narlıca with an elevation gain of . Time limit is 8 hours.

İznik 10k

İznik 10k is a ( fun run held in the town and partly along the lake shore on the second day of the İznik Ultra event. The race starts in the square before the Hagia Sofia Museum, runs in the city streets and along the historic city walls. After continuing along the lake shore, the route enters the city again and ends in the town square. The major part of the route is paved with asphalt or cobblestone while only 10% of it is unpaved as

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

gravel road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unit ...

Winners

Key:

Notable participants

* Amy Sproston, 2012 World champion in 100k.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iznik Ultramarathon Ultramarathons İznik Orhangazi Sport in Bursa 2012 establishments in Turkey Annual events in Turkey Marathons in Turkey Recurring sporting events established in 2012 Spring (season) events in Turkey