My marathons

Eker I Run

The organiser has not published a date. Bursa
Uludağ
© OpenStreetMap Uludağ. Photograph by Julian Nyča, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Drag along the profile

A steep climb of 53 m to km 2, then a steep drop home.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: GEDTM30.

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 120 and 1849 metres, a range of 1730 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

  • steep climb to 2
  • steep drop home

Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

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The course in short 3 lines
  • Downhill from UludağFrom 1,795 m on Uludağ down to 117 m at Eker Meydan.
  • First 30 km then rollingAlmost all descent to 30 km, then a rolling last 10 km.
  • Point to point logisticsFree shuttle from Eker Meydan at 05:30 in 2026; a drop bag at 19 km.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GradientDownhill from UludağFrom 1,795 m on Uludağ down to 117 m at Eker Meydan.

The first 18.7 km are above 1,000 m, and the average altitude over the whole distance is 914 m. The organiser’s own caution is that a downhill marathon is faster than a flat one but that the climbs and running above 350 m can cost performance. Start is in front of the Kurbağa Kaya station and the finish is at the Eker Meydan shopping centre.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2GradientFirst 30 km then rollingAlmost all descent to 30 km, then a rolling last 10 km.

The first 10 km are above 1,500 m and the last 10 km below 300 m. The route leaves the Uludağ hotels by way of Kirazlı Village and Doğancılar to Eker Meydan. The organiser says the effect of altitude is minimal because of the descent in the first 30 km, and that the ups and downs of the last 10 km test endurance before the flat road to the finish.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2TacticsPoint to point logisticsFree shuttle from Eker Meydan at 05:30 in 2026; a drop bag at 19 km.

The 2026 marathon started at 07:30 on Sunday 4 October. The 19 km water point at Kirazlı Village, 900 m up, takes a drop bag left at the Eker Meydan registration area the day before; the finisher shirt is collected at the Eker Meydan cloakroom. The marathon time limit is 6.5 hours.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Bursa, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

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In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

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We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

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We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
climb
153.2 m503 ft
cut-off
6:30 h

The Eker I Run is a hilly course of 42.2 km with 153.2 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 120 m and its highest 1,849 m above sea level.

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Sources and licence

Last checked.

Course line matched onto OpenStreetMap road geometry: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL). Elevation sampled from GEDTM30, Global Ensemble Digital Terrain Model at 30 m (v1.2): Elevation: GEDTM30 (Ho & Hengl, OpenGeoHub), CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Elevation gain computed by us from that line, smoothed over 1 kmsmoothed over 0.6 mi.

The line follows the road down its middle, so it measures 1.38% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

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