Some 120 athletes participated in the first edition of the Żejt iż-Żejtun Half Marathon held late last month.

The race, organised by 5 Senses Malta and Starmax Club along with the Żejtun Local Council, was spread over three loops of a 7.035km route. Besides athletes who chose to run the half marathon in full, some other participants also opted to participate in relay teams of three runners each.

The organisers also included a series of fun runs for young athletes in their programme of activities for the day.

Charlton Debono was first runner home in the men’s half marathon, completing the distance in 1hr 14mins. David Galea came in second place, clocking 1:27.14, and Mauro Desira third in 1:27.24.

The women’s race was dominated by Josanne Attard Pulis. She reached the finish line in 1hr 32mins.

Amanda Rapa was second (1hr 42mins) and Maureen Farrugia third (1hr 47mins).

The relay was won by the team composed of Caroline Ciappara, Jonathan Balzan and Mary Grace Demicoli. They clocked an accumulated time of 1hr 30min.

“As a first edition, we were very much delighted with the response we got and the participation list we had. This race drew attention because of the unusual locality and the relatively flat and fast route,” Darryl Grima, from 5 Senses Malta, said.

“The novelty about this event was mostly owed to the fact that the Żejt iż-Żejtun Half Marathon combined sport with history, culture, lifestyle and deep-shared roots of the Mediterranean countries with a strong connection to olive oil production.

“In fact, this initiative supports a more sustainable model of tourism that cares about respecting the local ecosystem and its traditional activities.”

The Żejt iż-Żejtun Half Marathon was the culmination of the project HOST – Heritage of Olive Tree for Sustainable Tourism – an EU-funded project hosted in Italy, Slovenia, Malta and Greece.