The Istanbul Marathon (, also known as N Kolay Istanbul Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an international athletics event hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, in November, first held in 1979. It is the only marathon in the world whose course spans two continents, Asia and Europe. The three race categories for men and women are: marathon, 15 km and public run. A special category for disabled persons exists also. Participation in the public run was with 150,000 people a record set in 1998. The event is organised by Istanbul Sports Events, which also hosts the annual Istanbul Half Marathon in April. History The Istanbul marathon has previously been known as "Vodafone Istanbul Marathon" as well as "Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon". In 1997, Moges Taye of Ethiopia set the course record for men at the time of 2:13:37. In 2005, Madina Biktagirova of Russia set the course record for women at the time of 2:34:25. In 2006, Madina Biktagirova broke her own course record for women from the previous year with 2:28:21, and the course record for men was broken by the Lithuanian athlete Mindaugas Pukstas in 2:12:52. Also, for the first time in 2006, time keeping for marathon and 15 km was effected by means of a single-use chip, which was placed on the athlete's shoe tied by shoelaces. An athlete without this so-called champion-chip would not receive an official time. In addition, the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon that year incorporated the 4th European Police Marathon Championships for the first time, which contributed to top results. In 2012, the month the marathon was generally held was changed from October to November. That year, the 34th edition of the marathon was named "Vodafone Istanbul Eurasia Marathon". Also that year, because the marathon had become a significant marathon event, it was awarded IAAF Gold Label status. In 2013, around 20,000 local and foreigner athletes participated at the road race in different categories, among them wheelchair runners. The event saw also for the first time security measures concerning the bridge stability. Two years before, the running crowd on the Bosphorus Bridge caused dangerous instability by self-induced vibrations in the structure which could result in its failure. Influenced by this lesson, several start times with ten minutes intervals were held after the first start, which took place on 9:30 hours. The groups were not allowed to run on the bridge rather than to walk only. In