25 June 2006

NATO Partnership Running Festival gets off to a fast start Key link www.natofutas.hu Multimédia 25 jun. 2006 - OTAN High resolution Photos The first NATO Partnership Running Festival took place on 25 June between the Serbian town of Kanjiza-Horgos and Szeged in Hungary. Held under the patronage of NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the half-marathon Partnership Run was the first event of its kind. It was supported and organized by the NATO Public Diplomacy Division together with several non-governmental organisations. Some 5000 people attended the event, including more than 800 runners. Besides the Run, the event offered health-screening programmes, flea markets, music programmes, an aerobatic show and other entertainment for participants and visitors alike. The Deputy Director of the NATO Secretary General's Private Office, Hans Christian von Reibnitz, and local high-level officials hosted open forums on both sides of the border where they discussed key security issues of concern with a young public. The first running of the half-marathon proved to be a truly international competition. Participants came from Belgium, Croatia, France, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. The overall winner, Dániel Sós from Budapest, finished the course in 1:14:42. Meanwhile fellow Hungarian Andrea Szabó, the best individual female, crossed the finish line in 1:30:40. In other events, Dejan Popovic, Dragan Todorov, Alexandar Nesevski of the Serbian team "Vojska Srbije 1" won first place in the relay, while the Romanian team "Haromszek", with members Levente Botond Racz, Tamas Csutak, and Hunor Tamas Csutak, placed first in the half-marathon team competition. Full official results can be found at www.natofutas.hu