Uncle Zhandos running ahead of everyone
The Almaty Marathon has become the largest sporting event in Central Asia promoting a healthy lifestyle and health. This sporting event has been held in Almaty since 2012. Initially, 500 Almaty athletes took part in it, while more than 16.5 thousand sports fans from almost 60 countries took part in the 13th International competition. The traditional Almaty Marathon is recognised not only as a sporting event, but also as a charitable initiative.
What do we know about the Almaty Marathon?
The race includes several distances: the longest is 42.2 kilometres. It is ideal for professional athletes and amateur marathon runners. The middle distance is 21.1 kilometres. It is widely popular among sports enthusiasts as well as professional athletes. The third distances are 10km and 5km. These distances are for everyone who wants to improve their health. Almaty Marathon has been on the list of AIMS (International Association of Marathon and Running) since 2013.
Zhandos Kumganbaev, Associate Professor of the Department of History of Kazakhstan, Faculty of History, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, also took part in this large-scale event. 38-year-old Zhandos Zhumalbekovich ran 21.1 km of average distance in 2 hours 20 minutes and defended the honour of the university. Thus, our teacher was among the winners of the competition. This marathon became for Zhandos Zhumalbekovich not only a sports competition, but also an event that glorified the honour of the university staff. This victory, which requires spiritual potential in addition to physical fitness, shows that although the teacher has high knowledge and experience, his ability to face challenges proved that he can also excel in sports.
Zhandos Zhumalbekovich was born on 18 January 1986 in Dikan village of Baizak district of Zhambyl region. Currently, he is actively working on the education and upbringing of the younger generation, preparing competitive specialists. In addition to supervising students, he also rationally organises research work and has a positive impact on the development of the faculty. Zh. Kumganbaev is the author of several collective monographs, more than 20 scientific papers and articles published in Scopus journals. Docent Zhandos Zhumalbekovich dedicated his victory in the Almaty Marathon to the teachers of the faculty, timed to the Day of Higher Education Workers, first celebrated in the country on 1 October.
Moldir RAKHMETOVA,
Speciality ‘History’
Master's student of the 1st course
