The Bucharest Marathon is an annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

and sport event hosted by the city of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

since 2008. It is organized by the Bucharest Running Club, and held during the second weekend of October. The marathon is categorized as a Bronze Label Road Race by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

History

An annual marathon has been held in Bucharest as early as 1992. The first edition of the most recent version of the annual marathon was first held in 2008. In 2020, initially, the race was limited to 250 professional runners due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, with all other entries automatically transferred to 2021, and all such registrants given the option of also running the race virtually and receiving a medal for free. However, the day before the scheduled date, the marathon was cancelled due to a request from the Ministry of Youth and Sport sent to the organizers the night before, in reaction to rising numbers of coronavirus cases within the capital.

Course

The course begins on Bulevardul Libertății east of

Izvor Park Izvor Park () is a public park in central Bucharest ( Sector 5). It is located on the right bank of Dâmbovița and in close proximity to the Palace of the Parliament. it is one of the more recent parks in Romania's capital. History Before its ...

and heads briefly east on

Bulevardul Unirii Bulevardul Unirii (, ''Union Boulevard'') is a major thoroughfare in central Bucharest, Romania. It connects Constitution Square (Piața Constituției) with Alba Iulia Square (Piața Alba Iulia), and also runs through Union Square (Piața Unir ...

past

Piața Unirii Piața Unirii (, ''Union Square'') is the largest square in central Bucharest, Romania, and one of the largest public spaces in Europe, being located immediately south of the old town and within the boundaries of Sectors 3. Part of the Civic C ...

before returning to Parcul Izvor and then heading north to

Arcul de Triumf Arcul de Triumf (Romanian language, Romanian; "The Triumphal Arch") is a triumphal arch located on the Șoseaua Kiseleff, Kiseleff Road, in the northern part of Bucharest, Romania. The monument, designed by Petre Antonescu, was built in 1921– ...

via Strada Berzei. The course then turns around and heads back to Izvor Park via

Calea Victoriei Calea Victoriei (''Victory Avenue'') is a major avenue in central Bucharest. Situated in Sector 1, and having a length of , it leads from (which runs parallel to the Dâmbovița River) to the north and then northwest up to Piața Victoriei, w ...

. The course then heads southwest past

Piața Constituției Piața Constituției ( Romanian for "Constitution Square") is one of the largest squares in the centre of Bucharest, Romania. The square is standing face-to-face with the Palace of the Parliament (biggest building in Europe) and it is bisected by ...

to run a loop on Șoseaua Panduri and Bulevardul Tudor Vladimirescu. After returning to Piața Constituției, the course heads east again on Bulevardul Unirii, with a turnaround at the roundabout at Piața Alba Iulia and then a long loop on Splaiul Unirii, before returning to a finish at Piața Constituției.

Other races

The event also includes a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

, a 10K, and a marathon relay. In addition, there are several races held the day before that are not electronically timed, including a race, a race for teens also of length , and multiple races for kids.

Winners

Key: Course record

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{IAAF Road Race Label Events 2008 establishments in Romania Annual sporting events in Romania Autumn in Romania Marathons in Europe October in sports Recurring sporting events established in 2008 Road running competitions in Romania Sports competitions in Bucharest