The Belgrade Marathon is a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , 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 are also wheelchair div ...

race held annually in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

since 1988. It is typically held in mid-April and also features 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 shortcut ...

and a

fun run A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors pr ...

for the public. The Belgrade Marathon is one of the biggest sporting events in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

History

A marathon existed in 1910 from

Obrenovac Obrenovac ( sr-cyr, Обреновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 71,419 inhabitants, while the urban area has 24,568 inhabitants. The largest Serbian th ...

. A group of enthusiasts came up with a plan to restore the 1910 race. The first modern marathon in Belgrade took place on . It was long, and only

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

n athletes participated. The track length of the 1989

was , with the start and finish being in front of the Federal Parliament Building. Since 1990 the Belgrade Marathon has a standard length. The

1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

did not prevent the marathon from taking place that year, and on April 17 the race was held as a metered group run. About 40 runners from nine countries crossed the finish line at 3 hours 15 minutes and 16 seconds. The runners from NATO countries were Seine Brenson from the US, and Michael Turzynski and Heinz Lorber from Germany. The latter two are also founding members of the German 100 Marathon Club. The Yugoslav Sport Society " Partizan" took it upon itself to organize the marathon. The City of Belgrade, its departments and communal services helped organize the event. Also involved were the executive bodies of city government, the

Army of Serbia An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, the Serbian Police, and a number of sponsors. In September 2003, Belgrade declared that the Marathon is an event of special importance for the city. The same organisers also arrange the Belgrade Race Through History, a race around the city's Kalemegdan fortress, which started in 1996. In 2020, the race was initially postponed to 18 October 2020 due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. However, the marathon was eventually cancelled after the organizers were unable to secure approval to hold the marathon with coronavirus controls in place. In 2022 race, there was 668 finishers (105 women's and 563 men's) from 41 countries.

Other races

In addition to the marathon, the event also holds three other races. * The Kids Marathon is a race for

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

* The Fun Run is the event with the most participants (5 km) * The

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 shortcut ...

is a half-distance marathon that is in accordance with world standards

Winners

: Course record : Serbian championship race

Gallery

Boris Tadić na Beogradskom maratonu.jpg,

Aleksandar Šapić Aleksandar Šapić ( sr-cyrl, Александар Шапић; born 1 June 1978) is a Serbian politician, and former professional water polo player serving as mayor of Belgrade since 20 June 2022. A member and current vice-president of the Serb ...

Boris Tadić Boris Tadić ( sr-cyr, Борис Тадић, ; born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012. Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psycholo ...

, and

Božidar Đelić Božidar Đelić ( sr-cyr, Божидар Ђелић, ; born 1 April 1965) is a Serbian economist and former politician. A longtime member of the Democratic Party, he was highly positioned in politics of Serbia after the overthrow of Slobodan M ...

during the 25th Belgrade Marathon in 2012 2022 Belgrade Marathon (medal, shirt).jpg, 2022 shirt and medal 2021 Belgrade Marathon (medal, shirt).jpg, 2021 shirt and medal 33rd Belgrade Marathon and shirt (2020 Virtuel marathon).jpg, 2020 shirt and medal (Virtuel marathon) 2019 Belgrade Marathon (medal, shirt).jpg, 2019 shirt and medal Medal Belgrade marathon 2019.jpg, Finisher medal in 2019 Dm Ženska trka 2022, Srbija.jpg, 2022 Dm women's run shirt and medal

Notes

References

;List of winners *Karamata, Ozren (2010-04-20)
Beogradski Marathon

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2010-04-21.

External links

Belgrade City Marathon

{{Footer Belgrade Marathon Champions Women Marathons in Serbia Sport in Belgrade Recurring sporting events established in 1988 Spring (season) events in Serbia