The Gyeongju International Marathon is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

event over the

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 ...

distance (42.195 km) which takes place in mid-October in

Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. It gained

IAAF Silver Label Road Race World Athletics Label Road Races are races that the World Athletics (until 2019: ''IAAF'') designates as one of the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of ...

status in 2010. First held in 1993, the event began as an amateur competition for the city's residents and club-level runners. By 1999, over 10,000 runners took part in the day's event on an annual basis. After an initial incorporation of an international race in the mid-1990s, the race again reverted to being a national Korean competition due to financial constraints. The race was moved to

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

in 2000 but the Gyeongju marathon re-emerged in 2006 and elite foreign runners returned to the city the following year. The competition now features an international elite-level marathon race for both men and women, as well as amateur fun run events over the half marathon, 10K and 5K distances.Dong-A Ilbo 2010 Gyeongju International Marathon Information
Gyeongju International Marathon. Retrieved on 2010-10-17. The event is one of a series of races in the country (alongside the Baekje Marathon and

Seoul International Marathon The Seoul International Marathon, also known as the ''Dong-A Ilbo Seoul Marathon or Seoul Marathon'' is an annual marathon race that takes place in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of two annual races over the 42.195 km classic distance in the ...

) which are sponsored by ''

The Dong-a Ilbo The ''Dong-A Ilbo'' (, literally ''East Asia Daily'') is a newspaper of record in Korea since 1920 with a daily circulation of more than 1.2 million and opinion leaders as its main readers. ''The Dong-A Ilbo'' is the parent company of Dong-A M ...

'', a Korean daily

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

. The competition is one of two annual road running festivals in the city, the other being the Gyeongjyu Cherry Blossom Marathon which is held in April when the trees come into blossom.Gyeongjyu Cherry Blossom Marathon Race
. GCB Marathon. Retrieved on 2010-10-17. The course of the marathon begins in

Hwangseong Park The Hwangseong Park is a park located in the neighborhood of Hwangseong-dong, Gyeongju, Hwangseong-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province, South Korea. Many of public sport facilities are located in the park with an area of 1,022,350 m2 includin ...

and ends on the running track of the Gyeongju Public Stadium within the park. The men's course record for the marathon is 2:08:52, which was set by

Yemane Tsegay Yemane Adhane Tsegay (born 8 April 1985) is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He won the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best time of 2:04:48 hours. He has also won marathons in Eindhoven, Gyeongju, ...

in 2008, while the women's record is held by national runner Yun Sun-suk, whose mark of 2:31:21 was set in 2007.

Past winners

Key:

References

External links

Official website
{{IAAF Silver Label Athletics in South Korea Marathons in South Korea Sport in North Gyeongsang Province Gyeongju Recurring sporting events established in 1993 Autumn events in South Korea 1993 establishments in South Korea