The Maratona di Sant'Antonio (also known as the ''Maratona S. Antonio'' and ''Padua 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 ...

competition which takes place in April in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The event features a full

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 (42.195 km), 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 ...

, and a range of shorter

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 pro ...

events for amateurs. The competition is named in honour of

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priesthood (Cath ...

, a 13th-century saint who died in the city.

History

The first marathon held in the area was the

Vedelago Vedelago ( vec, Vedeàgo) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice, about east of Vicenza, about north of Padua and about west of Treviso. The main attraction is ...

Marathon, which was a national level race organised by the Gruppo Atletica Vedelago between 1988 and 1999. Another group, Assindustria Sport Padova, took over management of the marathon in 2000 and the race became an international one. Its route was also changed, with the start point remaining in the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

of Vedelago and the finish point being moved to Padua. A new course was introduced for the 2011 edition, which began in

Campodarsego Campodarsego is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northeast of Padua. Campodarsego has been recognized as a city A city is a human settlement of notable ...

and found its end point in Padua's large city square – the

Prato della Valle Prato della Valle (''Prà deła Vałe'' in Venetian) is a 90,000-square-meter elliptical square in Padova, Italy. It is the largest square in Italy, Lionello Puppi, Giuseppe Toffanin. Guida di Padova. ''Arte e storia tra vie e piazze.'' Trie ...

. The marathon race has incorporated the Italian Championship in the event, hosting the national title event in 2005 and 2006. The event has also included a hand bike race for disabled athletes and former race-car driver

Alex Zanardi Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (; born 23 October 1966) is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998, and took 15 wins in the series. He also raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1994 and aga ...

won the 2011 competition. A total of 3384 runners finished the half marathon and marathon at that year's event, which was broadcast on television domestically via

Rai Sport 2 Rai Sport 2 was an Italian sports TV channel, launched on 18 May 2010 by the State-owned RAI television network. It broadcast Italian and international sports events in Italy on DTT channel 58 on Mux ''Rai 2''. It was also available on Sky Italia ...

. The success of African runners at the marathon drew the ire of Pietro Giovannoni, a local politician and

Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...

member, who said public funds should not be used to support a race won by foreigners. The city's deputy mayor Ivo Rossi condemned the comments, saying they were idiotic and damaging to the region's image.Kington, Tom (2010-12-05)
Padua councillor calls for scrapping of funds for marathon 'Africans always win'
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Retrieved on 2013-02-23.

Past winners

Vedelago Marathon era

Key:

Maratona di Sant'Antonio era

Marathon

Key:

Half marathon

Statistics

;Multiple winners * Marcella Mancini (2003, 2006 and 2008 winner) is the only athlete to have won the race on multiple occasions ;Winners by country *''Note: Statistics are for Maratona di Sant'Antonio era only''

References

;List of winners *Franco Civai ''et al.'' (2011-04-21)
Sant' Antonio 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 2011-04-22.

External links

Official website
at Marathon Info {{Marathons in Italy Marathons in Italy 2000 establishments in Italy Recurring sporting events established in 2000 Sport in Padua Spring (season) events in Italy