Pyongyang Marathon, also known as Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, is an annual

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 contested each April in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

, the capital of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It is categorised as an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race. The marathon was held for the first time in 1981 for men, and the women's event was initiated in 1984. The 2009 race was the 22nd event. The competition was opened for international runners again in 2000. The race starts and finishes at the Rungnado May Day Stadium or Kim Il Sung Stadium and runs along the

Taedong River The Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening ...

. At the 2010 edition of the race, Ukrainian Ivan Babaryka became the first European runner to win in Pyongyang in 24 years. The race in 2012 was held as part of celebrations for the 100 years since

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

's birth and featured one of the race's closest ever finishes:

Oleksandr Matviychuk Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and

Pak Song-chol Pak Song-chol or Park Sung-chul (2 September 1913 – 28 October 2008) was a North Korean politician who served as Premier of North Korea from 1976 to 1977. He succeeded Kim Il. He also served as foreign minister from 1959 to 1970. Biogra ...

were given identical times (2:12:54 hours), with the Ukrainian guest taking the title. The 2015 marathon was initially closed to foreigners because of concerns about

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...

, but this decision has since been reversed after the reopening of the North Korean border in March 2015. The marathon was held in 2016, but did not meet

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

specifications for an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race that it had on previous years. In 2020, it was announced that the marathon would be cancelled for that year due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China. The 2021 edition was also cancelled due to the same reason as well as the 2022 edition.

Course records

* Men: 2:10:50,

Kim Jung-won Kim Jung-won (born 20 January 1973) is a North Korean long-distance runner. He competed in the men's marathon at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad ...

, 1996 * Women: 2:26:02, Jong Yong-ok, 2007

List of winners

Key:

References

External links

*
Pyongyang Marathon at ''ARRS''

How to join Pyongyang Marathon
{{Coord, 39, 2, 58, N, 125, 46, 31, E, display=title Sport in Pyongyang Sports competitions in Pyongyang Marathons in North Korea Recurring sporting events established in 1981 Annual sporting events in North Korea 1981 establishments in North Korea Spring (season) events in North Korea

Course records

List of winners

See also

References

External links