The Warsaw Marathon (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

: ''Maraton Warszawski'' pronunced: , also referred to as the PZU Warsaw 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 ...

event which takes place on the streets of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It is the oldest annual marathon in Poland, held since 1979. The marathon is organized by the

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

Fundacja Maraton Warszawski. The race usually takes place on the last Sunday of September. It is one of two marathons hosted in the city, alongside the Orlen Warsaw Marathon, generally held in April. The marathon is one of five in the Crown of Polish Marathons program, along with the

Dębno Dębno (german: Neudamm) is a town in Myślibórz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship in western Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 13,443. After the Migration Period, the area was populated by West Slavic peoples sinc ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

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, and Wrocław Marathons. Polish competitors have traditionally triumphed in the early editions of the event both in the men's and women's competitions. However, after the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in 1989, the race attracted more international participants who started to dominate the race. The current course records are 2:08:17 hours for men, set by John Kibet of Kenya in 2011, while Ethiopian Demissie Ayantu's run of 2:28:35 in 2022 is the fastest by a woman on the course.

History

The marathon was first held on under the original name "1st Marathon of Peace" (to convince socialistic regime about the idea of "run for health, run for all"). It happened thanks to the three brave people: Tomasz Hopfer (TVP journalist and runner), Józef Węgrzyn (journalist and runner) and Zbigniew Zaremba (1st director of the Warsaw Marathon; and running coach). In the inaugural race, the length of the course was just , and not the normal, classic distance of . In 2000 the men's race and in 2012 the women's race had the status of Polish Marathon National Championships. From 2013, the Polish insurance company

Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń Spółka Akcyjna (Polish pronunciation: , PZU) () is a publicly traded insurance company, a component of the WIG20 and Poland's biggest and oldest insurance company. PZU is headquartered in Warsaw and also one of t ...

(PZU) became a title sponsor, and the marathon was renamed "PZU Warsaw Marathon". In 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 identified ...

, organizers rescheduled the marathon to take place over four separate heats during the weekend, with each heat having a maximum of 250 runners. In addition, the course was changed to a loop of in the center of the city. Since nearly 2000 runners had already registered for the race, a lottery was held to determine who was allowed to participate, with those denied a spot allowed to transfer their entry to 2021 or obtain a refund.

Other races

Although the main attraction is the marathon, there is also a handbike marathon and a "High Five Race" (5 km race). Since 2022, a 10-kilometre race aimed at beginners known as the

Pekao Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna, commonly using the shorter name Bank Pekao S.A., is a universal bank and currently the second largest bank in Poland with its headquarters in Warsaw. The Italian bank UniCredit used to own 59% of the comp ...

SA Warszawska Dycha has also been organized as part of the event.

Other activities

During the marathon weekend, additional activities take place, such as a sport and fitness expo, running seminars, and activities for children.

Results

Key:

Multiple wins

By country

Notes

References

External links

Warsaw Marathon

{{IAAF Bronze Label Marathons in Europe

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 ...

Marathons in Poland Recurring sporting events established in 1979 1979 establishments in Poland September sporting events Autumn events in Poland