Košice Peace Marathon Explained

The Košice Peace Marathon (Slovak: Medzinárodný maratón mieru) is an annual road marathon held in Košice, Slovakia, since 1924. It is the oldest continuously running in the world, having been run every year since 1941. It is the oldest marathon in Europe and the third-oldest in the world (after the Boston Marathon, first held in 1897, and the Yonkers Marathon, first held in 1907). However, Boston and Yonkers have been continuous only since 2021.^[1] The marathon generally takes place each year on the first Sunday in October. The course is relatively flat and consists of two loops, mostly within the city center.

The marathon is an AIMS-certified race.^[2] It is also categorized as a Silver Label Road Race by World Athletics,^[3] and was certified as a 5-Star Quality Road Race by European Athletics Running for All in 2015.^[4]

History

The Košice Peace Marathon, first held in 1924, is the oldest marathon in Europe and the third oldest in the world. Inspired by the 1924 Paris Olympics, Košice sports enthusiast Vojtech (born Braun) Bukovský organized the inaugural race, which began beneath the ruins of Turňa Castle. The marathon quickly gained international prestige, attracting prominent athletes like 1931 winner Juan Carlos Zabala, who went on to win the 1932 Olympic marathon. Known for its adherence to the official marathon distance of 42.195km, even in its early years, the race has hosted numerous world-class runners and witnessed historic performances, including Abebe Bikila's victory in 1961. The Košice Peace Marathon has endured through war and societal change, adapting its course and expanding to include women in 1980.^[5]

In 2016, the marathon received IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status,^[6] and in 2018, it received IAAF Silver Label Road Race status.^[7]

Course

The course is flat, completely asphalted and traffic free, two laps in the historic city center.

The cumulative elevation gain is .^[8]

Winners

The course records are 2:21:08 for women (set by Rebecca Tanui in 2024) and 2:06:55 hours for men (set by Philemon Rono in 2023).

Note: winners are listed below for five of the seven war years (1938–44), five war winners are listed at official homepage too, although the history provided by the Košice Peace Marathon states: "The Slovakian Marathon suffered a cleft seven years wide. To some extent this was patched up with five marathons organized under the Hungarian flag during the Horthy occupation of Košice – without a single foreign runner..."^[9] Its status as the oldest marathon in Europe, and second-oldest in the world, remains undiminished by this break.

Key: Course record (in bold)

Ed.	Year	Men's winner	Time	Women's winner	Time	Rf.
1	1924		3:01:35	not held
2	1925		2:41:55
3	1926		2:57:02
4	1927		2:48:25.2
5	1928		2:55:45
6	1929		2:51:31
7	1930		2:50:59
8	1931		2:33:19
9	1932		2:43:15
10	1933		2:37:54
11	1934		2:41:26.3
12	1935		2:44:58
13	1936		2:41:08
14	1937		2:43:41.7
15	1938	not held due to World War II
16	1939		2:47:47.6
17	1940	not held due to World War II
18	1941		2:56:17.8
19	1942		3:02:27
20	1943		2:50:14.0
21	1944		2:58:49
22	1945		2:47:21.8
23	1946		2:35:02.4
24	1947		2:36:06.0
25	1948		2:34:46.4
26	1949		2:33:45.6
27	1950		2:31:20.2
28	1951		2:41:07.8
29	1952		2:29:10
30	1953		2:53:33
31	1954		2:27:21
32	1955		2:25:40
33	1956		2:22:05.4
34	1957		2:23:57.8
35	1958		2:29:37.2
36	1959		2:17:45.2
37	1960		2:26:46.8
38	1961		2:20:12.0
39	1962		2:28:29.8
40	1963		2:15:09.6
41	1964		2:25:55.4
42	1965		2:23:47
43	1966		2:19:11.2
44	1967		2:20:53.8
45	1968		2:26:28.4
46	1969		2:15:37
47	1970		2:16:26.2
48	1971		2:21:43.6
49	1972		2:17:34.4
50	1973		2:19:01.2
51	1974		2:20:10
52	1975		2:15:47.8
53	1976		2:18:42.4
54	1977		2:15:19.4
55	1978		2:13:34.5
56	1979		2:15:12
57	1980		2:15:25		2:50:15
58	1981		2:16:58		2:37:46
59	1982		2:18:48		2:43:26
60	1983		2:16:52		2:34:41
61	1984		2:18:59		2:36:56
62	1985		2:17:13		2:38:19
63	1986		2:18:43		2:41:08
64	1987		2:14:59		2:38:40
65	1988		2:17:52		2:39:03
66	1989		2:18:39		2:31:28
67	1990		2:20:28		2:46:00
68	1991		2:18:21		2:46:00
69	1992		2:16:24		2:43:27
70	1993		2:14:11		2:42:11
71	1994		2:15:03		2:40:27
72	1995		2:13:57		2:43:03
73	1996		2:17:41		2:44:28
74	1997		2:16:22		2:38:56
75	1998		2:14:29		2:46:23
76	1999		2:14:10		2:55:39
77	2000		2:14:35		2:46:17
78	2001		2:13:27		2:36:55
79	2002		2:12:40		2:36:49
80	2003		2:13:24		2:39:23
81	2004		2:12:35		2:33:52
82	2005		2:16:07		2:37:48
83	2006		2:12:53		2:36:47
84	2007		2:09:53		2:34:50
85	2008		2:10:51		2:34:23
86	2009		2:10:59		2:30:50
87	2010		2:08:33		2:36:35
88	2011		2:11:15		2:33:53
89	2012		2:07:01		2:29:59
90	2013		2:09:36		2:27:44
91	2014		2:08:26		2:28:48
92	2015		2:07:07		2:35:33
93	2016		2:08:57		2:32:19
94	2017		2:08:12		2:27:34
95	2018		2:08:11		2:27:16
96	2019		2:09:33		2:26:01
97	2020		2:26:08		2:52:11		[10]
98	2021		2:07:18		2:24:35	[11]
99	2022		2:07:16		2:24:04	[12]
100	2023		2:06:55		2:24:43	[13]
101	2024		2:07:50		2:21:08	[14]

References

List of winners

• Kosice International Peace Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (4 October 2011). Retrieved 23 October 2011.

External links

• Official website
• Some history
• Marathon Info

Notes and References

1. https://arrs.run/LongRunR.htm Longest Running Road Races
2. http://aims-worldrunning.org/calendar.html AIMS Race Calendar
3. Web site: Archived copy . www.worldathletics.org . 12 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200902131643/https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/calendar/2020 . 2 September 2020 . dead.
4. http://www.european-athletics.org/competitions/area-permit-meetings/news/article=triple-joy-for-pereira Triple joy for Pereira
5. Web site: 100 years of the Košice Peace Marathon Distance Running magazine 2023 Edition 2 Running into history . aims-worldrunning.org . 8 October 2024.
6. http://www.kosicemarathon.com/sebastian-coe-potvrdil-status-mmm Sebastian Coe has confirmed the status of the Košice Peace Marathon
7. https://www.kosicemarathon.com/iaaf-silver-label/?lang=en IAAF Silver Label
8. Web site: Race Instructions. https://web.archive.org/web/20200917052001/https://www.kosicemarathon.com/race-info-mmm/?lang=en. 17 September 2020.
9. http://www.cassovia.sk/historiaclanky/vojmaratony/ Vojmaratony
10. https://www.kosicemarathon.com/maraton-2020-2/ Košice Peace Marathon 2020
11. https://www.kosicemarathon.com/maraton-2021/ Košice Peace Marathon 2021
12. https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7176648 Košice Peace Marathon
13. https://www.kosicemarathon.com/mmm-2023/?lang=en Košice Peace Marathon 2023
14. https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/calendar-results/7210667/result Košice Peace Marathon 2024