The Bucharest Marathon is an annual marathon and sport event hosted by the city of Bucharest, Romania since 2008. It is organized by the Bucharest Running Club, and held during the second weekend of October. The marathon is categorized as a Bronze Label Road Race by World Athletics.[1]
History
An annual marathon has been held in Bucharest as early as 1992.[2]
The first edition of the most recent version of the annual marathon was first held in 2008.[3]
In 2020, initially, the race was limited to 250 professional runners due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all other entries automatically transferred to 2021, and all such registrants given the option of also running the race virtually and receiving a medal for free.[4][5][a] However, the day before the scheduled date, the marathon was cancelled due to a request from the Ministry of Youth and Sport sent to the organizers the night before, in reaction to rising numbers of coronavirus cases within the capital.[7][8][9]
The course begins on Bulevardul Libertății east of Parcul Izvor [ro] and heads briefly east on Bulevardul Unirii past Piața Unirii before returning to Parcul Izvor and then heading north to Arcul de Triumf via Strada Berzei.[10] The course then turns around and heads back to Parcul Izvor via Calea Victoriei.[10] The course then heads southwest past Piața Constituției to run a loop on Șoseaua Panduri and Bulevardul Tudor Vladimirescu.[10] After returning to Piața Constituției, the course heads east again on Bulevardul Unirii, with a turnaround at the roundabout at Piața Alba Iulia and then a long loop on Splaiul Unirii, before returning to a finish at Piața Constituției.[10]
Other races
The event also includes a half marathon, a 10K, and a marathon relay.[11] In addition, there are several races held the day before that are not electronically timed, including a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) race, a race for teens also of length 2.5 km (1.6 mi), and multiple races for kids.[12][13][14]
^In addition, the marathon course was replaced with a loop of length 10.5 km (6.5 mi) for the professional runners that year, before the marathon was cancelled.[6]
^"Archived copy". www.worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)