33rd SPAR Budapest Marathon
The Budapest Marathon is part of a 2-day festival all about running. On Sunday the focus is on the marathon, however, you may also run a 30 km, a marathon in a team of 2 or 4, or a 10 km. While on Saturday the focus is on shorter distances for the less experienced runners. With distances ranging from 400 m to 42 km everyone in the family can find their own challenge and take part in the running festival.
Participating in the marathon is essentially a running sightseeing tour of the beautiful Budapest. The course leads through the centre of the city, down the famous Andrassy Boulevard and across the Chain Bridge. Admire the view of the Buda Castle from the Danube banks and marvel in the panorama of Pest as well as Europe’s third largest Parliament building!
There are over 27.000 participants on all the distances, with more than 6.000 marathon runners and 1300 relay teams. However, no need to worry about crowding and overtaking as the start is done in waves so everyone has plenty of space to run.
In 2017, there were more than 5400 foreign runners, including 2800 on the marathon, from 84 countries. Most runners came from France, Britain, and Germany, but there were also participants from Thailand, Ghana, and Vietnam, just to name a few.
Along the course there will be refreshments every 3 to 4 kilometers and of course continuous medical supervision. Pace runners will help you hit your desired tempo. But having fun is just as important as running so we’ll maintain several musical points along the course for your entertainment.