Results for 2020

There was a new course record (Paul Kipchumba Lonyangata, 2:09:18) and a new Taiwanese women’s record (Chun-yu Tsao, 2:32:41).

Evans Chebet and Peres Jepchirchir secured a Kenyan double at the Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP.

In the women’s race Jepchirchir clocked 2:17:16 to move up to No 5 on the all-time world list while Chebet defeated the main favourites with a 2:03:00 timing to improve on his previous best by over four minutes.

At the pre-race press conference, the reigning world half marathon champion had declared she was fully confident of bettering her personal best of 2:23:50 given her outstanding performances over the shorter distance this year, 1:05:34 in Prague and 1:05:16 at the World Championships in Gdynia. The only question looming was by how much. It turned out to be by over six minutes.

Pacemakers Tadesse Mamo and Dereje Urjecha started out at a 3:18/km clip. By 10km the lead group was made up by 10 athletes: 4 Kenyan, 5 Ethiopian plus Namibia’s Helaria Johannes, who had won a bronze medal at last year’s World Championships at age 39. The lead pack began to break up after passing halfway in 1:09:01, leaving only Jepchirchir, Joyciline Jepkosgei, who broke the world half marathon record here in 2017, and Johannes in contention for the win as the top Ethiopians struggled to maintain contact. Jepchirchir found herself alone in the 29th kilometre as firstly the Namibian and shortly thereafter Jepkosgei began to falter. Jepchirchir upped the pace with a 32:05 split between 30-40km before forging onwards to the line unchallenged.

Jepchirchir improve Ruti Aga’s course record by over a minute. Runner-up Jepkosgei and third-placed Johannes also destroyed their previous bests with Johannes improving her own national record in the process.

The men’s event became outshone by the day’s world record over the half marathon but also featured a quality field capable of running under the course record of 2:03:51 set last year by Kinde Ayalew. Pacing was very consistent (10km 14:40; halfway in 1:01:40) and 11 remained in the leading group. The leaders reached 30km (1:27:40) still adhering steadily to 2:55/km pace and a 2:03:20 finish time. The Kenyan trio of Chebet, Lawrence Cherono and Amos Kipruto plus Ethiopia’s pre-race favourite, Birhanu Legese, the quickest man in the line-up, kept up the tempo.

The 32-year-old Chebet made his move at 39.5km as Lawrence Cherono hung on while first Amos Kipruto and then Birhanu Legese began to drift back. Chebet and Cherono shared the pacing duties over the closing kilometres to keep Legese, a strong finisher, at a distance. The tactic paid off as the Kenyan pair battled for the win. Chebet’s late burst brought him home in 2:03:00, moving him up to No 7 on the all-time list.

Spain’s 39-year-old Ayad Lamdassem set a national record of 2:06:35 in 11th place.

The Wizz Air Sofia Marathon was run on 11 October with 2443 starters and 2355 finishers over all three distances (Marathon, Half Marathon and 10km). Viktoriya Khapilina (UKR) and Youssef Sbaai (MAR) finished first out of the 78 women and 346 men who started the Marathon.

Khapilina, along with Naom Jebet and two others reached halfway in 1:14:13 – well inside the course record of 2:32:35 – but by 30km the pair were 51 seconds ahead of the rest. Jebet fell away in the closing stages as the Ukrainian went on to win in 2:27:57, taking six seconds off the PB she set when winning the Krakow Marathon last year. The top three women all finished inside the previous course record.

In the men’s race Youssef Sbaai and Radouan Nouini were given the same time with Sbaai given the verdict. Six men went through halfway in 1:06:46 but as the pace increased the Moroccan duo only had Mohamed Ali of the Netherlands for company – but by 30km he too had been dropped. Sbaai and Nouini forged ahead in the last 10km and were still locked together as they both crossed the finish line in 2:13:03.

Around 2500 runners took part in the Marathon along with the ‘pairs’ section and the 30km in the Budapest Marathon Festival on 10–11 October. Another 3200 participated in the shorter events: a 10km, 5km and 4 × 2km relay. Winners of the title events were Csere Gaspar (2:17:43) and Tünde Szabo (2:43:39).

A total of 1930 participants from the 3500 registered runners stood at the start line of the classic Marathon race. The Hungarian National Championship was incorporated within the race.

Due to coronavirus restrictions only a reduced number of foreign citizens were able to participate in the 2-day running event. Of a total of 11,700 registered entries 8100 participated in one of the race distances. The Budapest Marathon is one of the most beautiful and spectacular in Europe, running through the city along both banks of the Danube.

Coronavirus security measures included picking up the start number at the event venue only after submitting a pre-filled and signed a Health Declaration Form and a body temperature measurement at the entrance to the race centre. Runners had to wear masks until after they crossed the start line and were asked to keep them throughout the race and put them on again at the finish line. Refreshment points were contact-free and hand sanitizers were widely available within the race centre.

Runners set off at 09.00 (13.8ºC) in 300-person waves. Leading runners soon broke away from the others and then moved in a separate group.

The oldest marathon in Europe, the 97th edition of International Peace Marathon in Košice, was staged despite all pandemic restrictions in Slovakia.

Organisers accepted 200 runners for the marathon, other events were cancelled. They also changed the two-lap city course to smaller 4.2 km course which was run ten times in the city centre.

The only foreign participant, Czech sub 2:40 runner Petra Pastorová (44) won the women’s category in 2:52:11. She was only the second Czech women’s winner since 1993. Second, the Slovak Sylvia Sebestian (43) won her fifth national title in a time of 3:04:28. Spectators around the course (also under restrictions) saw Marek Hladik win his first national title and become the first Slovak winner in 21 years. In total 187 runners started and 179 finished.

The 35th Swissalpine event in Davos passed the Corona test and successfully launched the new K68 race. On this new major distance the Italian Riccardo Montani was the surprise winner after a dramatic finish. On Sunday, orienteering specialist Matthias Kyburz had a sensational solo run and pulverized the K43 course record. The women’s K43 race was won by Natascha Baer.

At 7am sharp on Sunday the runners were sent off on the K43 race. Matthias Kyburz was remarkably awake: the world class orienteering specialist from Berne distanced his fellow competitors immediately at the start of the 42.7 kilometer course (+/-1324m) and practically ran a solo race. With a finishing time of 3:00:16 he set a new course record and beat second placed Kévin Vermeulen of France by more than 15 minutes. Despite this incredible pace, Kyburz later spoke about a well-paced and controlled race, even in the steep ascent to the Scaletta pass. The narrow alpine trails had been a special highlight on the course, he said.

In the women’s race the Swiss Natascha Baer, current Swiss Champion on the marathon distance, and the orienteering specialist Sabrina Jenzen delivered a thrilling battle. On the ascents Baer was faster, on the descents Jenzer. With twelve kilometers to the finish line Baer was finally able to break away and crossed the finish line in 3:48:44. Jenzer came in second four minutes later.

In the K10 race Laurien van der Graaf, the elite cross-country skier from Davos, had to let Nicole Egger (CH) pass after 9.3 kilometers on the course. The long distance runner and current Swiss Champion impressed with a finish in 36:19.2 minutes. Timo Trinidad (SUI) won the men’s race in 34:57.3 minutes. Had Nicole Egger started with the men, she would have placed fifth, which underscores her strong performance.

The Corona virus made modifications to the organization of the 35th Swissalpine event necessary. As a protective measure all runners wore a face mask until they had left the stadium in Davos, and there were no spectators present at the start or at the finish line. The new main distance, the K68 race with altogether 2606 m altitude difference, which took the runners over four alpine passes, along the Panorama trail between the Scaletta and the Sertig passes, through no less than eight alpine valleys, was a resounding success. After a spectacular sprint on the final kilometer, the 27-year old Italian Riccardo Montani ( nomen est omen for this mountain runner) caught up with the Swiss Raphael Sprenger, who had held the lead for a good part of the race, and won the race in 6:12:28,2 hours, an initial course record. Sprenger crossed the finish line only 16 seconds later.

The seven-time Swissalpine winner Jasmine Nunige unfortunately had to withdraw from the women’s K68 race before the halfway mark, after the descent from the Sertig pass. Nunige battles a hip injury since several weeks. Having gone through physical therapy Nunige had felt fit and ready for the race, however the recurring pain finally forced her to withdraw. Among the other runners, the 31-year old Marcela Vasinova (CZE, who currently lives in Salzburg, Austria, was able to complete her race without problems. She had only signed up for the K68 race on the Tuesday before the race. She dominated the women’s race and finished first in 6:59:12,1 hours. Second placed Katrin Götz (SUI) lost 21 minutes to Vasinova and Luzia Bühler (SUI) who finished third, 30 minutes. In the men’s race Vasinova would have finished 14.

In the end there would be a winner for the organizing town of Davos: Jason Rüesch, the local elite cross-country skier won the K23 (+634 m/-235 m) race from Klosters to Davos in 1:31:00,9 hours. Rüesch was able to distance the Liechtenstein runner Arnold Aemisegger, K23 winner in 2019, on the descent towards the Lake Davos after the highest point in the race. Aemisegger in the end finished almost two minutes after Rüesh. In the women’s K23 race Shelly Schenk won in 1:47:36,3 hours, 45 seconds ahead of Austria’s Lena Laukner and a good two minutes ahead of the Swiss Marketa Maly.

Andrea Tuffli, President of the Swissalpine Organizing Committee was rightly pleased with the successful event. “The athletic performances have been absolutely extraordinary, and we have been able to welcome more top athletes than ever before”, he said. Tuffli also concluded that the Corona precautionary measures e.g. at the start and the finish line, had proven feasible and effective. “As the races started in a staged manner, we were able to ensure that the number of persons gathered in one place never reached anything approaching the limit of 1000 persons stipulated by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.”

The 28th Egyptian Marathon was held on the West Bank of the ancient city of Luxor. The historic run begins in front of the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Under perfect conditions with the sun shining and the chilly wind keeping the runners fresh and motivated, the participants started their run around the world’s largest open museum. Passing numerous locations and monuments including the Habou Temple and The Colossi of Memnon, the three events – 12km, half marathon and full marathon – were held with participants of more than 20 nationalities.

1899 were registered for the winter race in the Arctic city situated 400km above the Arctic Circle. 1605 from 48 different countries finished the 17th edition of the race. 53.5% of the participants were foreign, most from Germany, UK, USA and Sweden.

The PolarNight race in Tromsø was first organized in 2004 and over the years has become the largest winter race in Norway and one of the most international Norwegian races with participants from all over the world. The weather in the city of Tromsø is unpredictable in winter. On Saturday morning, a snowstorm caused many roads to Tromsø to be closed, boats and ferries cancelled due to the weather. As a result, many runners who were entered didn’t reach Tromsø in time to start. Throughout the day, the weather improved and the wind blew and when the start shot went at 15:00 it was just fresh breeze and nice winter conditions. There was a magical atmosphere along the course with light snow, candle lights along the course and many happy runners.

The PolarNight race will take place on 9th January 2021 in Tromsø. For next year’s race there will also be a marathon distance for the first time during the winter race.

The women’s marathon was won by the 44-year old Swiss Astrid Roberts Feyer in the new course record time of 2:59:18. The men’s marathon was won by Germany’s Robert Wilms in 2:35:23, which is the third fastest time ever run at the Neujahrsmarathon.