Jerusalem Marathon

Jerusalem Marathon
DateMarch
LocationJerusalem
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon
Primary sponsorToto Winner
Established2011 (13 years ago) (2011)
(current era)
Course recordsMen's: 2:16:09 (2014)
Kenya Ronald Kurgat
Women's: 2:38:24 (2016)
Kenya Joan Kigen
Official siteJerusalem Marathon
Participants466 finishers (2022)
426 finishers (2021)
1,498 finishers (2019)[1]
1,262 finishers (2018)[2]
Jerusalem Marathon, 2012
Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat at the 2012 marathon
Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat running in 2012 marathon

The Jerusalem Marathon (Hebrew: מרתון ירושלים) is an annual marathon running event held in Jerusalem during the month of March. The course begins at Israel's parliament (the Knesset), passes through Mount Scopus and the Old City, and finishes at Sacher Park. The course record in the men's category was set in 2014 by Kenyan runner Ronald Kimeli Kurgat, and the course record in the women's category was set in 2016 by Kenyan runner Joan Jepchirchir Kigen.

Races at shorter distances and a fun run are held in conjunction with the marathon.[3][4]

The 2022 edition took place on 25 March.[5] Ageze Guadie, from Israel, was the winner of the men's race, in 2:37:17, and Valentina Versca, of Ukraine, and a refugee from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was the winner of the women's race in 2:45:54.[6]

The next edition is scheduled for 8 March 2024.[7]

History

Prior to the formation of the current event in 2011, a Jerusalem Marathon was staged for three years running between 1992 and 1994.[8][9] Half-marathon races were held in the city after that and a subsequent push from Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat resulted in the re-establishment of an international standard marathon in the city.[10]

The marathon was reestablished in March 2011 and drew 10,000 participants from 40 countries. That year, the three leading runners in the men's race veered off course and arrived at the wrong finish line.[11][12]

The 2012 event, which drew 15,000 runners including 1,500 from 50 countries outside Israel, was marked by rain, strong winds, and pounding hail.[13][14]

In 2013, twenty thousand runners from 54 countries participated in the third Jerusalem Marathon.[15] The Palestine Liberation Organization called for participants and sponsors to boycott the race in 2013.[16]

In 2014, the number of participants rose to over 25,000.[17]

The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2021 or obtaining a refund.[18][19][a]

Course

Starting point, 2012

The starting point of the marathon is Israel's parliament, the Knesset, in the western part of the city. Runners thence loop around the Giv'at Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, pass alongside the Valley of the Cross, and cross through various neighborhoods on their way up to Hebrew University's Mount Scopus campus in eastern Jerusalem. The route then descends to the Old City, taking runners through Jaffa Gate and the Armenian Quarter and out Zion Gate, on their way to the Jerusalem Forest. The race's finishing point is Sacher Park.[22][23] Jerusalem's hilly terrain makes the marathon especially challenging.[24]

Winners

Key:    Course record (in bold)

Initial era

Ed. Year Men's Winner Time[b] Women's Winner Time[b] Rf.
1 1992  Cai Shangyan (CHN) 2:30:34  Wu Mei (CHN) 2:50:23 [25]
2 1993  Hassan Sebtaoui (MAR) 2:25:53  Dominique Rembert (FRA) 3:03:52 [26]
3 1994  Hassan Sebtaoui (MAR) 2:38:05  Tatyana Leonova (MDA) 3:02:16 [27]

Current era

Ed. Year Men's Winner Time[b] Women's Winner Time[b] Rf.
1 2011  Raymond Kipkoech (KEN) 2:26:44  Oda Worknesh (ETH) 2:50:05 [28]
2 2012  David Toniok (KEN) 2:19:52  Mihret Anamo (ETH) 2:48:38 [29]
3 2013  Abraham Kabeto (ETH) 2:16:30  Mihret Anamo (ETH) 2:47:27 [30]
4 2014  Ronald Kurgat (KEN) 2:16:09  Alemtsehay Mesfin (ETH) 2:47:24
5 2015  Tadesse Yae (ETH) 2:18:20  Joan Kigen (KEN) 2:45:55
6 2016  Shadrack Kipkosgei (KEN) 2:16:33  Joan Kigen (KEN) 2:38:24
7 2017  Shadrack Kipkogey (KEN) 2:17:35  Emily Samoei (KEN) 2:49:25 [31][32]
8 2018  Shadrack Kipkogey (KEN) 2:21:26  Emily Samoei (KEN) 2:52:33 [33]
9 2019  Ronald Kurgat (KEN) 2:18:47  Nancy Kimaiyo (KEN) 2:44:50 [34]
— 2020 cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic [18]
10 2021  Yimer Getahun (ISR) 2:24:07  Anna Prais (ISR) 3:25:50 [35]
11 2022  Noah Kigen (KEN) 2:18:13  Margaret Njuguna (KEN) 2:52:44 [36]
12 2023  Ageze Guadie (ISR) 2:37:17  Valentyna Veretska (UKR) 2:45:54 [6]
13 2024  Jember Melkamu (ISR) 2:35:39  Noah Berkman (ISR) 2:55:42 [37]

Other records

See also

Notes

  1. ^ It had initially been postponed to 6 November 2020 before being cancelled.[20][21]
  2. ^ a b c d h:m:s

References

  1. ^ "Results - Jerusalem Marathon 2019". 4sport-live.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Results - Jerusalem Marathon 2018". 4sport-live.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ Lidman, Melanie (26 December 2012). "Magazine ranks Jerusalem marathon among top 10 in world". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  4. ^ Hasson, Nir (16 March 2012). "Thousands set off for the second Jerusalem marathon". Haaretz. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Jerusalem Marathon, Mar 25 2022". World's Marathons. 8 October 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Jerusalem Marathon 2022: Ukrainian refugee wins full marathon". The Jerusalem Post. 25 March 2022.
  7. ^ "2023". Jerusalem Marathon.
  8. ^ Jerusalem Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  9. ^ Sebtaoui to defend JTem Marathon win England, Romania draw. The Jerusalem Post Magazine (1994-10-13). Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  10. ^ Baskin, Rebecca (20 January 2010). "First Jerusalem marathon to be held in 2011". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  11. ^ Queenann, Gavriel (25 March 2011). "Diverse Crowd Gathers for First Jerusalem Marathon". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  12. ^ Chase, Chris (25 March 2011). "Jerusalem's first-ever marathon ends with wrong turn". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  13. ^ Davidovich, Joshua (16 March 2012). "Kenyan slogs out Jerusalem marathon win through soggy weather". The Times of Israel. AP. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  14. ^ Ward, Harold (16 March 2012). "Thousands brave rain, wind for Jerusalem marathon". AFP. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  15. ^ Eli, Yossi (1 March 2013). "מרתון ירושלים: 20 אלף רצים מ-54 מדינות" [Jerusalem Marathon: 20,000 runners from 54 countries]. Nrg Maariv (in Hebrew). Retrieved 1 March 2013. למעלה מ-20,000 רצים מ-54 מדינות משתתפים היום (ו') במרתון 'ווינר' ירושלים הבינלאומי.
  16. ^ Hamilton, Michelle (2013-02-27). [1]. Runner's World. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  17. ^ Hasson, Nir (21 March 2014). "Marathon fever hits Jerusalem: 25,000 runners take to the streets". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 March 2014. Note that the Marathon official website Archived 2014-03-30 at the Wayback Machine reported 26,000.
  18. ^ a b "Home Page - Jerusalem Marathon - מרתון ירושלים". Archived from the original on 19 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Jerusalem cancels 2020 marathon". Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  20. ^ "New Date - Jerusalem Marathon - מרתון ירושלים". Archived from the original on 21 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Jerusalem Marathon postponed over coronavirus".
  22. ^ Pazornik, Amanda (27 January 2011). "Jerusalem hills won't faze local marathon runners". Jweekly. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  23. ^ "Interactive course map". Municipality of Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  24. ^ Yalon, Yori (7 March 2012). "A run through Zion". Israel HaYom. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  25. ^ 1992 Jerusalem Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  26. ^ 1993 Jerusalem Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  27. ^ 1994 Jerusalem Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  28. ^ "Three Kenyans sweep Jerusalem marathon". JTA. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  29. ^ Kuttler, Hillel (16 March 2012). "Ethiopian immigrant is top Jewish finisher in Jerusalem Marathon". JTA. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  30. ^ "East Africans, American clinch six top spots in Jerusalem race". JTA. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  31. ^ "Jerusalem, Israel. 17th March, 2017. SHADRACK KIPKOGEY of Kenya finishes in first place with a time of 2:17:35 and is greeted by Jerusalem Mayor NIR BARKAT at the finish line of the 7th Jerusalem International Marathon. 30,000 runners ran various distances in the 7th Jerusalem International Marathon among them more than 3,000 participants from over 60 countries around the world. Credit: Nir Alon/Alamy Live News Stock Photo - Alamy". Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.
  32. ^ "Winners of AIMS events in 2017". Archived from the original on 22 February 2020.
  33. ^ "4sport | Jerusalem Marathon 2018 - תוצאות". Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.
  34. ^ "4sport | Jerusalem Marathon 2019 - תוצאות". Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.
  35. ^ "4sport | Jerusalem Marathon 2021 - תוצאות".
  36. ^ "Over 40,000 people take part in Jerusalem Winner Marathon". The Jerusalem Post. 17 March 2023.
  37. ^ "2024 Jerusalem Marathon results at 4sport-live.com".