Košice Peace Marathon

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. 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. It is also categorized as a Silver Label Road Race by World Athletics, and was certified as a 5-Star Quality Road Race by European Athletics Running for All in 2015.

History
The first race was held in 1924. The first women's race was held in 1980.

In 2016, the marathon received IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status, and in 2018, it received IAAF Silver Label Road Race status.

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

The cumulative elevation gain is 74 m.

Winners


The course records are 2:24:35 for women (set by Ayuntu Tadesse in 2021) and 2:07:01 hours for men (set by Lawrence Kimaiyo in 2012).

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..." Its status as the oldest marathon in Europe, and second-oldest in the world, remains undiminished by this break.

Key: Course record (in bold)