Sofia Marathon

The Sofia Marathon is an annual road marathon hosted by Sofia, Bulgaria, since 1983. The marathon is categorized as a Bronze Label Road Race by World Athletics. During race weekend, a half marathon, a 10K race, and a fun run of length 3 km are also offered.

History
The inaugural marathon was held on 1983.05.22.

The 2020 edition of the marathon, held on 2020.10.11, was notable for having taken place during the coronavirus pandemic, despite marathons in Riga and nearby Bucharest, scheduled for the same weekend, being cancelled the day before they were to occur. In addition, during the start of the 10K race, Serbian Olympian Olivera Jevtić was deliberately pushed by another runner from Bulgaria, who knocked her down. Jevtić struck her head on the ground, lost consciousness, and suffered a hematoma on her head as a result. Furthermore, both runners that were originally declared winners, Viktoriya Khapilina and Youssef Sbaai, were later disqualified by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) because their in-competition samples had tested positive for erythropoietin.

Course


The marathon begins and ends on Battenberg Square, in front of the National Art Gallery. It consists of two loops, which half marathoners run once.

The course first briefly heads west before turning north on Maria Luiza Boulevard. Shortly after passing Lions' Bridge, the marathon hits a turnaround point and heads back south, past St Nedelya Church. After encountering the Court House on Vitosha Boulevard, runners then head east until they hit Georgi Rakovski Street, then take that street northeast to Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard. Marathoners then head southeast along the boulevard past the National Assembly to turn north onto Vasil Levski Boulevard in front of Sofia University.

The course next has an out-and-back leg of roughly 15 km in length that largely stays on Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard, Vladimir Vazov Boulevard, and Botevgrad Highway, with a turnaround point near the northeastern limits of the city, past the airport. After returning to Vasil Levski Boulevard in the city center, runners then turn west to run past Alexander Nevsky Cathedral before returning to Battenberg Square to complete the half marathon loop.