# Warsaw Marathon

The Warsaw Marathon (Polish: Maraton Warszawski pronounced:, also referred to as the PZU Warsaw Marathon) is an annual marathon event which takes place on the streets of Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest annual marathon in Poland, held since 1979. The marathon is organized by the non-governmental organization Fundacja Maraton Warszawski. The race usually takes place on the last Sunday of September.
It is one of two marathons hosted in the city, alongside the Orlen Warsaw Marathon, generally held in April. The marathon is one of five in the Crown of Polish Marathons program, along with the Dębno, Kraków, Poznań, and Wrocław Marathons.
Polish competitors have traditionally triumphed in the early editions of the event both in the men's and women's competitions. However, since the fall of communism in 1989, the race has attracted more international participants who started to dominate the race. The current course records are 2:08:17 hours for men, set by John Kibet of Kenya in 2011, while Ethiopian Demissie Ayantu's run of 2:28:35 in 2022 is the fastest by a woman on the course.

## History

The marathon was first held on 30 September 1979 under the original name "1st Marathon of Peace" (to convince socialistic regime about the idea of "run for health, run for all"). It happened thanks to the three brave people: Tomasz Hopfer (TVP journalist and runner), Józef Węgrzyn (journalist and runner) and Zbigniew Zaremba (1st director of the Warsaw Marathon; and running coach). In the inaugural race, the length of the course was just 40.6 kilometres (25.2 mi), and not the normal, classic distance of 42.195 km (26.219 mi).
In 2000 the men's race and in 2012 the women's race had the status of Polish Marathon National Championships.
From 2013, the Polish insurance company Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń (PZU) became a title sponsor, and the marathon was renamed "PZU Warsaw Marathon".
In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers rescheduled the marathon to take place over four separate heats during the weekend, with each heat having a maximum of 250 runners. In addition, the course was changed to a loop of 5 km (3.1 mi) in the center of the city. Since nearly 2000 runners had already registered for the race, a lottery was held to determine who was allowed to participate, with those denied a spot allowed to transfer their entry to 2021 or obtain a refund.
Schedule of heats in 2020 :
| Heat | Date | Time | Time limit |
| 1 | 26 September 2020 | 16:00 | 6.5 hours |
| 2 | 27 September 2020 | 00:00 | 6.5 hours |
| 3 | 27 September 2020 | 08:00 | 4.0 hours |
| 4 | 27 September 2020 | 13:00 | 6.0 hours |

## Other races

Although the main attraction is the marathon, there is also a handbike marathon and a "High Five Race" (5 km race). Since 2022, a 10-kilometre race aimed at beginners known as the Pekao SA Warszawska Dycha has also been organized as part of the event.

## Other activities

During the marathon weekend, additional activities take place, such as a sport and fitness expo, running seminars, and activities for children.

## Results

Key:  Course record
| Year | Finishers | Men's winner | Country | Time | Women's winner | Country | Time |
| 2024 | 5,555 | Levente Szemerei | Hungary | 2:10:43 | Olga Nyzhnyk | Ukraine | 2:31:24 |
| 2023 | 5,555 | Levente Szemerei | Hungary | 2:15:29 | Ewa Jagielska | Poland | 2:34:41 |
| 2022 | 3,707 | Joseph Munywoki | Kenya | 2:10:07 | Demissie Ayantu | Ethiopia | 2:28:35 |
| 2021 | 2,734 | Yared Shegumo | Poland | 2:14:38 | Monika Andrzejczak | Poland | 2:31:11 |
| 2020 | 854 | Paweł Kosek | Poland | 2:23:14 | Dominika Stelmach-Stawczyk | Poland | 2:41:57 |
| 2019 | 4,557 | Dadi Yami | Ethiopia | 2:11:39 | Rebecca Korir | Kenya | 2:29:04 |
| 2018 | 7,528 | David Metto | Kenya | 2:12:44 | Beatrice Cherop | Kenya | 2:35:22 |
| 2017 | 5,460 | Błażej Brzeziński | Poland | 2:11:27 | Bekelu Beji | Ethiopia | 2:35:09 |
| 2016 | 5,921 | Ezekiel Omullo | Kenya | 2:08:55 | Gladys Kibiwot | Bahrain | 2:36:34 |
| 2015 | 5,491 | Ezekiel Omullo | Kenya | 2:09:19 | Ruth Wanjiru | Kenya | 2:29:39 |
| 2014 | 6,679 | Victor Kipchirchir | Kenya | 2:09:59 | Svitlana Stanko | Ukraine | 2:33:04 |
| 2013 | 8,506 | Yared Shegumo | Poland | 2:10:34 | Goitetom Haftu | Ethiopia | 2:29:32 |
| 2012 | 6,796 | James Mutua | Kenya | 2:15:02 | Agnieszka Ciołek | Poland | 2:34:15 |
| 2011 | 4,061 | John Kibet | Kenya | 2:08:17 | Svitlana Stanko | Ukraine | 2:31:28 |
| 2010 | 3,322 | Tola Bane | Ethiopia | 2:13:10 | Tetyana Holovchenko | Ukraine | 2:31:37 |
| 2009 | 3,164 | Teshome Gelana | Ethiopia | 2:12:03 | Anastasiya Padalinskaya | Belarus | 2:44:55 |
| 2008 | 2,640 | Alemayehu Shumye | Ethiopia | 2:11:50 | Małgorzata Sobańska | Poland | 2:31:20 |
| 2007 | 2,119 | Paweł Ochal | Poland | 2:12:20 | Valentina Poltavska | Ukraine | 2:40:18 |
| 2006 | 1,860 | Vitalij Shafar | Ukraine | 2:12:29 | Nina Podnebesnowa | Russia | 2:42:43 |
| 2005 | 1,689 | Grzegorz Gajdus | Poland | 2:14:50 | Nina Kolyasewa | Russia | 2:34:53 |
| 2004 | 937 | Radosław Dudycz | Poland | 2:17:21 | Janina Malska | Poland | 2:48:41 |
| 2003 | 1,063 | Artur Pelo | Poland | 2:20:41 | Karina Szymańska | Poland | 2:42:04 |
| 2002 | 307 | Dmitrijs Šlesarenoks | Latvia | 2:30:02 | Marlena Żołnowska | Poland | 3:36:19 |
| 2001 | 564 | Bartosz Mazerski | Poland | 2:24:45 | Maria Bąk | Germany | 2:48:31 |
| 2000 | 587 | Mirosław Plawgo | Poland | 2:15:57 | Ewa Fliegert | Poland | 2:51:02 |
| 1999 | 693 | David Ngetich | Kenya | 2:16:31 | Karina Szymańska | Poland | 2:45:44 |
| 1998 | 867 | Grzegorz Głogosz | Poland | 2:17:06 | Karina Szymańska | Poland | 2:36:24 |
| 1997 | 700 | Wiesław Lenda | Poland | 2:25:39 | Karina Szymańska | Poland | 2:42:18 |
| 1996 | 658 | Artur Ociepa | Poland | 2:18:14 | Yelena Tsukhlo | Belarus | 2:37:48 |
| 1995 | 779 | Christo Stefanov | Bulgaria | 2:15:37 | Yelena Tsukhlo | Belarus | 2:37:21 |
| 1994 | 788 | Wiesław Lenda | Poland | 2:17:50 | Yelena Tsukhlo | Belarus | 2:42:36 |
| 1993 | 520 | Julius Mitibani | Tanzania | 2:20:26 | Polina Grigorenko | Russia | 2:55:25 |
| 1992 | 794 | Jacek Kasprzyk | Poland | 2:17:38 | Aniela Nikiel | Poland | 2:42:27 |
| 1991 | 852 | Ryszard Misiewicz | Poland | 2:19:50 | Małgorzata Birbach | Poland | 2:47:21 |
| 1990 | 1,129 | Krzysztof Niedziółka | Poland | 2:20:08 | Ewa Olas | Poland | 2:42:48 |
| 1989 | 1,222 | Jerzy Skarżyński | Poland | 2:22:19 | Ewa Bober | Poland | 3:01:14 |
| 1988 | 1,596 | Paweł Tarasiuk | Poland | 2:17:37 | Stefania Kozik | Poland | 2:55:34 |
| 1987 | 1,398 | Wiesław Lenda | Poland | 2:24:47 | Renata Walendziak | Poland | 2:38:24 |
| 1986 | 1,505 | Józef Mitka | Poland | 2:19:48 | Maria Kawiorska | Poland | 2:46:48 |
| 1985 | 1,607 | Andrzej Malicki | Poland | 2:20:29 | Irina Hulanicka | Soviet Union | 2:46:21 |
| 1984 | 1,914 | Miroslaw Rudnik | Poland | 2:25:15 | Stefania Kozik | Poland | 3:06:02 |
| 1983 | 1,919 | Stanimir Nenov | Bulgaria | 2:23:55 | Irena Maliborska | Poland | 2:59:38 |
| 1982 | 1,727 | Zbigniew Pierzynka | Poland | 2:24:09 | Helena Kozioryńska | Poland | 3:08:52 |
| 1981 | 2,015 | Jerzy Finster | Poland | 2:17:06 | Cindy Wuss | United States | 2:51:22 |
| 1980 | 2,289 | Jerzy Gros | Poland | 2:22:12 | Anna Bełtowska | Poland | 3:05:14 |
| 1979 | 1,861 | Kazimierz Pawlik | Poland | 2:11:34 | Renata Pentlinowska | Poland | 2:51:38 |

### Multiple wins

| Athlete | Wins | Years |
| Karina Szymańska (POL) | 4 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003 |
| Wiesław Lenda (POL) | 3 | 1987, 1994, 1997 |
| Yelena Tsukhlo (BLR) | 3 | 1994, 1995, 1996 |
| Stefania Kozik (POL) | 2 | 1984, 1988 |
| Ezekiel Omullo (KEN) | 2 | 2015, 2016 |
| Yared Shegumo (POL) | 2 | 2013, 2021 |
| Svitlana Stanko (UKR) | 2 | 2011, 2014 |

### By country

| Country | Total | Men's | Women's |
| Poland | 51 | 27 | 24 |
| Kenya | 11 | 8 | 3 |
| Ethiopia | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Ukraine | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| Belarus | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Russia | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Bulgaria | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Hungary | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Bahrain | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Germany | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Soviet Union | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Tanzania | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| United States | 1 | 0 | 1 |