Venice Marathon

The Venice Marathon (Italian: Maratona di Venezia) (stylized as Venicemarathon) is a marathon road race that has been held each year in Venice since 1986, usually in October. The course starts in Stra and passes through Mestre, Parco San Giuliano, and Ponte della Libertà before ending at Riva dei Sette Martiri in Venice. The marathon is categorized as a Bronze Label Road Race by World Athletics.[1]

Venice Marathon
The Venice Marathon Logo 2008
DateOctober
LocationVenice, Italy
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon
Primary sponsorHuawei
Established1986 (1986)
Course recordsMen's: 2:08:13 (2009)
John Komen
Women's: 2:23:37 (2011)
Helena Kirop
Official siteVenice Marathon
Participants5,351 (2019)
4,912 (2018)
Venice Marathon during 2008

History

The marathon was first held on 18 May 1986, with 713 athletes.[2] The course began in Stra and ended at Campo Santi Apostoli in Cannaregio.[3]

The race had previously been sponsored by Casino di Venezia (Venice Casino), and was known as the Casino di Venezia Venice Marathon at the time.

In 2010, the competition celebrated its 25th anniversary.[4] That year it hosted the men's Italian marathon championships, which was won by Migidio Bourifa.[4]

In 2011, the course included a section in Piazza San Marco for the first time.[3]

In 2012, the organizers decided to reroute the course to bypass Piazza San Marco due to the high tide in Venice.[5][6]

In 2017, the six leading runners lost about two minutes after mistakenly following a lead motorcycle for several hundred meters off the course about 25 km (16 mi) into the race.[7][8] Race co-founder Enrico Jacomini explained that the lead vehicles had split off from the course as planned before it entered Venice, as it always does, since "Venice is not a city for cars or motorcycles".[9] Local runner Eyob Ghebrehiwet Faniel ended up winning the race by roughly two minutes, becoming the first Italian to win the marathon in 22 years.[7][9][lower-alpha 1]

In 2018, the high tide resulted in runners having to run through ankle-deep water, and forced organizers to drop Piazza San Marco from the course.[10][11][12] Strong winds and heavy rain only exacerbated the conditions.[10]

In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers restricted the number of participants to three: a female ultramarathon champion, a male runner on the Venicemarathon Running Team, and a Paralympic champion.[13][14] All other registrants were automatically transferred to a virtual edition of the race, and given the option of transferring their entry to 2021 or 2022.[13]

Course

The marathon runs on a point-to-point course that begins at Villa Pisani in Stra along the Riviera del Brenta and ends on the Riva dei Sette Martiri in Venice.[15]

The first part of the course roughly follows the river eastward through Fiesso d'Artico, Dolo, Mira Porte, Oriago, and Malcontenta, before splitting off to the northeast to arrive at Marghera for the halfway point.[15]

The marathon next heads into Mestre, where it turns southeast to Parco San Giuliano, wandering inside the park for about 2 km (1.2 mi) before crossing Ponte della Libertà, a bridge nearly 4 km (2.5 mi) long that connects the Venetian islands to the mainland.[15]

After leaving the bridge, the course heads toward the southern edge of the main island before running east along the Giudecca Canal and then crossing the Grand Canal at Punta della Dogana on a temporary pontoon bridge built specifically for the marathon.[15] Runners then make a small loop in Piazza San Marco, as long as the high tide permits,[lower-alpha 2] before continuing east along San Marco basin to finish at Riva dei Sette Martiri.[15]

As the course runs over many small canals during the last few kilometers in Venice, wooden ramps are constructed over the small bridges to prevent runners from running on the bridge steps.[15]

Other races

A 10K[lower-alpha 3] covering the last segment of the marathon, from when the course leaves Parco San Giuliano (shortly before crossing Ponte della Libertà) to when the course finishes at Riva dei Sette Martiri, is held on the same day as the marathon.[16] There are also a series of family runs, all roughly 4 km (2.5 mi) in length, that take place during the weeks before the marathon.[17]

Winners

Since 2000, East African runners have dominated the elite races. The course records are both held by Kenyans: John Komen holds the men's record of 2:08:13 while Helena Kirop is the women's holder with 2:23:37.

Key:     Course record

Year Men's winner Nationality Time Women's winner Nationality Time Rf.
2019 Tesfaye Anbesa  Ethiopia 2:10:49 Judith Korir  Kenya 2:29:20 [18]
2018 Mekuant Ayenew  Ethiopia 2:13:23 Angela Tanui  Kenya 2:31:30 [18]
2017 Eyob Ghebrehiwet  Italy 2:12:16 Sule Utura  Ethiopia 2:29:04 [19]
2016 Julius Rotich  Kenya 2:10:22 Priscah Cherono  Kenya 2:27:41 [19]
2015 Julius Rotich  Kenya 2:11:08 Ehite Bizuayehu  Ethiopia 2:35:19 [19]
2014 Behailu Mamo  Ethiopia 2:16:45 Konjit Tilahun  Ethiopia 2:40:20 [19]
2013 Nixon Machichim  Kenya 2:13:10 Mercy Kibarus  Kenya 2:31:14 [20]
2012 Philemon Kisang  Kenya 2:17:00 Emebt Etea  Ethiopia 2:38:10 [19]
2011 Tadese Aredo  Ethiopia 2:09:13 Helena Kirop  Kenya 2:23:37 [19]
2010 Simon Mukun  Kenya 2:09:35 Makda Harun  Ethiopia 2:28:08 [19]
2009 John Komen  Kenya 2:08:13 Anne Kosgei  Kenya 2:27:46 [19]
2008 Joseph Lomala  Kenya 2:11:06 Anikó Kálovics  Hungary 2:31:24 [19]
2007 Jonathan Kosgei  Kenya 2:12:27 Lenah Cheruiyot  Kenya 2:27:02 [19]
2006 Jonathan Kosgei  Kenya 2:10:18 Lenah Cheruiyot  Kenya 2:33:44 [19]
2005 Mubarak Shami  Qatar 2:09:22 Emily Kimuria  Kenya 2:28:42 [19]
2004 Raymond Kipkoech  Kenya 2:09:54 Jane Ekimat  Kenya 2:32:08 [19]
2003 El Hassan Lahssini  France 2:11:01 Anne Jelagat  Kenya 2:30:17 [19]
2002 David Makori  Kenya 2:08:49 Anastasia Ndereba  Kenya 2:29:03 [19]
2001 Moges Taye  Ethiopia 2:10:08 Zahia Dahmani  France 2:33:32 [19]
2000 John Bungei  Kenya 2:09:50 Ruth Kutol  Kenya 2:28:16 [19]
1999 Julius Bitok  Kenya 2:10:34 Sonia Maccioni  Italy 2:28:54 [19]
1998 Japhet Kosgei  Kenya 2:11:27 Lucilla Andreucci  Italy 2:30:34 [19]
1997 Antonio Serrano  Spain 2:11:59 Irina Kazakova  France 2:33:44 [19]
1996 Sid-Ali Sakhri  Algeria 2:11:11 Alena Mazouka  Belarus 2:31:07 [19]
1995 Danilo Goffi  Italy 2:09:26 Maura Viceconte  Italy 2:29:11 [19]
1994 Tena Negere  Ethiopia 2:10:50 Ornella Ferrara  Italy 2:32:16 [19]
1993 Artur Castro  Brazil 2:10:06 Helena Javornik  Slovenia 2:37:27 [19]
1992 Joaquim Pinheiro  Portugal 2:13:33 Emma Scaunich  Italy 2:35:06 [19]
1991 Carlo Terzer  Italy 2:14:49 Antonella Bizioli  Italy 2:36:56 [19]
1990 Gelindo Bordin  Italy 2:13:41 Laura Fogli  Italy 2:38:33 [19]
1989 Marco Milani  Italy 2:16:08 Emma Scaunich  Italy 2:36:02 [19]
1988 Orlando Pizzolato  Italy 2:15:24 Graziella Striuli  Italy 2:39:04 [19]
1987 Salvatore Bettiol  Italy 2:10:01 Rita Marchisio  Italy 2:29:36 [19]
1986 Salvatore Bettiol  Italy 2:18:44 Paola Moro  Italy 2:38:10 [19]

Notes

  1. Faniel mentioned "ha[ving] to run alone on the Ponte della Libertà" as a reason why it was not an easy win for him.[9]
  2. The high tide in Venice may result in the course being rerouted, as was done in the 2018 edition of the race.[15][10][11][12]
  3. The race is marketed as a 10K, but is actually about 10.7 km (6.6 mi) in length.[16]

References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20200902131643/https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/calendar/2020
  2. https://ricerca.gelocal.it/nuovavenezia/archivio/nuovavenezia/2005/09/28/VK2VM_VK203.html
  3. https://www.venicemarathon.it/en/history-en/historybyyear-en
  4. Sampaolo, Diego (2010-10-24). Kenya and Ethiopia share honours in Venice Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-10-24.
  5. https://nuovavenezia.gelocal.it/venezia/cronaca/2012/10/28/news/pioggia-vento-e-acqua-alta-la-venice-marathon-diventa-estrema-1.5935572
  6. https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/runners-competing-in-the-venice-marathon-arrive-during-high-news-photo/154873612
  7. https://apnews.com/117678291f3f446483036e279bba4745/Faniel-wins-Venice-Marathon-after-leaders-take-wrong-turn
  8. https://www.euronews.com/2017/10/23/leaders-get-lost-during-venice-marathon-local-takes-advantage
  9. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/23/559492173/italian-runner-wins-venice-marathon-after-all-the-favorites-take-a-wrong-turn
  10. https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a24402905/venice-marathon-flooding/
  11. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2018/oct/30/marathon-runners-race-through-venices-flooded-streets-video
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20190403055354/https://www.huaweivenicemarathon.it/en/venicemarathon/news-vm-eng/read/989-cs-winners-vm
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/20201021053108/https://www.venicemarathon.it/en/news-en
  14. https://web.archive.org/web/20201006091605/https://www.veneziatoday.it/sport/maratona-venezia-2020-virtuale-come-funziona.html
  15. "Venicemarathon -42K". Archived from the original on 2020-09-03.
  16. https://www.venicemarathon.it/en/10k-en
  17. https://www.venicemarathon.it/en/alifamilyrun-en
  18. "Venicemarathon - History". Archived from the original on 2020-09-03.
  19. Civai, Franco (2009-10-26). Venice Marathon. Association of Road Running Statisticians. Retrieved on 2010-01-31.
  20. Sampaolo, Diego (2013-10-27). Machichim and Kibarus take the honours at Venice Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-10-28.
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