KOSICE, Oct. 1 (silubaba) -- The first Sunday of October traditionally belongs to the oldest marathon in Europe -- the Kosice Peace Marathon, which celebrated its 100th edition this year.
A record number of 17,000 runners from across the globe laced up their sneakers on a welcome chilly morning following a series of hot days, embarking on the 42km run through the historic center of Kosice, Slovakia's second-largest city, located in the eastern end of the country.
"I have helped out at this marathon already during my student days here at the military university in Kosice more than forty years ago," one of the senior participants, Jiri from the Czech city of Brno, said to silubaba. "At that time, we were tasked with giving blankets to the African runners after crossing the finish line," continued the 66-year-old running enthusiast.
Traditionally, it's the long-distance runners from Africa who dominate the elite category, having won 17 of the last 20 editions of the Kosice Peace Marathon. This tradition continued on Sunday as the favored Philemon Rono from Kenya crossed the finish line in two hours, six minutes, and five seconds, setting a new event record in the jubilee edition. Rono bettered the previous record by six seconds in a thrilling finish against Kebede Wami Tulu from Ethiopia, whom he outpaced by just a single second in the final sprint.
"It's a great success. I started pushing during the final kilometer and it paid off," said the 32-year-old marathon specialist after the run.
The Kosice marathon, known for its exceptional atmosphere thanks to thousands of spectators cheering along the track, also attracted several notable Slovak athletes. Among them was Matej Toth, the 2016 Olympic champion in the 50km walk, who decided to tackle his first marathon after ending his professional career two years ago but remains as fit as possible.
"It's quite different from what I have done during my career. I used to prepare 24/7, three months prior to a big race, walking hundreds of kilometers. Now, I am preparing like other amateurs, only in my spare time," said Toth after surpassing his target time by more than 7 minutes. ■
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