Beirut Marathon

History

The race, created by businesswoman May El-Khalil, has the theme of unity at its core.

The first marathon was held on October 19, 2003 and attracted over 6,000 runners from 49 countries, and tens of thousands of Lebanese and international spectators.

The 2010 edition of the men's race was won by the pacemaker Mohamed Temam. Hussein Awadah broke the Lebanese record at the race that year, completing the distance in at a time of 2:20:31.

In 2011, the course was altered to make it faster and easier to organise and the men's and women's record were both improved that year; Seada Kedir knocked over five minutes off the women's best time.

The 2019 edition of the race was cancelled due to anti-government protests, with all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2020 or obtaining a refund.

The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all who had transferred their entry from 2019 given the option of obtaining a refund.

Other activities

Beirut Marathon Association also organizes their annual marathon village which was sponsored by Transmed in 2017.

Community impact

The race reaches out to all sides of the political spectrum in Lebanon. The day's events also include a 3 km race for MPs of any political allegiance, as well as members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon stationed in the country.

Winners

Key: Course record (in bold)

Notes

References

References

1. "Beirut Marathon Association".
2. "Rita Wehbeh's Race Results".
3. "About BMA - Marathon".
4. (February 25, 2017}} {{subscription required). "Racing to Rebuild the Middle East". Foreign Affairs.
5. El-Khalil, May. (16 August 2013). "Transcript of "Making peace is a marathon"".
6. Butcher, Pat (2010-11-07). [http://www.iaaf.org/LRR10/news/newsid=58661.html Pacemaker Teman hangs on to win in Beirut]. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 2010-11-07.
7. [http://www.iaaf.org/LRR11/news/newsid=63008.html Course records fall in Beirut]. [[IAAF]] (2011-11-27). Retrieved on 2011-11-27.
8. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200128150421/https://www.beirutmarathon.org/races.php Official announcement] accessed on 28th January 2020
9. "Beirut Marathon on Instagram: "Friends, with a very heavy heart we inform you that the Beirut Marathon Association has suspended all its activities until further notice…"".
10. Butcher, Pat (2010-11-05). [https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/ethiopians-the-favourites-as-beiruts-unifying Ethiopians the favourites as Beirut's unifying Marathon celebrates its eighth edition]. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved on 2010-11-07.
11. "Road round-up: Chepngetich storms through 2:19 barrier in Istanbul, Course records for el Aaraby in Beirut and Masai at Hefei | REPORT | World Athletics".