The Warsaw Marathon course will focus on the most beautiful and historical points of Warsaw.
You are cordially invited to Warsaw – the capital city of Poland – a city worth seeing. Be our guest here and let yourself get carried away by the unforgettable atmosphere of this place. The only thing you need to do in order to fall under its spell is to spend here a few days here. Warsaw is an unusual city situated in the centre of Europe, on the intersection of communication routes connecting the West with the East and the North with the South of the Continent. It fascinates visitors with its history, climate and monuments. It arouses curiosity with its individuality. It intrigues with its multifaceted culture – the mutual influence of Western and Eastern Europe. It has adopted changes brought by new epochs and preserved tradition at the same time. Every day it surprises with dynamic growth, manifesting itself in the conspicuous changeability of its image.
Warsaw has been the capital of Poland for more than 400 years. Its story goes back to two siblings – Wars and Sawa (hence the Polish name: Warszawa) – who were nurtured by a mermaid. A mermaid with a sword and a shield is the symbol of the city. It has a population of nearly 2 million. It was nearly completely destroyed during World War II – firstly during the Nazi invasion (1939), then by the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943), and later by the Warsaw Uprising (1944). By 1945 it was 75% in ruins. The reconstruction of the city lasted until the 1970s, but some sections of the city have never regained their previous apperance.
The 1990s and the dawn of the 21st century triggered another important chapter in the city’s history. Numerous investments in the infrastructure brought a lot of new buildings and roads. It is becoming a truly charming place.
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It's ok, but nothing too special
This was my marathon debut. The race course is ok, part of it goes through the city center but quite a lot of it goes through "regular" resident areas. It's … MORE
This was my marathon debut. The race course is ok, part of it goes through the city center but quite a lot of it goes through “regular” resident areas. It’s rather flat with few uphills on the bridges and on the Belwederska street. Lots of freebies at the finish line, but overall swag could be better.
Fantastic Event
One of the best supported races I've been in. Lots of fans all along the way. Relatively flat race through scenic Warsaw Poland. We even went through the zoo this … MORE
One of the best supported races I’ve been in. Lots of fans all along the way. Relatively flat race through scenic Warsaw Poland. We even went through the zoo this year!
A Race to Remeber
This was my first marathon, but not my first race. I participated in a few half-marathons and 5km races. I chose this particular race because of its 40th anniversary, my … MORE
This was my first marathon, but not my first race. I participated in a few half-marathons and 5km races. I chose this particular race because of its 40th anniversary, my birthday and the year of Poland’s 100th independence anniversary. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this event exceeded all expectations. It was like stepping into a beautiful fairy tale and a dream come true. The organization, starting with packet pick up and throughout the event was efficient and quick with friendly and knowledgeable volunteers. It was nothing short of perfect. Since it was chili, we dropped our warm jackets in one of the vans provided by the organizers. Our bibs had the number of the van designated for our gear. It was all transparent, quick and easy to do both at the start and at the finish line. No lines, no fuss with the help of fantastic volunteers.
Apart from the truly great technical aspect of the organization, what also made this event special was the atmosphere and wonderfully cordial support from the people of Warsaw. Just to give you one small example, at one of the tram stops there were three little girls, they were maybe 5-6 years old and shouting towards the runners: “you will make it! you will make it!” Now how can one not make it with such incredible support? All throughout the gorgeous course that took us through some of the landmarks and most beautiful, historic places in the city, there were people cheering us on by our names that they read on our bibs. I could feel this positive energy which was extremely helpful. There were also numerous bands that were giving beautiful performances ,also a fantastic children’s group. The route itself could not have been more spectacular. We ran through one of the city’s most beautiful parks, the zoological garden (by the way, the movie “The Zookeeper’s Wife” was set there which I strongly recommend watching), bridges and historic areas. When running over the bridges we could see the Vistula River below sparkling with millions of diamonds and the breathtaking panorama of the city on the other side. We could see the historic Old Town and the skyscrapers in the background. Stunning views and a magical atmosphere was accompanying us all the time. The support along the course was great with long aid stations supplied with water, sports drinks, bananas and sugar cubes. After crossing the finish line one could get a meal, different types of drinks and even a massage. My husband and I were too tired to hang around, so we got our medals, took something to drink and left. The medal is gorgeous , with two historical landmarks and a fragment of lyrics of a song about Warsaw. It is also worth noting that there was fantastic technical support. There were automated cameras that were taking pictures of the runners as well as human photographers. Live tracking was available to fans at home. The data showed the map of the city, name of the runner, distance, speed and flag of the country they were from. According to the stats, people from 55 countries were participating. An interesting element was an oxygen tunnel that you could go through. I went through it and it was nicely refreshing to have cool oxygen be blown at me from numerous jets. I feel privileged and honored that I was part of this beautiful event which was a grand celebration of positive emotions.