The Tel Aviv Marathon is a major marathon held annually in Tel Aviv, Israel, in February. Inaugurated in 1981, it was held annually until 1994. In 2009, it was revived and has been taking place annually since, attracting about 40,000 runners in 2016. The most recent winners were German Tobias Singer and Russian Elena Tolstykh.
History
The marathon is one of Tel Aviv's core annual international events. The Tel Aviv Marathon is a multi-course event allowing both professional and hobbyist runners to take part. The event includes an Inline SkatingHalf Marathon, and a 30 kmHandcycle race for people with special needs. Marathon runners run along the seashore and main streets of Tel Aviv, an official UNESCO world heritage site. Some 35,000 runners were expected to take part in the 2013 marathon, with a range of different courses on offer. Due to unexpectedly high temperatures, the marathon did not take place as originally scheduled on March 15, 2013. Other races scheduled as part of the event, including the half marathon, 10 km races, 4.2 km race, and children's race did take place, but started earlier in the day than originally scheduled. Despite the precautions, one runner died, and twelve others were seriously injured. For the 2020 edition of the marathon, although foreigners were initially banned from competing due to concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Health partially lifted the ban days before the competition and allowed "diplomats, foreign residents, and international residents" that were already in Israel to participate in the marathon.
The men's course record is 2:10:30, set in the 2015 edition by William Yegon of Kenya. The Israeli men's course record is 2:27:25, set in the 2017 edition by Marhu Teferi. The women's course record is 2:35:51, set in the 2017 edition by Margaret Njuguna of Kenya. The Israeli women's course record is 2:51:23, set in the 2019 edition by Irene-Orr Konovalov.
Past winners
Key: Notes: 1981 was the inaugural year. The course used for the 1989 race was 1,750 m too short, due to marking mistakes. https://arrs.run/HP_TelAvivMa.htm
