The Brussels Marathon is an annual AIMS-certified marathon held in Brussels, Belgium, first held in 1984, and usually held in the autumn. Races of shorter distances are also held on the same day.

Brussels Marathon
DateLate October or early November
LocationBrussels Capital Region and Tervuren, Belgium
DistanceMarathon, half marathon
Primary sponsorBrussels Airport
Established1984 (40 years ago) (1984)
2004 (20 years ago) (2004) (current era)
Course recordsMen's: 2:11:00 (2004)
Kenya John Kelai
Women's: 2:32:16 (2004)
Kenya Jennifer Chesinon
Official siteBrussels Airport Marathon
Participants6,276 (2019)

History

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The full race was first held in 1984.

The race was not held from 1995 to 2003.[1]

In 2004, the race was restarted as part of the ING Running Tour, organized by ING Belgium and the Royal Belgian Athletics League.[2][3]

Public controversy arose in social networks in 2017, where podium awards appeared and differed significantly between females and males. Following a change of sponsorship by Brussels Airport in 2018, the organisers (Golazo Sports) announced that awards would be aligned equally for both sexes. In 2018, the organisers defended the non-publication of full race results including category positions on the grounds of recent changes in European privacy laws, although inconsistent with standard practice as well as the publication of other race results by the same organiser.[4]

The 2020 edition of the race was postponed to 3 October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, with all entries automatically remaining valid for 2021.[5]

Course

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External image
  Course map of full marathon in 2018[6]

The marathon makes a loop, starting and ending in the City of Brussels, in the proximity of Brussels Park.[7] Initially the runners head eastwards, to Tervuren. Alongside the track, the participants pass several green areas: the Cinquantenaire Park, the Woluwe Park, the Capuchin Forest, the Royal Belgian Golf Club and the Bois de la Cambre. Since 2017, the course has started and finished in the Cinquantenaire Park, initially heading west anti-clockwise around the city, with the full marathon deviating out-and-back to Tervuren. Since 2018, the start and finish has coincided with the more renowned 20 km of Brussels held in May.

Additional distances

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A half marathon, a Mini Marathon (6.5 km) and a Kids Run (1 km) are also held.[7]

Qualification

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The full Brussels Marathon is open to runners 18 or older from any nation. Competitors for the half marathon have to be at least 16 years of age.

Attendance

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More people participate in the half marathon than in the full marathon. As of 2014, the half marathon had its largest attendance in 2012 with 8006 participants, and the full Brussels Marathon had its largest attendance in 2010 with 2546 runners.[8]

Environmental impact

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In response to increasing public concerns on the amount of unnecessary waste at such public sports events, the organisers are aiming at a plastic-free event from 2019 onwards, with drinking water served in cardboard cups, no goody bags and avoiding the need for aluminium foil protection after the race by ensuring participants' sports bags are readily accessible.

Winners

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Source:[8]

Key:    Course record (in bold)

Marathon

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Initial era

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Date Race name Male Winner Time[a] Female Winner Time[a] Finishers Rf.
1984.09.30 Brussels   Dirk Vanderherten (BEL) 2:18:46   Mia Pauwels (BEL) 2:44:43 1815 [9]
1985.09.29 Brussels   Dirk Vanderherten (BEL) 2:18:36   Agnes Pardaens (BEL) 2:46:37 1441
1986.09.28 Brussels   Dirk Vanderherten (BEL) 2:15:32   Francine Peeters (BEL) 2:42:02
1987.09.27 Brussels   Rudi Dirickx (BEL) 2:18:05   Nelly Aerts (BEL) 2:33:33 1439
1988.09.11 Brussels   Vesa Kähkölä (FIN) 2:16:53   Francine Peeters (BEL) 2:44:12 1161
1989.09.24 Brussels   Pavel Klimeš (TCH) 2:16:46   Nelly Aerts (BEL) 2:36:49 1271
1990.09.30 Spa Brussels   Csaba Szűcs (HUN) 2:17:36   Valentina Lunyegova (URS) 2:40:00
1991.09.15 Brussels   Anatoly Karipanov (URS) 2:18:04   Irina Sklyarenko (URS) 2:41:32
1992.09.13 Brussels   Anatoly Karipanov (RUS) 2:16:43   Mária Starovská (TCH) 2:42:13
1993.09.12 Brussels   Ronny Ligneel (BEL) 2:16:14   Véronique Collard (BEL) 2:44:29
1994.09.18 Reebok Brussels   Vincent Rousseau (BEL) 2:12:59   Karin Bøgh Andersen (DEN) 3:03:02

Current era

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Ed. Date Race name Male Winner Time[a] Female Winner Time[a] Finishers Rf.
1 2004.10.10 ING Brussels   John Kelai (KEN) 2:11:00   Jennifer Chesinon (KEN) 2:32:16 1801
2 2005.08.28 ING Brussels   Samson Kosgei (KEN) 2:12:01   Rose Nyangancha (KEN) 2:37:48 784
3 2006.08.27 ING Brussels   Stephen Loruo (KEN) 2:11:26   Irene Mogaka (KEN) 2:42:53 819
4 2007.10.14 ING Brussels   Jonathan Kiptoo (KEN) 2:12:16   Rael Jepyator (KEN) 2:41:20 1476 [10][11]
5 2008.10.05 Brussels   Rik Ceulemans (BEL) 2:19:29   Anne Zijderveld (NED) 3:15:51 1149
6 2009.10.04 Brussels   Abraham Potongole (KEN) 2:15:13   Virginie Soenen (BEL) 3:07:12 1569
7 2010.10.10 Brussels   Levy Matebo (KEN) 2:13:30   Mariska Dute (BEL) 2:59:16 1998
8 2011.10.02 Brussels   Paul Kiprop (KEN) 2:14:51   Mariska Dute (BEL) 3:00:01 1553
9 2012.10.07 Brussels   Joseph Mutai (KEN) 2:16:41   Claire Macht (DEN) 3:06:15 1709
10 2013.10.06 Brussels   Samson Bungei (KEN) 2:15:49   Maja Glesti (SWI) 3:10:21 1794
11 2014.10.05 Belfius Brussels   Florent Caelen (BEL) 2:16:31   Louise Deldicque (BEL) 2:56:26 1885
12 2015.10.04 Belfius Brussels   Geoffrey Kipkoech (KEN) 2:14:39   Soetkin Demey (BEL) 3:05:31 2011
13 2016.10.02 Belfius Brussels   Eric Kering (KEN) 2:16:51   Virginie Vandroogenbroeck (BEL) 2:53:42 1427
14 2017.10.01 Belfius Brussels   Stephen Kiplagat (KEN) 2:11:44   Christelle Lemaire (BEL) 3:10:42 1437
15 2018.10.28 Brussels Airport   Laban Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:24:20   Kabiratou Nassam (BEL) 2:57:59 1608
16 2019.10.06 Brussels Airport   Michael Chege (KEN) 2:17:53   Kabiratou Nassam (BEL) 2:54:48 1343
2020 postponed due to coronavirus pandemic -
2021 postponed due to coronavirus pandemic -
17 2022.10.02 Brussels Airport   Dominic Mibei (KEN) 2:14:13   Veerle Dhaese (BEL) 3:10:16 1080
18 2023.10.01 Brussels Airport   Simon Kipkosgei (KEN) 2:15:31   Christa Cain (GBR) 2:50:50 1381

Half marathon

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Ed. Date Men's winner Time[a] Women's winner Time[a] Rf.
1 2005.08.28   Guy Fays (BEL) 1:06:45   Claudia Stalder (BEL) 1:23:42
2 2006.08.27   Guy Fays (BEL) 1:07:16   Catherine Lallemand (BEL) 1:18:53
3 2007.10.14   Jason Mayeroff (USA) 1:07:03   Anne-Marie Dupont (BEL) 1:28:08
4 2008.10.05   Guy Fays (BEL) 1:08:41   Blanka Paulů (CZE) 1:26:25
5 2009.10.04   Guy Fays (BEL) 1:12:16   Catherine Lallemand (BEL) 1:20:49
6 2010.10.10   Abdeljebbar Sihammane (MAR) 1:09:24   Ysabelle Vuillard (BEL) 1:22:36
7 2011.10.02   Alexander Rodríguez (BEL) 1:08:36   Claire Nuytens (BEL) 1:27:42
8 2012.10.07   Abdeljebbar Sihammane (MAR) 1:09:49   Hasna Bahom (MAR) 1:19:05
9 2013.10.06   Abdeljebbar Sihammane (MAR) 1:09:50   Petra Fašungová (SVK) 1:22:39
10 2014.10.05   Lander Van Droogenbroeck (BEL) 1:08:35   Alexandra Tondeur (BEL) 1:21:57
11 2015.10.04   Lander Van Droogenbroeck (BEL) 1:09:04   Nina Lauwaert (BEL) 1:23:53
12 2016.10.02   Lander Van Droogenbroeck (BEL) 1:08:57   Kabiratou Nassam Alassani (BEN) 1:20:27
13 2017.10.01   Josh Bull (GBR) 1:08:07   Sophie Hardy (BEL) 1:18:47
14 2018.10.28   Maxime Delvoie (BEL) 1:09:58   Charlotte Monfils (BEL) 1:23:58
15 2019.10.06   Nick Earl (GBR) 1:07:16   Sonja Vernikov (GER) 1:20:52
2020 postponed due to coronavirus pandemic [5]
2021 postponed due to coronavirus pandemic
16 2022.10.02   Nicolas Fiessinger (FRA) 1:07:33   Inès Martin (BEL) 1:26:46
17 2023.10.01   Lukas Outtier (BEL) 1:11:12   Mathilde Deswaef (BEL) 1:20:56

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f (h:m:s)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ARRS - Race series: Brussels". more.arrs.run. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Ligue Royale Belge d'Athlétisme - ING RunningTour 2004". Archived from the original on 29 October 2004. Retrieved 29 October 2004.
  3. ^ "ATHLÉTISME Un marathon à Bruxelles en 2004 - le Soir". www.lesoir.be. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  4. ^ "GDPR". Running Geek BE. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Brussels Airport Marathon & Half Marathon - October 4, 2020". brusselsairportmarathon.be. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Le Brussels Marathon traversera Bruxelles et Tervueren dimanche". bx1.be. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Parcours". Belfius Brussels Marathon 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Uitslagen". Belfius Brussels Marathon 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Ml_1984". arrs.run. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  10. ^ "ChronoRace - Electronic Timing - Chronométrage électronique et service de traitement de données". www.chronorace.be. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  11. ^ Results CRDEV
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