40th Budapest Marathon Gearing Up for Historic Participation

The 40th anniversary SPAR Budapest Marathon Festival on October 11-12 will be Hungary’s most attended recreational sporting event. Based on registration data, the Budapest Sports Office (BSI) event will place Budapest among the most significant European running capitals in terms of the number of individual marathon runners, catching up with such long-standing events as the Vienna and Warsaw marathons.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of participants exceeded 30,000, and in 2024 it again reached 29,000. In 2025, the running community is expected to set a historic record, said the organizers.

“In the early days, we only dreamed of an event like this, that has now become a reality. In its jubilee year, the 40th SPAR Budapest Marathon Festival has reached a new level.

This participation record is not just a national milestone, but in terms of individual marathon runners, it is also an international entry ticket into the elite group of major city marathons. It places Budapest among Europe’s most attractive destinations for running tourism.

This success is a shared one: we are grateful to the running community for their decades-long trust — without which this historic sporting milestone could not have been achieved,” said Árpád Kocsis, manager of the Budapest Sport Office.

The two-day sporting festival has been designed with all age groups and fitness levels in mind.

The program offers something for everyone — from community walks and shorter family runs to popular 5 km and 10 km races, all the way to the classic distance: the 42.2-kilometer marathon.

Whether participating individually, with friends, as part of a company or school team, the shared goal remains the same: to experience the unparalleled joy of moving together as a community, the statement reads.

Runners at last year’s event on the Liberty Bridge. Photo: MTI/Balogh Zoltán

The event center, start, and finish line will again be located on Pázmány Péter Promenade, near the ELTE Lágymányos Campus. Runners will once again explore Budapest’s most beautiful areas along a stunning route that includes UNESCO World Heritage sites, offering breathtaking views along the Danube riverbank.

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