There are many ways to overcome a midlife crisis. Someone buys a wingsuit, climbs Everest, or breaks up the family. With the arrival of spring, our suburban woods are starting to fill up with a special breed of runners. Their growing bellies loom beneath their newly purchased expensive gear, yet they run out for their daily dose of exercise. There is only one date on their calendar.

Every year since 1924, the second oldest marathon in the world has been held in Košice on the first Sunday in October. Vojtech Bukovský, the founder of the Košice Marathon, returned from his visit to the Paris Olympics enthusiastically. He was so impressed by the duel of runners on the 42-kilometer course that he decided to organize a similar event when he returned to Košice. The route of the marathon has changed nine times in a hundred years. As the weather changed, so did the runners’ clothes. While a hundred years ago, runners wore chinos and bushy hats on the snow-filled courses, today’s Kenyan winners of the Košice Marathon wear the lightest sneakers, and their pace is controlled by a top paceman.

It´s here!

More than ten thousand spectators cheer the runners in the city streets every year. More than five thousand runners in different categories and distances line up at the start. Yes, the amount of prize money for the winner cannot be compared to the Berlin Marathon, but the atmosphere and history certainly can.