The Florence Marathon () is an annual full-length marathon race held in late November in Florence, Italy, since 1984.

History Established in 1984, the international competition has significantly grown in size since its inaugural edition of 462 runnersSampaolo, Diego (2009-11-26). Record field of 10,000 runners the new barrier for Kosgei to clear – Florence Marathon, PREVIEW. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-30. – a total of 10,211 runners started the 2010 edition, making it the second largest Italian marathon after the Rome City Marathon.Sampaolo, Diego (2010-11-29). Beating the rain and cold, Dado and debutante Tadese triumph in Florence. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-29.

Orlando Pizzolato, a two-time New York Marathon winner, was present to inaugurate the race in 1984.Presentation . Firenze Marathon (2009). Retrieved on 2009-12-02. The competition's first course was about a kilometre short of the true marathon distance, and it was increased for all subsequent editions.Civai, Franco (2008-12-26). Firenze Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2009-11-30.

Italians form the bulk of the runners, while France, Germany and the United Kingdom are usually the next most represented nationalities in the field.Statistics 2008 . Firenze Marathon (2008). Retrieved on 2009-12-02. From 2005 to 2009, the competition was annually broadcast live for three hours on the state-owned Rai Tre channel. The race is among Italy's most prominent – it was selected to be the national championship marathon race for the first time in 2003.

The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of registering for 2021, 2022, or 2023 for free.

Course

Initial course

The course used in the inaugural race was about short.

From 2001 to 2009

From 2001 through 2009, the course began at Piazzale Michelangelo and had a zigzagging path through the centre.Course plan 2009 . Firenze Marathon (2009). Retrieved on 2009-12-02. The bends and cobblestone roads made for a particularly difficult marathon and this led to the change in 2011 for an easier, faster race.Sampaolo, Diego (2008-11-30). Kenya and hosts share honours in Florence Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-02.The Course of XXVI Firenze Marathon . Firenze Marathon (2009). Retrieved on 2009-12-02.

An AIMS-certified course,AIMS Race Directory . AIMS (2009). Retrieved on 2009-12-02. it was ineligible for world records due to an overall net drop of 75 m from 2001 to 2009, but the current course is now eligible.

From 2010 to 2011

The course used in 2010 and 2011 had a drop of , which meant that it was eligible for records as it was within the drop limit of .

Current course

The course, which was first used in 2012, starts at the Lungarno Pecori Giraldi and finishes in Piazza Santa Croce. It passes through much of Florence's historical town centre, with architecture dating from the 13th century, including: Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio, and the Basilica of Santa Croce.

Winners

The current course record holders are James Kutto, who set the men's record of 2:08:41 in 2006, and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter who set the female course record of 2:24:17 in 2018.

Key: Course record (in bold) Country's championship race Short course

Edition Year Men's winner Time Women's winner Time Rf. I 1984 2:15:23 2:32:53 II 1985 2:17:44 2:44:32 III 1986 2:15:37 2:39:35 IV 1987 2:16:33 2:33:23 V 1988 2:15:51 2:43:14 VI 1989 2:16:48 2:39:45 VII 1990 2:18:57 2:44:23 VIII 1991 2:16:33 2:35:37 IX 1992 2:19:12 2:50:34 X 1993 2:16:39 2:42:24 XI 1994 2:14:03 2:41:34 XII 1995 2:15:36 2:40:08 XIII 1996 2:15:04 2:33:51 XIV 1997 2:14:27 2:47:00 XV 1998 2:16:39 2:44:16 XVI 1999 2:11:51 2:38:28 XVII 2000 2:14:11 2:32:18 XVIII 2001 2:10:38 2:32:26 XIX 2002 2:11:15 2:28:15 XX 2003 2:15:54 2:34:40 XXI 2004 2:11:34 2:29:11 XXII 2005 2:11:27 2:30:46 XXIII 2006 2:08:41 2:34:52 XXIV 2007 2:12:50 2:33:14 XXV 2008 2:12:37 2:34:13 XXVI 2009 2:11:21 2:35:41 XXVII 2010 2:12:41 2:28:58 XXVIII 2011 2:09:52 2:31:36 XXIX 2012 2:09:59 2:30:08 XXX 2013 2:09:14 2:30:37 XXXI 2014 2:09:55 2:31:28 XXXII 2015 2:09:55 2:31:34 XXXIII 2016 2:11:57 2:28:46 XXXIV 2017 2:14:41 2:28:55 XXXV 2018 2:11:32 2:24:17 https://web.archive.org/web/20201027031659/https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14612043 XXXVI 2019 2:10:14 2:25:29 https://web.archive.org/web/20201027030120/https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14671957 2020 cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic XXXVII 2021 2:08:59 2:27:17

By country

CountryMen's raceWomen's raceTotal91120124166713246202022112112101101202011011011011011011101

Participation + Number of race finishersYearMenWomenTotal2013783914519290201265771194777120115924100469282010661111797790200970251182820720086181102272032007535693162872006528998162702005420167948802004348652040062003342856139892002285140432552001235129126422000224223924811999205518622411998211616122771997217019423641996229218124731995216614523111994195512920841993147078154819921233521285199110224510671990101839105719891127431170198811193811571987124750129719861180451225198582237859198444814462 All statistics taken from the Association of Road Racing Statisticians.

Notes

References

External links Official website