Pyongyang Marathon

Pyongyang International Marathon, previously known as Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, is an annual marathon race contested each April in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. The marathon was held for the first time in 1981 for men, and the women's event was initiated in 1984. The 2009 race was the 22nd event. The competition was opened for international runners again in 2000. The race starts and finishes at the Rungrado May Day Stadium or Kim Il Sung Stadium and runs along the Taedong River. At the 2010 edition of the race, Ukrainian Ivan Babaryka became the first European runner to win in Pyongyang in 24 years. The race in 2012 was held as part of celebrations for the 100 years since Kim Il Sung's birth and featured one of the race's closest ever finishes: Oleksandr Matviychuk and Pak Song-chol were given identical times (2:12:54 hours), with the Ukrainian guest taking the title. The 2015 marathon was initially closed to foreigners because of concerns about Ebola, but this decision has since been reversed after the reopening of the North Korean border in March 2015. The marathon was held in 2016, but did not meet IAAF specifications for an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race that it had on previous years. In 2020, it was announced that the marathon would be cancelled for that year due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China. The 2021 edition was also cancelled due to the same reason as well as the 2022 edition. The marathon resumed in 2025.

Annual race held in Pyongyang, North Korea

Pyongyang Marathon
Participants in the 2012 Pyongyang Marathon running past the Arch of Triumph
Date	April
Location	Pyongyang, North Korea
Event type	Road
Distance	Marathon, half-marathon, 10 km, 5 km
Established	1981
Course records	Men's: 2:10:50 (1996) Kim Jung-won Women's: 2:25:48 (2025) Jon Su-gyong
Official site	Pyongyang Marathon

Pyongyang Marathon
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	만경대상국제마라손경기대회
Hancha	萬景臺賞國際마라손競技大會
Revised Romanization	Man-gyeongdaesang-gukje-marason-gyeonggidaehoe
McCune–Reischauer	Man'gyŏngdaesang-gukche-marason-gyŏnggidaehoe

Pyongyang International Marathon, previously known as Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, is an annual marathon race contested each April in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

The marathon was held for the first time in 1981 for men, and the women's event was initiated in 1984.^[1] The 2009 race was the 22nd event.^[2] The competition was opened for international runners again in 2000. The race starts and finishes at the Rungrado May Day Stadium or Kim Il Sung Stadium and runs along the Taedong River.^[3] At the 2010 edition of the race, Ukrainian Ivan Babaryka became the first European runner to win in Pyongyang in 24 years.^[4] The race in 2012 was held as part of celebrations for the 100 years since Kim Il Sung's birth and featured one of the race's closest ever finishes: Oleksandr Matviychuk and Pak Song-chol were given identical times (2:12:54 hours), with the Ukrainian guest taking the title.^[5]

The 2015 marathon was initially closed to foreigners because of concerns about Ebola,^[6] but this decision has since been reversed after the reopening of the North Korean border in March 2015.^[7] The marathon was held in 2016, but did not meet IAAF specifications for an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race that it had on previous years.^[8] In 2020, it was announced that the marathon would be cancelled for that year due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China.^[9] The 2021 edition was also cancelled due to the same reason^[10] as well as the 2022 edition.^[11]

The marathon resumed in 2025.^[12]

Course records

[edit]

• Men: 2:10:50, Kim Jung-won, 1996
• Women: 2:25:48, Jon Su-gyong, 2025

List of winners

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Key:   Course record

Edition	Year	Men's winner	Time (h:m:s)	Women's winner	Time (h:m:s)
37th	2025	Pak Kum-dang (PRK)	2:12:08	Jon Su-gyong (PRK)	2:25:48
—	2020-2024	Marathons not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
36th	2019	Ri Kang-bom (PRK)	2:11:19	Ri Kwang-ok (PRK)	2:26:58
35th	2018	Ri Kang-bom (PRK)	2:12:53	Kim Hye-song (PRK)	2:27:31
34th	2017	Pak Chol (PRK)	2:14:56	Jo Un-ok (PRK)	2:29:22
33rd	2016	Pak Chol-gwang (PRK)	2:14:10	Kim Ji-hyang (PRK)	2:28:06
32nd	2015	Lee Yong-ho (PRK)	2:16:04	Kim Hye-song (PRK)	2:29:12
31st	2014	Pak Chol (PRK)	2:12:26	Kim Hye-gyong (PRK)	2:27:05
30th	2013	Ketema Bekele (ETH)	2:13:04	Kim Mi-gyong (PRK)	2:26:32
29th	2012	Oleksandr Matviychuk (UKR)	2:12:54	Kim Mi-gyong (PRK)	2:30:41
28th	2011	Oleg Marusin (RUS)	2:13:58	Ro Un-ok (PRK)	2:32:06
27th	2010	Ivan Babaryka (UKR)	2:13:56	Kim Kum-ok (PRK)	2:27:34
26th	2009	Wang Zemin (CHN)	2:14:21	Phyo Un-suk (PRK)	2:28:34
25th	2008	Pak Song-chol (PRK)	2:14:22	Phyo Un-suk (PRK)	2:28:39
24th	2007	Pak Song-chol (PRK)	2:12:41	Jong Yong-ok (PRK)	2:26:02
23rd	2006	Ri Kyong-chol (PRK)	2:13:15	Jo Bun-hui (PRK)	2:27:22
22nd	2005	Ri Kyong-chol (PRK)	2:11:36	Ham Bong-sil (PRK)	2:31:46
21st	2004	Morris Mwangi (KEN)	2:16:41	O Song-suk (PRK)	2:36:10
20th	2003	Jong Myong-chol (PRK)	2:15:05	Ham Bong-sil (PRK)	2:27:48
19th	2002	Zacharia Mpolokeng (RSA)	2:15:05	Ham Bong-sil (PRK)	2:26:23
18th	2001	Kim Jung-won (PRK)	2:11:48	Jong Yong-ok (PRK)	2:28:32
17th	2000	Nelson Ndereva (KEN)	2:11:05	Hong Myong-hui (PRK)	2:31:28
16th	1999	Unknown
15th	1998	Unknown
14th	1997	Unknown
13th	1996	Kim Jung-won (PRK)	2:10:50	Kim Chang-ok (PRK)	2:27:02
12th	1995	Unknown		Mun Gyong-ae (PRK)	2:30:37
11th	1994	Unknown
10th	1993	Unknown
9th	1992	Unknown		Mun Gyong-ae (PRK)	2:38:44
—	1990-1991	Marathon not held
8th	1989	Choe Chol-ho (PRK)	2:15:27	Mun Gyong-ae (PRK)	2:33:48
7th	1988	Cho Hui-bok (PRK)	2:14:33	Madina Biktagirova (URS)	2:38:00
—	1987	Marathon not held
6th	1986	Sergey Krestyaninov (URS)	2:14:19	Elena Murgoci (ROM)	2:37:11
5th	1985	Choe Il-sop (PRK)	2:13:25	Tatyana Bultot (URS)	2:35:36
4th	1984	Dmitriy Feostikov (URS)	2:14:36	Nadezhda Tishkova (URS)	2:40:34
3rd	1983	Unknown		Yu Song-hui (PRK)	2:37:14
2nd	1982	Lee Jong-hyong (PRK)	2:15:17	Women's marathon not held
1st	1981	Unknown	2:17:18

See also

[edit]

• Tourism in North Korea

References

[edit]

1. ^ Korea Today: Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon Race^{[permanent dead link]}
2. ^ Korean Central News Agency: April 12, 2009: Mangyongdae Prize Marathon Race Held Archived 2009-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Jalava, Mirko (2011-04-11). Marusin and Ro take the wins in Pyongyang Archived 2011-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-04-12.
4. ^ Jalava, Mirko (2010-04-12). Surprise victory by Babaryka in Pyongyang – Mangyongdae Prize Marathon report Archived 2010-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-04-12.
5. ^ Jalava, Mirko (2012-04-09). Tight finish in Pyongyang Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-04-21.
6. ^ Talmadge, Eric (22 February 2015). "N. Korea bars tourists from popular race over Ebola concerns". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
7. ^ Pearson, James (5 March 2015). "North Korea to reopen Pyongyang marathon to foreign runners". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
8. ^ "More Than 1,600 Runners Take Part in Pyongyang Marathon". VOA. Associated Press. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
9. ^ "2020 Pyongyang Marathon Cancelled". Pyongyang Marathon. 22 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
10. ^ "Pyongyang Marathon 2021 Cancelled". pyongyangmarathon.com. Pyongyang Marathon. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
11. ^ "N. Korea cancels Pyongyang marathon for 3rd straight year amid COVID-19". yna.co.kr. Yonhap News Agency. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
12. ^ "N Korea holds first international marathon in six years". BBC. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.

External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pyongyang Marathon.

• Official website
• Pyongyang Marathon at ARRS
• Pyongyang Marathon at Marathoninfo

39°2′58″N 125°46′31″E / 39.04944°N 125.77528°E / 39.04944; 125.77528